Email Larry Kaplan: [email protected]
You may recall my “Conversations with Larry Kaplan”
We went to Lincoln High School in San Francisco together. He drove there; I walked.
Here’s Larry: 
and here’s me: 
Coincidentally, we both attended San Jose State and even more coincidentally we lived in the same apartment building at 555 South 8th Street. Back then, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, lots of students lived off campus, renting rooms in these wonderful old Victorian houses.
Our apartment building was boring architecturally and the cop fraternity was next door so we had to be on our best behavior.
On weekends I drove home to San Francisco to see my folks in my 1966 Chevy Malibu, yellow with a black vinyl top.
Larry rode his ten speed home to see his parents in the City–or packed his wheels into the trunk of my roommate Sue’s car and traveled with her.
Later, when I moved to the Coastside, I encountered Larry waxing his surfboard at El Granada Beach. While there, Larry doodled some sketches in the notebook I was carrying.
At the time he wanted to make surfboards and the doodlings were actually the beginning of a business that would broaden into expert yacht repair and much more.
Here’s a photo of an early Kaplan surfboard–handmade at our 555 So. 8th Street apartment building in San Jose.
Years passed, decades flew by–and I gave birth to my website called halfmoonbaymemories.com. I keep everything, so it was no surprise to find Larry Kaplan’s doodlings among all my stuff. I posted them, and one day, to my great surprise, Larry got in contact with me…which led to my posts called “Conversations with Larry Kaplan….”
I learned that he was the owner of the Thoroughbred called Vegas, a horse that really flies. If you don’t remember, here’s Vegas:
Now it’s the Holidays, time to re-connect with old friends and what better place to meet than here at my website. It’s quiet here and we can talk.
Larry: The sailing shot
is of me at the helm of a 57′ Swan ketch. I was hired to take her from Oahu to San Diego. There were three of us aboard. We had five sails up the entire way and we hauled ass…got to San Diego in 16 days.(that’s fast). Expect the photos in the morning, please. I am SO proud of you and books. Do I get to purchase one?
June: You mean my new “Princeton-by-the-Sea book? You can come to my booksigning at Bay Book in Half Moon Bay on Friday, December 14 at 7 pm. Tell me about WANDA.
Larry: The photo of WANDA depicts her as a yacht; a WHOLE yacht.
The ones you recv’d with the Tug photos
showed WANDA from her stern and I wanted you to see just how majestic she really is. She is due for complete restoration and those logistics are what are currently being bantered about. In the meantime, when I go to Petaloooooooooooma, I play with the Tugboat and I check on the wellbeing of WANDA.
June: How did you and Wanda become acquainted?
Larry: I needed a place to park one of my client’s yachts for a year or so, and she is side tied to my friend’s Tugboat. Her name is WANDA; she is 90′ long and she was built in 1922. My clients are in Canada and I get to play with WANDA at will. I do. WANDA is my haven, I say, HAVEN away from home. There is a funny sign on WANDA’S stern about lemonade.
June: What else?
Larry: A dear friend of mine; we literally grew up together…he went to Lowellllll while you and I went to the right place; anyway, he bought a 65′ Tugboat that is sixty years old. He does not know boats. I do. His Tug is parked on the Petaluma River VERY near downtown Petaluma and the Riverfront re-construction effort that is re-vitalizing the entire downtown of Petalooooma.
(Photo: The WANDA in full)
June: Well, Lar, you look like you’re aging well.
Larry: Getting old as gracefully and as fast as I can….(I DO need to trim my moustache…there. Perfect!)