The Passing of a Friend

There was a tear in the fabric of our community this past December with the death of Howard Myers. Many will remember him as a realtor, others as a builder of houseboats, and most as a friend and neighbor. Howard died just a week short of his 92nd birthday in...

MLK Day in Marin City This Sunday

Marin City will celebrate Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day this Monday, January 16. The theme of the 24th annual celebration is ‘Blessed Community in Action’. Activities will kick off with a table talk symposium from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Senior Center at 640 Drake Ave. A...

FHA Annual Meeting Feb 25 in Victorian Mansion

The Floating Homes Association’s first in–person annual membership meeting in three years will be held in Sausalito on Saturday evening, February 25 at the Victorian mansion known as The Pines. The meeting, followed by hors d’oeuvres and drinks, will begin at 5:30 p.m. We are fortunate to secure this special...

Juanita the Nurturer

Juanita Musson was the colorful, no–nonsense proprietor of Juanita’s Galley on the Sausalito waterfront in the early 1960s. “By her own account, Juanita Musson has opened and closed 11 restaurants since the 1950s,” wrote S.F. Chronicle critic Grace Ann Walden in 2002. “The first was Juanita’s Galley located on Gate...

Houseboat Living in Earthquake Country

Last week’s early morning (3:39 a.m.) earthquake, which roused some floating home residents from a deep sleep, is a reminder that we are definitely on Terra Non Firma. The December 17 temblor was centered in El Cerrito—only 10 miles away—and was measured at a magnitude 3.6. The tide was about...

Unsinkable Annie Sprinkle

In 1999, a fire destroyed the waterfront home of one of Sausalito’s more colorful residents: former porn star and prostitute Annie Sprinkle. Her home was located in Varda Landing, near the ferry Vallejo. In a fundraising appeal posted on Compuserve immediately after the fire, a friend of Annie’s wrote: “Thankfully,...

Holiday Gift Ideas

Looking for holiday gifts that reflect our lifestyle? Check out the Boatload of Books section of this newsletter. You’ll find notices of publications by current and former residents as well as select books about our floating homes. Categories include fiction, non-fiction, history, memoirs, poetry and children’s books, so you’re sure to find...

She Sang in Our Sunshine

Vocalist, writer and actress Gale Garnett was born in New Zealand, but became a local fixture in Sausalito’s hippie heyday. In 1964, Gale scored a Top Five pop hit with her original composition “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine,” which won her a Grammy for Best Folk Recording. Five years later...

Not Their First Rodeo

On October 8, four old hands from East Pier decided to mosey on over to the Cow Palace for the Grand National Rodeo. They report having a good time, but would not disclose which one of them wrestled the champion bull to the ground and walked away with the grand...