Safe Harbor Marina
By Angelo Haynes
On a balmy, calm August afternoon, budding sailors-to-be, met with an energetic and fatherly sea captain, to “learn the ropes” of sailing. That captain is Robert Capita, the current head coach of the UCSD sailing team and President and CEO of Project Bluewater Racing (PBWR – or simply “the Project) — an environmental non-profit in San Diego that aims to connect a new generation with the water through competitive sailing, education, marine science and environmental activism.
The Project’s mission statement is to “cultivate the next generation of offshore sailboat racers as the sole non-profit in San Diego providing adults access to offshore sailing education and training while upholding the values of environmental stewardship.”
In addition to instruction on sailing, the Project integrates marine technology to perform a critical environmental monitoring role, using data loggers, hydrophones and Lagrangian drifters to study the flow of the ocean’s currents.
PBWR’s unique vessel allows them to monitor what they refer to as nontraditional places — shallow areas of San Diego’s near shore environment and restricted waterways inaccessible to larger, motor-powered vessels. In this way PBWR fills in valuable gaps in oceanographic data painting a better picture of San Diego’s nearshore environment for scientists.
Currently, the Project is collaborating with the Deheyn Lab at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, where the water samples their DK46 boat, named Maasai, collects water samples that are being used to generate data on concentrations of microplastics and microfibers in San Diego Bay.
Capt. Capita seemed destined to live a life on the water, having been raised in the deep maritime tradition of the east coast. Capita was brought up in New Jersey learning welding, brazing and assembly of copper coils for furnaces at the early age of 8 years old. By the time he reached his teens, he had mastered building transformers, capacitors as well as operating lathes, and milling machines. After relocating across the Pacific in his 20’s Capita took on an apprenticeship with a modern boat building operation in Sydney, Australia which provided him with a broad knowledge of yacht construction and management.
During our vessel orientation, Capt. Capita wasted no time in getting us up to speed on nearly every inch of the vessel — introducing us to the anatomy of the ship, different instrument panels, galley, radio system and more.
In addition to basic sailing instruction, PBWR focuses on competitive racing, and this can be no more encapsulated than in the flagship vessel, Maasai, a 46’ long carbon fiber racing yacht built by prestigious Malaysian boat builder DK Yachts in 2003. Originally named Hi-Fidelity, Maasai was commissioned for legendary sailor Neil Pride who raced the yacht with a pro crew and went on to win the famous Middle Sea race in 2012, one of the most prestigious yacht races in Europe.
Early success would elude Maasai later in life, as it changed ownership several times after going through extensive modifications in Italy — potentially the result from a whale collision while racing off the coast of north Africa before being donated to PBWR.
Since 2023 Captain Capita has overseen an estimated $100,000 in repairs made to Maasai with more modifications and upgrades on the way, all to ensure the safety of the yacht and improved comfort for the crew. Volunteers have the opportunity to contribute in many ways to PBWR’s mission, including helping with boat maintenance and repairs, sailing, collecting water samples and more.
Sailing fans can expect Maasai to appear in many of the west coast offshore races including The Island Race, So-Cal 300, Around Coronado Islands races, San Diego Yacht Club Hot Rum Series and races to Mexico where PBWR have many supporters of their mission as well.
For more information or how to get involved, please visit https://www.pbwr.org/ for more details about their sailing and https://deheynlab.ucsd.edu/ for more info on their microplastics research collaboration.
What a marvelous joint venture of science and sailing!!
It is much appreciated.