SAN DIEGO - Robert Foskett Alexander, a fixture in the West Coast boating community who became well known for skippering large yachts from Mexico to Alaska, died Oct. 31. He was 85. Alexander was born in Anacortes, Wash. on March 25, 1922, was raised on Orcas Island and grew up boating. He served in the Army in Hawaii during World War II. After the war, Alexander worked running boats in Alaska and became known as an experienced navigator in Inside Passage waters. He later worked at Lockhaven Marina in Ballard, Wash., painting private yachts and hydroplane race boats. FULL STORY...
In Memoriam - Art Gronsky Memorial Service Set for Nov. 18
11/15/2007
NEWPORT BEACH - A memorial service for the late Art Gronsky is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 18 at Lido Isle Yacht Club. Funeral arrangements are being made at Pacific View Memorial Park. Gronsky was born Sept. 25, 1920 in South Pasadena. His parents, Roy and Ida Gronsky, built a beach house on Balboa Peninsula when he was 8 years old. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley. Gronsky served as a machinist during World War II, worked at Hughes Aircraft, and then settled in Balboa, operating a boat repair business with his brother, Irving. FULL STORY...
In Memoriam - Art Gronsky, Former Owner of Balboa Pavilion, Dies at 87
11/1/2007
NEWPORT BEACH - Art Gronsky, a community leader active in the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and in numerous efforts to preserve the city's nautical heritage, died Oct. 19 while on vacation in Alaska. He was 87. Gronsky's family owned the Balboa Pavilion for 13 years, until 1960. They originally bought the decaying pavilion to expand the family's boat repair business - but instead of demolishing the harbor landmark, they decided to restore it. The pavilion, which at one time housed a dance hall and a bowling alley, soon became the terminal for Gronsky's fleet of sportfishing charter boats, housed a restaurant and was home to a museum with the world's largest private collection of seashells. FULL STORY...
In Memoriam - Two Harbors Remembers Christine Luce Serratt
10/4/2007
CATALINA ISLAND - Residents of Two Harbors and others touched by the life of Christine Luce Serratt attended a memorial service to honor her memory at Life Center Assembly of God in Lakewood, Oct. 1. Serratt, 35, manager of Two Harbors visitors' services, died Sept. 28 from injuries sustained in a horseback riding accident. FULL STORY...
