By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Friday, 7/9/2010 9:05 AM

Photo by: Taylor Hill Show Stoppers – Dudley (left) and Hoover take a break after giving their best at the 2010 Yacht Dog Show at Two Harbors.     Photo by: Taylor Hill Top Dog – Bob, a standard poodle, took home Overall Yacht Dog honors at this year’s show, winning a basket full of dog toys and treats.

TWO HARBORS — On June 26, Two Harbors was transformed into “Dog Beach,” as the seventh annual Yacht Dog Show got under way.

Owners hurried to put together a winning outfit, routine or trick for the show, as judged categories in this year’s event included Best Kisser, Best Dressed, Best Trick, Owner/Dog Lookalike and Overall Yacht Dog.

Once the Yacht Dog Show began, the spirit of the event was revealed as a fun-filled excuse for owners to bring their dogs aboard their vessels and head to Catalina Island. Held under a tent on the shoreline, this year’s event featured a beret-wearing Chihuahua, a jawbreaker-painted Shoodle (Shih-Tzu/toy poodle mix) and an 8-year-old Yorkshire terrier in a very intimidating “Jaws” costume.

“This is all about fun for the island; fun for the people,” said Sam Artinger of Dana Point. Artinger and his partner, Bob — a standard poodle — have participated in the show since its inception.

“Seven years ago, we walked off the dock and someone asked, ‘Hey, are you in the dog show?’ And the next thing you know, we were in the show,” Artinger said.

“We come over as part of a cruise with Dana West Yacht Club, and it’s our destination for the weekend,” Artinger said. He then confessed of turning his “weekend” into a 14-day trip.

“We made it a long weekend. It’s amazing how long you can survive with dogs on a boat.”

Artinger and Bob took home Overall Yacht Dog honors, with Bob donning a West Marine life vest, a straw hat, sunglasses, a two-way radio (just in case), a whistle and a carrying tank that appeared to be filled with “grog.”

Newcomers to the show included Mitch and Victoria Morris with Mr. Bleux, an English yellow Labrador who began his career as a therapy dog before his recent transition to the runway.

Mr. Bleux has been sailing with the Morris family since he was six weeks old, venturing to Catalina many times aboard their vessel, Lady Victoria.

“I actually got him through a breeder that breeds for seeing-eye dogs and therapy dogs. He was a little too small, so we got to keep him,” Victoria said.

While Mr. Bleux ran into some tough judging (taking a third-place finish in the Best Trick category), he won over the crowd with his exuberance and style.

“He had a great time,” Mitch said. “Next year, we’ll bring more tricks — better tricks. Now that we know what the competition is like, we’re going to have to up our game.”

Mr. Bleux’s chances might improve next year, as the veteran team of Artinger and Bob have been hinting at calling it quits. “We’re gonna retire, I think; we’re gonna give an opportunity to the youth of America for next year,” Artinger said.

Maybe Mr. Bleux can capitalize on that.

By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Friday, 6/25/2010 4:13 PM

Photo by: Taylor Hill Food with a View – Santa Catalina Island’s newest eatery, the Avalon Grille, is located on Crescent Avenue overlooking Avalon Bay.

AVALON — A brand-new restaurant opened May 24 on Santa Catalina Island, giving boaters another waterfront dining option in Avalon.

Located in the center of town, across from the Green Pleasure Pier, the new American pub-style Avalon Grille offers appetizers and entrées paired with a selection of microbrews, wines and cocktails.

The central bar, outdoor patio dining area and raised ceiling give the restaurant an open-air feel, and almost-unnoticed hooks on the sides of each table for purses and handbags give the impression that no detail is overlooked.

Classic American regional dishes pepper the menu, including grilled wild salmon in a red Thai curry sauce, and a barbecue beef brisket with cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese. At the recent Taste Around of Avalon — a local food-tasting competition for participating Avalon restaurants — Avalon Grille’s crispy Brussels sprouts with cranberries, almonds, pancetta and mustard vinaigrette proved especially popular, with the restaurant selling out of the tasty dish.

General Manager Ricardo Cubias is hoping to install a boat service in the future, where boaters could order from the restaurant at their mooring and have the food delivered to their vessel.

“We want to make sure, step by step, that we are delivering a great service first, and then we can move forward with the boat service,” Cubias said. “I want to do room service to the Pavilion Hotel, too.”

The newly renovated Pavilion Hotel and the restaurant are both owned by the Santa Catalina Island Co., and chief marketing officer Brad Wilson added that if guests of the hotel “wanted something, we can get it for you.”

