The termination of lease notice came March 6th from\u00a0Safe Harbor Marina<\/a>, which last year was acquired in a\u00a0$5 billion deal by Blackstone Infrastructure<\/a>. The company has been working to redevelop marina properties across the country.<\/p>\n That notice prompted swift backlash on social media from supporters across the community who also started a petition demanding marina management reconsider.<\/p>\n That pressure appears to have made an impact.<\/p>\n In a recent message to the organization, marina officials reversed course, asking leaders to disregard the earlier termination notice and signaling a willingness to continue discussions over long-term mooring options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have a lot of angels out there\u2026 thank you, thank you, thank you\u2026 whoever you are,\u201d said Karen Merrill, a volunteer quartermaster who has worked various position aboard the ship for years. \u201cThis girl (the ship) is worth saving and restoring for an entire community,” Merrill told NBC 7.<\/p>\n Merrill has been part of the schooner\u2019s crew even before it docked in Chula Vista more than a decade ago, helping maintain the vessel and guide its education mission. <\/p>\n Susan Johnson, who runs programming for the ship alongside her husband, Captain Don Johnson, said the initial eviction notice underestimated the schooner\u2019s role.<\/p>\n \u201cThey thought we were just a boat, and we\u2019re not,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re a community.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tM.G. PerezM.G. Perez<\/p>\n Susan Johnson (right) talks to a father and daughter from Chula Vista about the schooner’s temporary reprieve. The “Bill of Rights” (far left) remains docked in the South Bay, Chula Vista, Calif., April 4, 2026.<\/p>\n Captain Johnson said negotiations with marina management are ongoing but expressed optimism about the ship\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have more work to do and a little more discussions and negotiations,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s use that phrase to bring them to full awareness of what we do here.\u201d<\/p>\n Even amid uncertainty, the ship\u2019s programs continue. With summer approaching, preparations are underway for seasonal sailing excursions, including educational trips to Catalina Island.<\/p>\n Below deck, instructor John Ziolkowski recalled a recent success story involving one student whose experience aboard the ship strengthened family bonds, according to the boy’s father.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018My son talked to grandpa\u2026 they never talk, and they talked about sailing for three hours. The parent was weeping about that,” Ziolkowski said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tM.,G. PerezM.,G. Perez<\/p>\n Don Johnson (left) sits in the ship’s dining space below desk with sailing instructor, John Ziolkowski (right), April 4, 2026.<\/p>\n For Merrill, the ship represents more than history \u2014 it\u2019s a living, breathing vessel with lessons still to teach.<\/p>\n \u201cShe doesn\u2019t turn on a dime,\u201d she said of the schooner. \u201cSo little corrections are best \u2014 even though you have that great big wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n While the future of the schooner remains unresolved, those closest to it believe the tide is turning.<\/p>\n \u201cSailing off\u2026 well not into the sunset,\u201d Captain Johnson said with a smile, \u201cbut into the sunset and back \u2014 because it\u2019s an ongoing process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A temporary lifeline has been thrown to the official tall ship of Chula Vista, allowing the historic schooner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[9974,74,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-252153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-chula-vista","9":"tag-san-diego","10":"tag-san-diego-headlines","11":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Susan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6789.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Don](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_6781.jpeg\")
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