Irene Harbor Tours is not operating until further notice
The Pillar Point Educational Fund presents IRENE HARBOR TOURS
Come experience Pillar Point Harbor with us!
Enjoy a fun boat ride and support education, too!
ABOUT IRENE
IRENE is a fully-restored 1925 Monterey-style fishing vessel that has been converted to a harbor tour vessel. IRENE fished for four generations of the Bettencourt family in Half Moon Bay, California. In 2004, she was sold to a young fisherman who ran into hard times and could not keep up the maintenace required of a wooden boat. So IRENE fell into derelict condition and was impounded by the San Mateo County Harbor District. Due to IRENE's sad condition, they decided the best course of action was to demolish her. She was being toward to Perched Beach for the ultimate outcome when she was spotted by shipwright, Leland Parsons.
Leland has a story all his own. When he was a boy growing up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he saw a gaff-rigged schooner come into Gloucester Harbor in Massachusetts and promised himself right then that one day he would own a boat like that. He spent time in the Navy and then moved to San Diego, California, married his wife Cecily, raised eight children, had a successful career as a developer and contractor. All the while though, he was building his boat in his back yard. And tweny-nine years later, he launched the Frank Edmund, a 65 foot gaff-rigged schooner.
Leland and his wife Cecily embarked from San Diego on the first leg of a transatlantic journey in 2005 and made into Pillar Point Harbor for the night. When they awoke the next morning, Leland felt as though he had come home to Gloucester. The little harbor felt like home. They decided to stay "for a few nights". That was 6 years ago. They both noticed that, unlike every other harbor on the West Coast, this little harbor had no harbor tour boat. And that was when Leland spotted IRENE, nearly sunk, being towed toward her ultimate fate. He shouted out to the Harbor Patrol officers "Hey! Where you going with that little boat?" When they told him their plan, Leland offered them $1 for IRENE. Sold!
Many local fishermen told Leland he had over paid for the boat, that she was unsalvageable, that he would never accomplish her restoration. But 5 years, almost 22,000 hours, and nearly $100,000 later, IRENE's restoration was completed in October 2011. She received her Coast Guard certification to carry 18 passengers on harbor tours. The proceeds for tours aboard the IRENE go to a not-for-profit organization founded by Leland and Cecily Parsons called the Pillar Point Educational Fund.
Leland has a story all his own. When he was a boy growing up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he saw a gaff-rigged schooner come into Gloucester Harbor in Massachusetts and promised himself right then that one day he would own a boat like that. He spent time in the Navy and then moved to San Diego, California, married his wife Cecily, raised eight children, had a successful career as a developer and contractor. All the while though, he was building his boat in his back yard. And tweny-nine years later, he launched the Frank Edmund, a 65 foot gaff-rigged schooner.
Leland and his wife Cecily embarked from San Diego on the first leg of a transatlantic journey in 2005 and made into Pillar Point Harbor for the night. When they awoke the next morning, Leland felt as though he had come home to Gloucester. The little harbor felt like home. They decided to stay "for a few nights". That was 6 years ago. They both noticed that, unlike every other harbor on the West Coast, this little harbor had no harbor tour boat. And that was when Leland spotted IRENE, nearly sunk, being towed toward her ultimate fate. He shouted out to the Harbor Patrol officers "Hey! Where you going with that little boat?" When they told him their plan, Leland offered them $1 for IRENE. Sold!
Many local fishermen told Leland he had over paid for the boat, that she was unsalvageable, that he would never accomplish her restoration. But 5 years, almost 22,000 hours, and nearly $100,000 later, IRENE's restoration was completed in October 2011. She received her Coast Guard certification to carry 18 passengers on harbor tours. The proceeds for tours aboard the IRENE go to a not-for-profit organization founded by Leland and Cecily Parsons called the Pillar Point Educational Fund.
After four plus years and huge numbers of hours along with countless volunteers working under the direction and precise craftsmanship of Leland Parsons, Irene gets re-launched in the waters of Half Moon Bay. The final restoration would take yet another year in the water before the tour operations start.
