The white hull of the Schooner Bill of Rights sits low and proud in its slip at Safe Harbor South Bay marina, her aged planks worn smooth by more than five decades of open water. The smell of salt air and old wood hangs over the deck, where signs of hard work and a tangle of rigging speak to a vessel that is still very much alive. At the helm, Don Johnson — architect by trade, captain by calling — moves about the ship with the unhurried ease of a man who has spent 40 years on these waters.
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Rising just beyond the marina’s edge, gleaming and new against the clear blue sky, is the Gaylord Pacific Resort, Chula Vista’s landmark hotel and convention complex. It is an unmistakable symbol of the development reshaping the South Bay waterfront. And for Johnson and his crew, it looms as more than just a backdrop — it’s a sign that times are changing.
The dock where the Bill of Rights is moored was no accident. In the mid-1980s, when the marina was being developed, local advocates Ray Ashley and John Willett petitioned the Port of San Diego to have a tall ship berth built into the design. The dock was constructed for that purpose, to support vessels like the Bill of Rights and programs like the Sea Cadets.
“That’s why this was built,” Johnson said. “There aren’t any other marinas that have a dock like this. That’s why we can’t go anywhere else. There is no other space for us.”
That reality made the letter that arrived on March 6 all the more alarming. Safe Harbor Marinas — which acquired the marina roughly four years ago and is owned by Blackstone Inc. — issued a notice of termination of the association’s sublease and commercial slip license, giving the organization until May 5 to vacate. No reason was provided.
“They did not explain at all,” Johnson said. “We got a letter that said, ‘We’re terminating your contract.’ They just said, ‘Hey, we’re legally entitled to cancel it, which is true. And you’re basically terminated.’”
Christian Davis — son of the ship’s builder and a volunteer who has sailed with South Bayfront for the past 13 years — said he believes the motive is financial.
“If you put your corporate hat on, your money-making hat on — Bill of Rights is not necessarily an eyesore to them, but they can’t monetize that dock with Bill of Rights paying the very low and fair rent,” Davis said. “So I’m a corporation. If I’m Blackstone, I want to maximize the revenue out of all my assets.”
Safe Harbor did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
‘This vessel has a soul’
A 54-year-old wooden, gaff-rigged schooner built in 1971 in South Bristol, Maine, the Bill of Rights has been docked at this marina since 2013, when Johnson’s nonprofit, the South Bayfront Sailing Association, acquired her from the LA Maritime Institute after paying off a $60,000 yard bill. The ship was built by Joe Davis in consultation with maritime historian Howard Chappelle and constructed to Lloyd’s of London standards. Davis intended her to last 100 years.
“Schooners were the fighter jets of the 1700s,” Johnson said, finishing work below deck to ready her for more adventures on the high seas. “This ship, she is her own unique design, but a lot of the characteristics of those high-performing schooners of the past were incorporated into this design.”
Davis said the vessel carries a weight that goes beyond its wooden hull.
“Anybody that sailed on board her says this vessel has a soul,” Davis said. “I believe sailing a tall ship like the Bill of Rights makes people into leaders.”
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For the past 13 years, she has served as a floating classroom, hosting U.S. Navy Sea Cadets ages 10 to 18, working with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and offering sail training, traditional celestial navigation, and a new Shipboard Maintenance course designed to introduce young people to maritime trades. The organization is run entirely by volunteers. Last year, it finished $69 in the red.
“Yeah, we’re definitely a nonprofit,” Johnson said with a dry laugh.
Davis, who grew up living aboard the ship six months of the year while his family ran a charter business out of Newport, Rhode Island, said the termination notice landed with particular force given its timing. When Safe Harbor later extended the deadline to July 4, he said the irony was impossible to ignore.
“Schooner Bill of Rights being kicked out on the 250th anniversary of the country,” Davis said.
Public, officials back Bill of Rights
The community response to the letter from Safe Harbor was swift. A petition gathered thousands of signatures. State Sen. Steve Padilla and former Rep. Brian Bilbray reached out to Johnson directly with their support. Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore also expressed backing for the ship’s continued presence. On March 30 — 24 days after issuing the termination notice — Safe Harbor SVP of Western Operations Jeremy Grewal emailed Johnson directly, instructing him to disregard the notice and stating the company would “continue to explore alternative mooring options.”
But Davis cautioned against reading too much into that assurance.
“Until we have something in writing, or until (South Bayfront Sailing Association) have something in writing, we still remain at peril,” he said.
Johnson said he plans to consolidate the letters of support from elected officials and present them to Safe Harbor’s leadership.
“We have a chance of making Safe Harbor the hero or the villain,” he said.
The stakes, he said, go beyond the ship itself. Decommissioning her would cost roughly $1 million. But the greater loss, in his view, would be harder to put a price on.
“She represents the foundation of this country,” Johnson said.
Davis agreed, framing the vessel’s value in terms of what it continues to give to the people who sail her.
“This is a national treasure,” he said. “She should be saved, she should be preserved, and to allow it to continue to affect lives going forward for the next 50-plus years.”
For now, the Bill of Rights remains in her slip — her sails furled, her resident cats Midnight and Magic keeping watch, and her crew waiting for something more than a vague promise to arrive in writing.
