Deepa Bharath
If the harbor and bay could articulate their feelings, they would
speak endlessly about how much they would miss their longtime buddy
-- John Blaich.
Blaich, a longtime Corona del Mar resident, sailing instructor and
boating historian, died Sunday of cancer. He was 84.
Blaich got his first boat when he was only 8 years old -- a time
when other kids his age probably couldn't think beyond the paper and
toy boats they played with. The JAB, as he called it, was actually a
rowboat, but the resourceful boy converted her to sail by using
bamboo poles for a mast, boom and gaft and an old paint drip cloth
for a sail.
Boating was no game for Blaich, his friends say. It was a passion,
an obsession and a subject worthy of serious study and research.
Blaich grew up in Whittier, but spent most summers on the Balboa
Peninsula, where his father owned a cottage.
"He was intense in things that he wanted to do," said friend
Willard Courtney. "He had a great love for Newport Beach, for the
ocean and sailing."
Courtney said a turning point in Blaich's life was in 1935, when
16-year-old Blaich was one of the local Sea Scouts selected to go
aboard Capt. Fred E. Lewis' 230-foot motor ship, the Stranger, as a
member of the professional crew. It was a six-month voyage that
traversed several countries and islands, including Panama, Ecuador,
the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Cocos Island, Guatemala, Nicaragua
and Mexico. The crew collected wild animals for the San Diego Zoo.
Among the animals they brought back were several sea turtles and
alligators.
Courtney said Blaich was a different man after the voyage. He
became proficient in operating small boats.
A sailor was born.
Once he returned from the trip, he started Newport Harbor's first
sailing school. Using his snowbird, he offered 10 one-hour lessons
for $12. In 1941, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club hired him as its
first full-time sailing instructor.
Blaich was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in
1943, based partly on his sailing and boating experience. During
World War II, he served aboard the USS Baltimore in the Western
Pacific for more than three years. Blaich earned nine battle stars
and became a qualified underway watch and division officer for both
deck and engineering. He retired from the Naval Reserve with full
benefits as a commander in 1969.
Blaich was famous locally for his extensive knowledge about boats
and their history. In 2000, he published a coffee table book titled
