Bill Wells
Bill moved to California in 1947 with his parents and brother. His father was an avid bird hunter and fisherman. As a child he accompanied his dad and brother on fishing and hunting trips in the Delta. He still has fond memories of his first overnight trip on the Delta aboard a family friend’s Chris Craft cruiser in the early 1950’s. Except for four years in the U.S. Navy and seven years living in Hawaii Bill has spent most of his life around the Delta area.
Bill is a retired yacht broker and currently is the Executive Director of the California Delta Chambers & Visitor’s Bureau and past Commodore of the Northern California Fleet of the Classic Yacht Association in addition to writing the monthly Delta Rat Scrapbook column for Bay & Delta Yachtsman magazine.
Delta Rat Scrapbook columns
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsSacramento Yacht Club The club held its BBQ Rib Cook Off on a great Indian Summer afternoon. It was in conjunction with their Friendship Cruise-In weekend. We were all out on the grassy lawn...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsStephens Yacht Rendezvous Three days of Understanding” – reminds me of a song. The owners and management of Village West Marina & Resort invited Stephens and other classic yacht caretakers to cruise in for...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsTaste Of The Delta The 20th Annual Taste of the Delta was a huge success thanks to a great team of volunteers and many local wineries, breweries, restaurants and businesses. The purpose of the...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsVickie Baumann Retires This is the end of an era in the Delta. Vickie is one of the best known and beloved people in the whole region. She got her fine art degree at...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsTony Kopshever Retires It seems like yesterday that Tony Kopshever was a young lad hanging around the Stockton Yacht Club with his parents, and now he has retired after a 20-year career with the...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsPacific Coast Water Rescue John Garza and his team held a ceremony at the Discovery Bay Marina. It was to honor present and past emergency response folks and included the renaming of two boats....
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsHistoric Re-Launching Of JOIE After a Herculean effort Rusty Areias and Ted Harris completed the restoration on the classic yacht JOIE de Vivre. They trucked her up to the Delta from Southern California more than two...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsPacific Boat Services Ramon Mata took over the old Ladds yard and marina in Stockton over a year ago. Right when he moved in, he started making positive changes; he moved a portable office...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsA Dora Blu I met Leo & Carlice Aarens who live in the Netherlands through Per and Ericka Hammarlund on social media. You will remember that Per and Ericka own the classic 1931 Stephens yacht Allure and...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsThe ARkStorm(s) Back a decade or more when I was on the public committee for the Bay & Delta Conservation Plan (we called it the Bay & Delta Canal Plan) BDCP. After we had...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsEbony Boat Club Change Of Watch The Ebony Boat Club held their COW on a rainy Saturday afternoon at their floating clubhouse at the Stockton Downtown Marina. It was a rainy day and for...
- Delta Rat Scrapbook – by Bill WellsSaint Francis Yacht Club After a two-year pause during the COVID crisis, the club has reinstated its live onsite Wednesday yachting lunches. Typically, there would be a buffet lunch followed by an audio/video presentation...
