Sailing the Sea of Cortez with Actor John Amos
I
enjoyed this past Labor Day sailing the islands around La Paz,
getting to know John Amos and his vessel, "Halley's Comet" and discussing
John's Foundation and it's work with children.
John Amos is a long time star of stage and screen. You may remember him for his roles in Die Hard II, the adult Kunte Kinte in Roots, or as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the hit series The West Wing. John has a new situational comedy launching this fall on the WB Network called All About the Andersons. John is also an accomplished sailor having piloted his vessel "Halley's Comet" here from Southern California a year ago.
John's
ship, and it is far more a ship than a mere boat, is nearly as famous
as he. Formerly known as "Harmony", she is 67' long and brings to mind
the sailing days of yore. Subject of the book by Patrick Cotten, you
can read detailed accounts of her construction in the early 70's and
her subsequent voyages to the South Pacific.
Since buying Halley's Comet nearly 5 years ago John has been refitting
her to suit is style and needs. Over the last year he has put a new
shine on a vessel with a proud heritage with improvements inside and
out.
The Labor Day weekend provided John the first chance to take her so
sea in some time, for a shake down around the Bahia De La Paz. I volunteered
to crew, along with his First Mate, Edgar Cesena, for a two part adventure.
The mission Halley's Comet in the Sea of Cortez is hardly that of plunder. Although adored with the skull and crossbones, John seeks to make her the platform for expanding the horizons of young people through familiarization with the skills and adventures presented before the mast.
Our weekend odyssey began the on Friday, when we went to sea with a
group of local teens out for their first seagoing adventure. Sons of
some of John's La Paz friends, some of these
boys had never had the opportunity to spend a day afloat. "That's the
purpose of the Foundation." says John. "It's all about the kids."
John was referring to the Halley's Comet Foundation. John established
the foundation as an instrument to make "a positive and long-lasting
impact on today’s youth by exposing them to learning
the challenges and culture of the sea."John gave the youngsters a vessel 
orientation. including safety procedures, lifejacket locations and the
all important proper operation of a marine head system. Back on deck,
John did his best to bridge the language gap while explaining the intricacies
of the rigging on his gaff rig ketch.
Once out to sea John was regaled by the universal series of questions
a group of youngsters will beset on a celebrity. "Do you know Arnold
Schwarzenegger?", "How many movies have you done?" "Who is your favorite
actor?" and of course mine..."What was it like to work with Tanya Roberts?"
John fielded those questions as well as those on the history of his
"pirate ship" with equal attention and graciousness.
To
diverge slightly, I have known John for many months and witnessed how
he fields those show-biz questions day in and out with the respect for
the audiences that raised him from garbage man, through the Kansas City
Chiefs, to accomplished actor.
After returning our youthful passengers to port we set sail for a weekend of recreation. Our first anchorage was Bahia Balandra about 9 miles north of La Paz.