Supporters dressed as pirates rallied this weekend in solidarity with a Newport Beach shipwright who has been battling the city over a boat restoration project in his backyard.
Dennis Holland has been restoring the 1916, 72-foot Shawnee at his West Bay home since 2006. But neighbors have complained about the towering boat in the residential area and the city has ordered him to move the boat off his property by April 30.
On Saturday afternoon, the festive protesters gathered below the Ferris wheel at Balboa Fun Zone and chanted “Save the Shawnee.” Some supporters came from hundreds of miles away to wave signs stating, “Don’t let mediocre minds destroy a great ship.” The group cited the Shawnee’s historical significance as their reason for gathering.
Holland, who is in remission from prostate cancer and sees the ship restoration as a form of therapy, said he doesn’t know what will happen after April 30. Orange County Superior Judge Gregory Munoz issued a preliminary injunction ordering that the ship be removed from the Holiday Road home by that date. After it, Holland could incur fines of as much as $1,000 a day or possible jail time.
Since 2006, Holland has been restoring the ketch. He estimates that he’ll need at least another three years to complete the project. Prior to that, he spent 12 years building from scratch the Pilgrim, a 118-foot, 1770 schooner replica that now sails as the Star of Dana Point, though he resided in Costa Mesa at the time.
Visit the Save the Shawnee website fer more info!
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This be arrrr 18th issue of the Pirate Fashions Newsletter for May 2012. In transfer the old website to the new one, we had issues transferring the newsletter. So we be reposing the feature article into this blog instead of losing all the past newsletters.
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