The Avalon Grille also specializes in Santa Ynez’s Rusack wines, as restaurateurs Alison Wrigley-Rusack and Geoff Rusack both have close ties with Catalina, and recently developed a vineyard in the Catalina Island interior at El Rancho Escondido. The boutique vineyard produced its first harvest in September 2009, but the fermentation and bottling process will take a full year.

“The coolest thing about the vineyard is the grafted zinfandel vines that came from a few wild vines on Santa Cruz Island,” Wilson said.

“At the turn of the century, there was a vineyard on Santa Cruz Island. During prohibition, they pulled out the vines, but there are a few wild vines left. Well, Geoff (Rusack) and his son went to the island, took clippings from the original island zinfandels and grafted them into the vines here,” Wilson said.

Soon, patrons at Avalon Grille will get a taste of what the Rusack family’s hard work has produced.

For more information, call the Avalon Grille at (310) 510-7494 or read the menu online at visitcatalinaisland.com by clicking the “Avalon” and ”Dining” tabs. No reservations are necessary.

Last updated: Friday, 7/2/2010 12:10 PM

TWO HARBORS — Steve Mercadante, Two Harbors’ current assistant harbormaster, has been named the interim acting harbormaster.

Mercadante is a native Californian, born in Long Beach and raised in Orange County. As a child, he enjoyed fishing and surfing in the local waters in and around Southern California.

After growing up in Southern California, Mercadante ventured farther west and spent more than 10 years in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu.

Mercadante followed his passion for the water, working in various captain positions. He was head captain for a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Career Development Center, where he trained dive instructors and taught boat handling. In his spare time, he enjoyed surfing, diving and fishing.

Mercadante has spent the past 10 years living on Catalina Island, and he has worked for the Two Harbors Harbor Department as outgoing harbormaster Doug Oudin’s assistant for the past seven years.

Mercadante lives year-round at Two Harbors and said he appreciates the relaxing, quiet winters that make way for the busy summers. He also enjoys spending time with his 15-year-old son, Jacob.

By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Monday, 6/14/2010 12:46 PM

Michael De Marsche

AVALON — After spending years tucked away in the basement of the Catalina Casino building, the Catalina Island Museum is about to take the next step: It will soon move into a new building, and it has hired a new executive director, Dr. Michael De Marsche.

Over his 20-year career, De Marsche has served as the founding director of three museums and has been focused on constructing, expanding and renovating museums in the United States and Europe.

The Catalina Island Museum last year purchased a downtown lot valued at nearly $2 million, which is currently the site of Avalon’s old city hall building. Demolition began June 1 to make room for the new museum building.

“We are ecstatic to be able to bring someone with Dr. De Marsche’s qualifications and abilities to help build our permanent home in Avalon,” said Catalina Island Museum Board president Steven Schreiner.

“This is a pivotal moment in the history of the Catalina Island Museum,” De Marsche recently stated. “I am honored and incredibly excited to be working with the museum’s board to construct a museum that is so progressive and innovative that the rest of the country will take notice.”

De Marsche’s most recent accomplishment was the renovation and transformation of a former Soviet monument into a 150,000-square-foot museum building in Yerevan, Armenia. As executive director of the Cafesjiam Museum Foundation in Yerevan, De Marsche completed the museum in November 2009, and the New York Times heralded the building as one of the “most memorable museum buildings to open in ages … offering a whole nation a kind of uplift.”

The Catalina Island Museum is currently located on the ground floor of the Casino building and has presented Santa Catalina Island’s history to visitors for more than 50 years.

By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Friday, 6/11/2010 2:18 PM

Hot Dogs – The Yacht Dog Show at Two Harbors has become an annual tradition for boaters bringing their dogs over to Catalina for a day of fun.

TWO HARBORS — The dog days of summer will arrive at Santa Catalina Island’s Two Harbors a little earlier than the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, as the ninth annual Yacht Dog Show will give boaters and their dogs a chance to strut their stuff, June 26.

Typically, around 50 participants (both canine and human) sign up for the laid-back event, with the opportunity to compete in several different categories, including best kisser, best dressed, best owner/dog look-alike, best trick and best overall yacht dog.

“Usually we have around 200 people attend the event,” said event organizer Leslie Luchau-Boutillier. “Two Harbors is really dog-friendly, and this gives dog owners something fun to do.”

Prizes are awarded for first through third places, with awards including medals, trophies, dog toys and gift certificates to Petco. Sign-ups are taken the day of the event, and all dogs are required to be up-to-date on shots and vaccinations. There is no fee to enter the contest.

