Christian Williamsvideo
Update: Sailing After the Palisades Fire
13 July 2025 · 18 min · 38K views
What this video covers
Christian Williams, 82, sails his Ericson 38 off the Santa Monica coast on his birthday, six months after the January 7th Palisades Fire destroyed his home, workshop, and all his canvas work and sewing machines. Sailing without the mainsail in 12–13 knots, he passes the burned hillsides from the Palisades to Malibu and describes the Army Corps of Engineers having bulldozed roughly 80% of structures to flat lots. A Raymarine EV100 wheel pilot handles steering for single-handed tacking on the rolly passage. The main practical focus is replacing lost sailmaking gear: he compares a 1953 Singer 1591 — recovered and capable for light work — against a new Sailrite LS1 portable sailmaker's machine, which he concludes is necessary for multi-layer heavy canvas such as line bags, cockpit covers, and hatch covers. The Singer cannot penetrate enough layers to make load-bearing seams; the Sailrite LS1's more powerful "worker bee" motor can. He also notes a transmission fluid issue requiring awkward access beneath the heat exchanger. A lazy-jack-and-sail-cover conflict with the stiff 10-oz Dacron full-batten main goes unresolved. He mentions writing an autobiography titled *The Long Voyage Home* and that California Yacht Club, his home marina, had itself burned down the year before the Palisades fire.
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