John Aurelio Garau: Dana Point Sailor, Lifeguard and Worldly Adventurer

For more than three decades John Aurelio Garau called a slip on F Dock at Dana Point Harbor home. There he kept Salome, his 27-foot Erickson sailboat, and lived a life that, after age 60, resembled an endless summer of surfing, sailing, scuba diving and travel. Known as the “Jefe of F Dock” and remembered as Laguna Beach’s oldest former lifeguard, Garau died on Aug. 23 at the age of 88.

Friends and crewmates remember Garau as a fearless free spirit who believed in seizing opportunity. “You’ve got to have guts to go,” said long-time skipper and friend Robert Mooers of Irvine, California. Garau’s navigational skills and willingness to take chances made him a sought-after crewmember on racing and cruising voyages alike.

Raised in Southern California, Garau came of age before the surf culture exploded. He rubbed shoulders with early surf pioneers and board builders like Dale Velzy and Hobie Alter and became an accomplished waterman himself. While still in high school he lifeguarded summers in Avalon on Catalina Island, where he met Hollywood sailors such as Errol Flynn and John Wayne. A formative time at the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad introduced him to ocean sailing aboard a classic Rhodes 33, and sailing opened the door to a life of wide-ranging voyages.

Garau’s gift for navigation—honed further when he trained as a navigator on B-24 aircraft during World War II—served him well at sea. He volunteered as crew on other people’s boats and sailed extensively: down the Pacific coast to Mexico and Central America, across the Caribbean, to Hawaii and the South Pacific, Australia and into the Mediterranean. He developed encyclopedic knowledge of Mexican west coast waters and coastal conditions, a “walking almanac” for Baja and beyond, according to Mooers.

Adventure in the DNA

Garau’s adventurous streak came from a family tradition of risk and enterprise. His father, Aurelio Garau Sr., emigrated from Sardinia and worked in notable restaurants before opening venues in Los Angeles, while his mother’s family traced roots to New Mexico pioneers and merchants. Stories of mule trains, frontier hardships and a great-great-grandfather who served as a Mexican governor gave Garau a legacy of exploration and resilience.

He had a knack for making fast friends in port, often using fluent street Spanish to open doors to local officials, port captains and navy contacts. On San Andres Island in Colombia, for example, a friendship with a naval lieutenant led to a frigate visit and an introduction to a navy scuba team. Such connections smoothed many cruising experiences and illustrated his aptitude for local diplomacy.

A ‘Wild Bunch’ and a Life at Sea

Garau graduated from the Army and Navy Academy in 1943 and joined the Army Air Corps as a navigator, though the end of World War II meant he did not serve in combat. After the war he returned to lifeguarding in Laguna Beach and embraced the surf-and-boat lifestyle. Known for high spirits and outspoken opinions, he was once dismissed from lifeguard duty for waterskiing on patrol during a busy holiday weekend—an anecdote that captures the blend of skill and mischief that marked his life.

He married Sally Conley in the mid-1950s and together they ran the Reef Liquor Store on the Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna, raising four children: Jean-Pierre, Jean-Francois (Jaime), Maria-Christina (Salome) and Jean-Paul. Later, after selling the store, Garau opened Reef Realty, creating a local hub for surfers and sailors. He surfed into his 70s and often lived aboard his boat during the summer, rowing or swimming ashore to work.

In 1978 he bought Salome for $20,000. The Erickson 27 became both home and launching point for repeated extended voyages. Garau returned from multiyear cruises repeatedly to the slip at Dana Point, where he maintained strong leadership among the liveaboard community. He lived at Dana Point longer than anyone else and enforced order and cleanliness on F Dock—painting neglected dock boxes himself and advocating loudly for marina liveaboard standards.

Among many voyages, Garau crewed for Bob Anderson on the 48-foot racing sloop Celerity in the 1980s and raced with Mooers on voyages to Mexico. He loved Hawaii most of all for its culture, surf and beauty, and maintained connections there, including a long friendship with Carol Kawananakoa, a member of the Hawaiian royal family.

Not all journeys were smooth. On one passage Garau and Anderson assisted an elderly American who had lost crew and later learned the man and his mate had been jailed in Nicaragua after pirates boarded and robbed the sloop, which later sank after grounding near shore. Incidents like these underscored Garau’s deep familiarity with regional hazards and the prudence of his guidance.

Even in later life, Garau’s appetite for exploration did not wane. At 79 he set out on a two-year voyage taking him to Hawaii, Tahiti, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, and he traveled through Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and India. He lived simply when needed—touring New Zealand in a VW camper and staying in modest parks and boarding houses—always eager to immerse himself in local culture and outdoor pursuits.

Garau’s final years saw declining health after a minor auto accident weeks before his death. When he could no longer safely live aboard, his son Jaime moved him into a nearby nursing facility. Jaime has kept Salome and renamed her O’Johnny in honor of his father, continuing the connection between family and the boat that defined much of Garau’s life.

November 2013 issue