For more information, contact Leslie Luchau-Boutillier at (310) 510-4249.

By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Friday, 5/28/2010 12:21 PM

AVALON — Each year, from May to September, the famous flying fish of Catalina return to the island and put on a gravity-defying show for pleasureboaters and island visitors enjoying flying fish boat tours.

Their return marks the beginning of the busy summer season; a welcome sign for Avalon businesses, who celebrate with a four-day festival presented by the Catalina Chamber of Commerce. Kicking off the event is the Taste Around of Avalon, June 3. For $1 a sample, guests can visit participating Avalon restaurants and get a “taste” of what each establishment has to offer. Appetizers, main dishes, desserts, sweets, cocktails and drinks will all be on the menu, and after 10 “tastes,” participants are eligible to vote for their favorite restaurant.

Friday night highlights include the first flying fish boat tour of the season aboard Blanche W a 1924-built solid wood vessel originally made for flying fish tours. At 8:30 p.m., the 98-passenger boat will shine its lights on the water, luring the fish near the boat and into the air, where they have been known to reach heights of 30 feet and glide over one-quarter mile.

For a more interactive tour, Afishinado Charters is offering a private-boat flying fish tour where each guest is given a high-powered handheld light to shine on the water and watch the fish fly. Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 8:45 p.m., the tour is limited to six passengers per trip and costs $90 per person. Also, a $45 flying fish kayak tour is being offered at Descanso Beach, with advance reservations required.

Other events at the festival include a street fair, free musical and theatrical entertainment, family kayak and Segway races, live marine touch tanks, Tuna Club tours, garden tours, beach bingo, a flying fish parade, a professional sand sculpture event and a special guest appearance from Gil, the flying fish.

For more information on the Catalina Island Flying Fish Festival, call the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce at (310) 510-1520 or visit catalinachamber.com.

By Taylor Hill

Last updated: Friday, 5/14/2010 12:42 PM

Place to Call “Home” – Baywatch Avalon’s new headquarters are located at 440 Avalon Canyon Road, next to the Avalon fire station.       Ribbon Cutting – The completion of the new Baywatch Avalon facility was celebrated April 30 with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by: (from left) Deputy Chief Mark J. Bennet, Central Operations Bureau, Los Angeles County Fire; Michael Frazer, Chief, Lifeguard Services, Los Angeles County Fire; Mayor Pro Tem Michael Ponce, City of Avalon; Mayor Bob Kennedy, City of Avalon; Supervisor Don Knabe, Fourth District, County of Los Angeles; P. Michael Freeman, Chief, Los Angeles County Fire; Councilmember Sue Rikalo, City of Avalon; Councilmember Tim Winslow, City of Avalon; Assistant Fire Chief Gary Burden, Los Angeles County Fire; Chief Deputy John B. Tripp, Los Angeles County Fire.

AVALON — After years of planning, building and “couch surfing” at the city fire station next door, Baywatch Avalon finally has a place to call home.

More than 100 people attended the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony April 30 for the new 7,005-square-foot, two-story building that houses the new headquarters for the Los Angeles County lifeguards.

The approximately $5 million project was completed with cooperation from the Catalina Conservancy, the Avalon City Council and the Los Angeles County Fire Department over the three-year construction timetable. During that time, the Avalon fire station housed the Baywatch paramedic facility until the new lifeguard headquarters’ operational opening Jan. 30.

“(Our thanks for) the generosity of the Avalon Fire Department to allow our folks to live here for a few years. They probably thought this place would never be built,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe joked during the ceremony.

Land for the building was donated to Los Angeles County by the city of Avalon. “Without the city of Avalon and the land availability, this day would not be here — because there’s really no land left (to build on) here,” Knabe said.

The building is equipped to handle the shifting needs inherent in the island’s slow and busy seasons, including a kitchen, three dorm rooms and two restrooms downstairs for the full-time staff; and five dorm rooms, a day room and two restrooms upstairs for the seasonal staff. Rescue Boat Capt. Steve Powell, who was master of ceremonies for the event, noted that the downstairs building would be used for the 24-hour paramedic rescue operation staff.

Decorating a winding staircase on the front of the building is a mural of blue and white ceramic tiles created by artists Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet. The mural depicts many lifeguard-related scenes, including a scene of Avalon Harbor with a boat in the distance in distress, a picture of the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and a portrayal of a helicopter-to-boat rescue.