Earlier this month, the Pebble Beach community welcomed the Western Flyer with open arms (and a perfect view of the boat) as we shared a sneak preview of We Simply Liked It—our latest collaboration with filmmaker Aaron Straight of Soulcraft Allstars. We’re grateful for the generosity and curiosity of everyone who joined us. To keep the spirit alive, we’re handing the mic to Aaron himself, whose storytelling says it all.
By Aaron Straight, Soulcraft Allstars
I’ve always been more of a “Yacht Rock” guy than a “Yacht Club” guy—until this weekend.
At dawn, we slipped out of Moss Landing on the Western Flyer. Sea lions, otters, dolphins, pelicans, and humpback whales seemed to celebrate the voyage as we motored a couple of hours down to Stillwater Cove. The harbor master expertly guided us into the buoy lent to us by a friend of the Flyer, directly across from Stillwater Cove Yacht Club.
“I always arrive at my film screenings via historic vessel,” I joked with my brothers on video chat. Truth was, this was a first. We were there to screen my second film about the Western Flyer—this one more personal, set on the “aquarium of the sea,” as Jacques Cousteau called the Gulf of California.
The screening? For 120 strangers (soon to be friends) at Pebble Beach. Stressful enough—then I had to give a speech.
By 5 p.m., a skiff ferried me off the Flyer toward the Yacht Club dock. Trying to look “bougie casual” in cowboy boots (bad choice), I learned why you don’t see many cowboys on docks: they probably all slipped and died.
I nearly joined them. Focused on my speech and weighed down with a backpack of A/V gear, I leapt for the dock just as it shifted. Midair, I realized I wasn’t going to make it. I sprawled out, camera held high, and slammed down hard—thigh on a cleat, toes in the water, nose against some paddleboards.
My lens cap rolled away.
The Harbor Master and Western Flyer Foundation’s ED stared, stunned. Finally, the Harbor Master muttered, “Now that’s a true cameraman—he checked his gear before his leg.”
Luckily, neither broke.
The event itself? Stunning. The Flyer framed perfectly in the 40-foot glass walls, surf ’n’ turf on the plates, conversations rich and curious. My speech landed, the film landed even harder. One of the captains cried. So did the bartender. Founder John Gregg was thrilled, Captain Paul gave high marks, and the ED (still picturing me face-planting) had nothing but praise.
But the real moment came later that night. Back aboard the Flyer, the crew and I gathered in the galley beneath Ed Ricketts’ photo. We toasted, laughed, and replayed every scene of the film. For once, I felt pure contentment.
We had dreamed of this voyage, filmed it, cut it into something beautiful, and now screened it in Steinbeck and Ricketts’ wake—stirring curiosity, moving people to tears, honoring the crew, and keeping the story alive. My 12-year-old self (obsessed with Steinbeck) would have spit out his Gatorade in disbelief.
Now it’s time to share “We Simply Liked It” with festivals up and down the Pacific coast—from Alaska to Mexico. If you know a place where it belongs (or where it might help us raise funds for filming the next adventure to Mexico in 2027 and Alaska soon enough), let us know.
Many thanks + much respect,
a
photography copyright Aaron Straight
for SOULCRAFT ALLSTARS
