While our hopes and prayers are with those who are still recovering from the devastation of the tsunami in Japan, even across the huge Pacific ocean, our very own little harbor in Santa Barbara felt some effects of the massive disaster.

Credit: Dan Seibert

Our usually calm harbor was battered by waves at least ten times stronger than usual. Thankfully there was only little damage, where as other California harbors were much more affected. Interestingly enough, the waves were not the most unusual effect of the tsunami. The tide itself was changing at an absolutely amazing rate, sometimes a few feet within less than thirty minutes. These photos submitted by Jon Shafer to local news website Edhat.com help illustrate the incredibly change.

Look at the boat on the left-hand side.

According to the photographer, these pictures were only taken an hour apart!

Has a lower tide even been photographed in Santa Barbara Harbor?

Some people may have been wondering where the Lil’ Toot was for a few weeks this winter, as it wasn’t in it’s usual parking spot in front of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. The water taxi was in the boat yard for it’s yearly maintenance, including a crisp new paint job. If you stop by and see us in the harbor, be sure to check out how the boat looks brand new again. Hard to believe he’s been the Lil’ Toot for almost 9 years already!

Edhat.com

Some beautiful shots of the harbor during this stormy season were submitted to local news website Edhat.com

Edhat.com

Clearing skies and a view to the east.

Credit: Edhat.com

The incident above is one of many that can be seen from the seats of the Lil’ Toot. Looks like the driver could have used a little help getting his boat in (or out… who knows) the harbor’s Sea Landing. It always pays to know your boating safety!

Hardy Gramatky's Little Toot

In 1939, painter Hardie Gramatky was looking for inspiration in New York City. Strolling the waterfront of the East River, he saw a lone tugboat that could not haul it’s cargo. As Gramatky began to sketch, he never knew what “Lil’ Toot” would become. His sketches became the foundation of the children’s book “Little Toot”, a story which he also wrote. The book tells the tale of a young tugboat who cannot take his work seriously and instead chooses to play every day. Eventually he is disgraced by the other tugboats and decides to leave the harbor. He eventually finds a shipwrecked liner, and with it, the chance to prove himself to all his tugboat friends. The story was published by GP Putnam Books, the company which would eventually become Penguin Books, as their first children’s title ever. Having earlier in life worked as an illustrator for Walt Disney, his relationship with the studio led to an animated adaptation of the Little Toot tale as a segment of the 1948 animated film Melody Time. When the soundtrack for the film was released, the signature Little Toot song (known by most Lil’ Toot riders as Captain Fred’s ringtone) became a part of the first children’s record to ever sell 1,000,000 copies according to the Billboard Music charts. In recent years, Penguin Books released a new version of Little Toot to celebrate Gramatky’s 100th birthday and also a 1992 film re-incarnation of the Little Toot film was produced. Hopefully Disney will get their act together and produce a film based on Santa Barbara’s favorite boat too? Stranger things have happened!

George Lucas

While it’s not certain yet, it’s safe to say that anyone who can afford a $25,000,000 home in Santa Barbara could easily afford a yacht in the harbor. George Lucas, creator of Lucasfilm and the brains behind Star Wars, is the newest celebrity to find  residence in the Santa Barbara area. The beach home is a six-bedroom, four-bath on 1.7 acres complete with a yoga room. If you misread yoga room as “Yoda room”, I can assure you that you are not the only one. The property reportedly recently dropped from $37,500,000 to the “much more affordable” $25 million dollar price tag. With rumors on the horizon that all six Star Wars movies will be remastered to support 3D and re-released into theaters, George (who is already worth an estimated $3 billion dollars), this estate is literally a drop in the bucket for the Hollywood heavyweight. Lucas will join neighbors Oprah Winfrey, John Cleese, Rob Lowe, Steve Martin and Kirk Douglas in Santa Barbara. Currently, celebrities such as Kevin Costner, David Crosby of musical group Crosby, Stills and Nash and radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger all have boats visible from a Lil’ Toot ride. Ask Captain Fred to point them out on your next ride!