SIGHTINGS drug smuggler needs help Jennifer Sanders of Long Beach would like to know more about her ‘mystery ship’ Cocokai, which, under other names, had a colorful history from Thailand to San Francisco to Hawaii — and even on the bottom. At times, the 64-ft staysail schooner was stuffed with pot from Asia, and was later decorated in gaudy colors and had a roulette wheel and an industrial-size ice machine installed in the main
meet the love Want to meet the love of your life like Jennifer and Greg did? Buccaneer’s Day is Saturday, October 7, at Two Harbors, Catalina. However, many revelers just can’t wait for Saturday, so Friday, October 6, can be really wild, too. While there are activities for children on Saturday afternoon, this is probably the one weekend of the year that’s not so appropriate for kid’s younger than high school age.
LATITUDE / RICHARD
Late for a dart game, Greg jumped in the dinghy halfway back from Catalina and took this shot. Any of you smugglers recognize it?
Greg never let Jennifer out of his sight after meeting at Buccaneer’s Day.
salon. But Sanders has no idea who built the boat, when or where. And other than Goiot winches, which are a French brand, there are no identifying marks on the hull, spars or wheel. What Sanders does know is that the boat is a 64-ft-long staysail schooner with teak decks, two cockpits, and the wheel all the way aft behind the master stateroom. A DEA agent told her the boat had been used to smuggle pot from Asia to San Francisco Bay, probably Richmond, in the late ‘90s. After that, she was told, the owner, a guy named Stan with a coffee plantation on the hills above Kona, took off on the schooner for the Big Island, leaving behind a large, unpaid yard bill. A short time later, a group of law enforcement officials came to Stan’s house in Kona to arrest him. He saw them coming, jumped onto a horse, and galloped off into the wilderness never to be seen again. Stan’s wife was arrested, determined not to have been involved, and released. The DEA seized the boat and put her up for auction in Hawaii. She was purchased by Bob West, a gentleman in his ‘80s who had retired to Hawaii from Las Vegas. Apparently West had made some money patenting casino items — such as chip trays. Renamed Waterworld and marketed for chartering by an outfit called Wild West Charters, it was then she received her roulette table and oversized ice maker. But that wasn’t all. She was also given a gold overhead, a maroon shag rug, and the heads were painted a high gloss black. That would be enough to make even seasoned sailors sick. It’s not clear if illegal gambling ever took place on her, but she did do some charters out of Kona. It was at this point when the schooner’s luck seemed to run out, for she sank while at anchor and spent a number of days on the bottom. Apparently there had been a thru-hull problem. The sinking of Waterworld was apparently the last straw for West, as it seemed to affect his health. He ordered the schooner, and several other boats he owned, to be sold. Sanders, who is a compensation consultant with an office on the 52nd floor of the tallest building in Los Angeles, has wanted to sail around the world for 20 years. It all began when she was working in Manhattan and got invited to join a family for a two-week charter from continued on outside column of next sightings page Page 100 •
Latitude 38
• October, 2006