El Escudo, a new hybrid passenger vessel owned and operated by Harbor Breeze Cruises, has arrived in local waters.
The vessel will make its maiden voyage on June 6 for the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 94th annual meeting. El Escudo will shuttle passengers from the Pine Avenue pier on an eight-minute ferry ride to the Queen Mary and the new amphitheater that evening for Snoop Dogg’s performance, according to Visit Long Beach President and CEO Steve Goodling.
Details regarding the boat’s role in the 2028 Summer Olympics, meanwhile, remain under wraps.
Built by All American Marine and operated by Harbor Breeze Cruises, El Escudo is believed to be the first parallel hybrid passenger vessel of its kind on the West Coast.
Harbor Breeze’s longtime owner, Danny Salas, served as shore crew for the boat’s delivery. His son, Christopher, led the team of boat captains and deck hands who navigated the boat from Bellingham, Washington, to Los Angeles. They made one stop in Crescent City for fuel and a quick bucket shower. That stop has been a tradition for the more than 30 years the company has been in business.
The vessel will offer the quietest, cleanest ride for whale watching tours, weddings and conventions, said the elder Salas.
Designed to operate in multiple propulsion modes — including fully electric (zero-emission), diesel and hybrid operations — El Escudo incorporates advanced emissions control technologies and battery-electric capability, intended to help evaluate next-generation harbor crafts.
The vessel is part of a demonstration project of the Los Angeles Marine Emission Reduction, supported through grant funding by the California Air Resources Board. The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are also funding portions of the project.
El Escudo, a new hybrid passenger vessel owned and operated by Harbor Breeze Cruises, has arrived in local waters. (Courtesy of All American Marine)
El Escudo, a new hybrid passenger vessel owned and operated by Harbor Breeze Cruises, has arrived in local waters. (Courtesy of All American Marine)
William F. “Chip” Merlin and his team won first in class and first overall in the Spinnaker Cup while sailing the ship Merlin. (Courtesy of the Spinnaker Cup)
Vida Mia is an historic wooden power boat with local connections that needs some help. (Courtesy photo)
Show Caption
1 of 4
El Escudo, a new hybrid passenger vessel owned and operated by Harbor Breeze Cruises, has arrived in local waters. (Courtesy of All American Marine)
Expand
Wooden boat
The Transpacific Yacht Race won’t occur again until July 2027, but a boat with some local and Hawaiian history needs some love.
There is a historic wooden power boat with some local connections that needs some help. Vida Mia is well-known to Long Beach sailors, but is berthed on Transpac Row in Al Wai Yacht Harbor, in Waikiki, Hawaii.
Here is a link to the GoFundMe campaign: gofundme.com/manage/support-the-vida-mias-final-restoration-phase.
Vida Mia was built by Stephen‘s Brothers Marine in Stockton in 1929. The first owner was Willard V.B. Campbell.
Campbell’s inspiration to build Vida May came from the uncle he was named for, Willard Van Brunt, who commissioned the 46-foot, 20-ton Ida May in 1926
Ida May was docked in Alamitos Bay for many years.
When Van Brunt died, Ida May was bought by Stan Laurel of “Laurel and Hardy.” Laurel sold the yacht to Jonah Jones, Howard Hughes’ attorney and one of the founders of the Long Beach Yacht Club. Today, the dry-docked vessel is owned by San Luis Obispo businessman Rob Rossi.
Sail boats
The 2026 California Offshore Race Week began on Saturday, May 23, and will run to Saturday, May 30, featuring three back-to-back offshore races along the coast.
This is the 12th annual edition of the West Coast offshore sailing series, covering roughly 700 nautical miles over three races in eight days, with the races running consecutively from San Francisco to San Diego.
Those races are the Spinnaker Cup, which took place Saturday and Sunday and went from San Francisco to Monterey (about 84 nautical miles); the Coastal Cup, which took place Monday and Tuesday and went from Monterey to Santa Barbara (about 205 nautical miles); and the SoCal 300, which begins today and will run through Saturday, and will go from Santa Barbara to San Diego (about 255 nautical miles).
William F. “Chip” Merlin and his team on board the Merlin won first in class and first overall in the Spinnaker Cup. His acceptance speech saluted the boat’s designer, Bill Lee. The boat was launched 50 years ago in Santa Cruz In 1977, it set a race record at the Transpacific Yacht Race — finishing more than 22 hours ahead of the previous record set in 1971. The record lasted 20 years until beaten by the Roy Disney’s Pyewacket in 1997.
Merlin purchased the boat in 2017 — and has been winning races since.
Long Beach Yacht Club member Tina Roberts, meanwhile, owns and races Ragtime. The well-known boat finished fifth in class and 19th overall.
For more results visit, offshoreraceweek.com.