Yachts

An Austrian tourist died and her husband was missing after a chartered yacht collided Saturday with a freighter and sank in the Aegean Sea, an official said. It was unclear what caused the accident off Cape Sounion, 45 miles southeast of Athens, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. Two other passengers were slightly injured when the yacht, the Greek Aghena, collided with the freighter Anastassia K.

The Coast Guard seized a 133-foot yacht valued at $2.5 million after finding one-tenth of an ounce of marijuana aboard, claiming the vessel under a "zero tolerance" crackdown on drugs. The Ark Royal, registered in Delaware with its home port in Philadelphia, was seized Saturday in international waters between Mexico and Cuba after Coast Guard officers found the butt of a marijuana cigarette in a trash can and a small amount of marijuana in a stateroom, Coast Guard officials here said.

Workers plucked pieces of boats from the water Sunday at a harbor where at least 50 yachts were destroyed in an explosion that set off a chain-reaction fire. The explosion Saturday night aboard a pleasure boat at the Watergate Yachting Center triggered a blaze that quickly spread to dozens of other boats, officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Watergate Harbor Master Tony Buchanon estimated damage at between $2 million and $4 million.

Ninety yachts turned out Saturday for Del Rey Yacht Club's 25-mile Malibu & Return race, the first of the 1987 Berger Series. For many of the yachts it was a warm-up for Del Rey club's 1,125-mile Puerto Vallarta race which gets under way Feb. 7. First to finish in the Malibu race was the Santa Cruz-70 Citius, under charter to a Del Rey club syndicate, in a bow-to-bow-battle with Jake Wood's 82-foot Sorcery, both of which will be seeking line honors in the Puerto Vallarta race.

A former Newport Beach luxury yacht dealer who allegedly stole more than $2 million from his clients and then wrote them cheerful letters and Christmas cards as he traveled the world on their money has been arrested in Florida. Toni Bell, 51, who allegedly left the United States with more than $2 million that his customers had deposited for custom yachts he promised to build, was arrested at a recreation vehicle dealership in Winter Park, Fla., on Wednesday.

Stormy weather off the Southern California coast Saturday made a shambles of scheduled races off Southland shores. Twenty-four boats showed up on the starting line for Del Rey Yacht Club's Berger Series but only six crews were daring enough to complete the 78-mile course which took the yachts from Marina del Rey to Ship Rock (Catalina Island) and back to Del Rey.

Performance Handicap Racing Fleet yachts were outsailing the International Offshore Rule division Wednesday as the combined fleet leaders moved within 200 miles of the finish in Los Angeles Yacht Club's Cabo San Lucas via Guadalupe Island race. As winds increased slightly, Dick Pennington's Peterson-66 sloop Cheetah, Long Beach Yacht Club, was reporting a position that placed her 175 miles from Cabo, with Fred Preiss' 84-foot sloop Christine, Pacific Mariners Yacht Club, only three miles astern.

President Bush plans to ask Congress on Tuesday to repeal the luxury tax on yachts that lawmakers enacted in late 1990 and may seek to end similar levies on private aircraft, automobiles, jewelry and furs, White House officials and lawmakers said Sunday. The White House is expected to portray the move as a bid to help restore jobs.

Philanthropist Richard Steele didn't just leave his custom-made, $1-million dream yacht to Orange Coast College--he bequeathed funds so Wide Waters' full-time captain could go with it. The captain, Todd Lee, didn't know what to expect after Steele died in March 1996 at the age of 77. No longer would Lee sail the 70-foot luxury boat from Mexico to Alaska for Steele, who enjoyed domino games and family nights in front of the on-board fireplace.

There's a difference between a boat show and a yacht show. At a yacht show, if you're worried about how much fuel a 65-footer will consume getting to Catalina, you probably should consider something smaller. You're also asked to remove your shoes a lot at a yacht show. But if it's dreaming you're after, the 25th annual Lido Yacht Expo -- which ended its four-day run in Newport Beach on Sunday -- was the place to be.