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The night Greg Baker’s sailboat smashed into the rocks at Lime Point, Peter Bailey’s life in Sausalito began. He was a member of the Coast Guard team that rescued Greg who introduced him to the “lifestyle of drugs, girls, and rock and roll” on the waterfront. He pursued his dream of building a sailing homestead at the Gate 3 Co-op. After building Bertie, he brought his shipwright and rigging skills to the movie business, most notably in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. When Galilee finally succeeded in building a new marina, Peter was the only authentic boat builder left. In 2008, Peter and his wife, Heidi, sailed off to Port Townsend where he now teaches at the nearby Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building.
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Every movement needs leader with the vision to “flip the script” when facing defeat. Chris Hardman and a theatrical troupe from the Renaissance Faire moved into a giant shed at Gate 3 in the early seventies. Performing as Snake Theater, they were soon proving to Sausalito that the waterfront community was vibrant and creative, not a bunch of freeloaders. As Artistic Director of Antenna Theater since 1980, he has created more than 30 experimental performance works and his dramatic sound designs have transformed the audio tours in museums and historic sites most notably the Alcatraz Cell House Tour. Chis’ current theatrical offering is Magic Bus, really a bus and really a trip. Passing streets blend with historic movies on retractable window screens, transporting the participants to the Summer of Love in San Francisco. http://magicbussf.com/
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Heather Wilcoxon hitchhiked to Sausalito with her sister, CiCi Dawn, whose songs like “Fancy Nan” capture the nostalgic romanticism of “this magical place.” (see Music on Production tab) Heather first came to the waterfront as an art student and continued on the academic track earning a Master’s Degree at the San Francisco Art Institute and teaching at UC Berkeley and College of Marin. The quirky characters in her paintings, simultaneously playful and brutal, have earned her prestigious awards and gallery shows. Heather is the prime mover of restoration efforts on Mono Street Marsh. She lives at Galilee Harbor on the “Delta Queen.”
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Tom Hoover added the dimension of Gandhi style non-violence to the earliest demonstrations against development. As a member of the “Art Zone” movement, he wrote newspaper columns tracking the details of waterfront politics and edited “Scuttlebutt,” a weekly bulletin. His leadership in developing co-op rules of governance is a key factor in its continued success. He lives at Galilee Harbor on the historic “Dragon Boat.” |
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Joe Tate’s band, the Redlegs, was the cultural driving force of waterfront life. His vivid recollections recreate the first battle in 1971 when a flotilla of hippies in rowboats stop the sheriffs from towing their boats out of Waldo Point Harbor. Sometimes antic disregard of authority is required. Like the time one of the fly-by-night developers tried to evict his sailboat, Richmond, and he changed the name overnight to Whitefin. “I just tricked the bad guys,” he says. After a stint as Galilee Harbormaster in the 8Os, Joe went on to a more lucrative career as a research sound engineer. Joe continues to perform around town and lives with his wife Donna at Waldo Point Harbor.
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Dorothy Gibson tackled the antagonism of the “hill people” toward the low-life scum living on the water by rowing around the dilapidated docks and under the piers interviewing over 400 families living on the water. She came to admire their resourcefulness and recruited friends and neighbors to form the “Friends of Galilee.”
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Donna Bragg Tate moved to the waterfront just as the Gates Co-op was forming and became its first treasurer. Then she and Joe Tate moved to Galilee just as it was forming. As Peter says in the movie, “Donna’s been our secret weapon for years. She’s smart she’s charming and she knows just who to talk to get what she wants.” Donna continues leading Galilee’s project team, as she has since the mid-80s and lives with her husband, Joe Tate, at Waldo Point Harbor.
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Annette Rose was the first staff person of Art Zone, the waterfront activist group formed after the destruction of Bob’s Boatyard to fight for art and maritime uses of the waterfront. She was the on deck person as the waterfront began flexing political muscle by registering large numbers of voters, and showing up in force at countless meetings. It was a natural evolution to elect her as the waterfront candidate to City Council. She proved so adept at handling the politicos that before long she was Mayor, then County Supervisor. Annette and her husband, Chris Hardman, left Galilee Harbor when their boat Liberty was lost in a fire. Annette continues as Managing Director of Antenna Theater and as a consultant to the Gates Co-op.
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Carl Shapiro and his wife Helen were celebrated even back in the 70s for their devotion to social justice and representing low-income clients who otherwise couldn't afford a lawyer, including more than 20 death row inmates. Even though he always thought he might fall in the water, he relished the fight for lawsuit settlement agreements, first for the Gates Co-op with the County, and later for Galilee Harbor with the City.
South Forty is the only dock built without a war. because Michael Rex, Phil Frank and the other young professionals moving into Waldo Point Harbor amidst the constant protests wanted water, sewers and electricity. Instead of fighting, some paid rent in advance to finance the improvements and Michael persuaded the developer to incorporate resident ideas into the design. Michael has been using his skill of forming win-win partnerships on the Sausalito waterfront ever since. He is Galilee’s architect and today his office overlooks the harbor.