Oasis in the ocean

Andrew Edwards

The wind was light, the sailing was easy, and the day was peaceful as

four members of the seniors-only Oasis Sailing Club logged in yet

another day before the mast.

“It was very glassy, the smoothest I’ve ever seen the sea out

here,” sailing club member Jim Stone, 76, said Wednesday after

returning from an afternoon cruise.

Joining Stone on the cruise were Rob Jason, 67, Marilyn Lees, 71,

and Lloyd Stave, 65. The four cruised aboard Oasis II, a 30-foot

Newport Mk3 sloop that club members call the world’s busiest

sailboat.

Oasis sailors logged in more than 1,300 sailing hours over 242

cruises last year, but their record remains unofficial. The club has

sent an application to Guinness World Records, but record keepers at

Guinness do not keep track of records for the most-used private boat,

said club commodore John Byerlein, 78.

However, Byerlein has said he does not know of any challenges to

the club’s claim, and members continue to keep a busy schedule. On

Wednesday, Oasis sailors embarked on the ship’s 263rd voyage of the

year. Members of the club take short trips on Oasis almost every day,

while boats moored near the club’s slip often remain at anchor.

“They leave the dock two or three times a year,” Byerlein said as

he looked at the forest of masts at the Balboa Yacht Basin. “We leave

the dock 25 times a month.”

Once afloat, sailors aboard Oasis II are often surrounded by

nothing but blue skies and water.

“Out in the ocean, we have the whole ocean to ourselves,” Jason

said.

Members of the Oasis Sailing Club are all seniors and members of

the Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar. The sailing club is

officially part of the Friends of Oasis, a nonprofit that supports

the senior center. The club boasts about 100 members, who do not have

to be experienced sailors when they join.

“They can come in with no experience at all and just decide that

sailing would be a great thing to do,” Stone said. “They can decide

they want to learn to sail, or they can decide they just want to go

out.”

Once outside the harbor, Oasis sailors often take turns handling

the wheel, but cruises are typically relaxing affairs, where club

members can get away from it all and chat about past travels.

“There’s a big social dimension to sailing,” Stone said. “We enjoy

each other. We enjoy the stories.”

Where the club goes depends on where the wind takes them -- south

to Dana Point, west to Catalina Island or as far north as Marina del

Rey.

On Wednesday, Stone skippered Oasis II north, then headed west to

catch the wind and pick up speed.

As they sailed, the four-person crew was almost entirely alone in

the ocean.

“We had a seal following us for a little bit; we could see him

bobbing behind us,” Stone said.