Sausalito Houseboat Wars: What Really Happened?

by | May 14, 2024 | Pirates of Sausalito

(Video of May 1 Talk at Mill Valley Library)

On May 1, I gave a presentation at the Mill Valley Library: ”Sausalito Houseboat Wars: What Really Happened?” Not only was I thrilled by the turnout and how well it went, the library recorded the talk and I just watched the video and it’s pretty compelling. Special thanks to Franklin Walther, Digital Services Librarian, for a fantastic job editing the video and integrating the slides into the narration.

Last fall, anticipating I would be finished with my novel, Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery, I pitched a librarian on hosting an event, and she connected me with the Mill Valley Historical Society. They asked me to talk more about the history my book is based on than about the novel itself. I was wary, but it was a brilliant idea — we had a full house, in the main reading room. It’s unlikely that many people would have come if I were talking only about my book.

Here is the video, which is 50 minutes long. I’ve posted highlights below.

Highlights:

Upcoming Author Talks

I have two more author talks scheduled, which will be similar to the Mill Valley Library event. Because that event was part of the Mill Valley Historical Society’s First Wednesday series, it was 95 percent history and 5 percent my book. For these upcoming events, I will continue to devote most of my time to the real history, but will give a bit more time to reading from and talking about my book.

Sausalito Houseboat Wars: What Really Happened?

  • June 6 (Thursday), 6:30 pm SAUSALITO LIBRARY, 420 Litho St.
  • June 9 (Sunday), 4 pm TAM VALLEY CABIN, 60 Tennessee Valley Road, Mill Valley

Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery

It’s the 1970s, and the “houseboat wars” erupt in Sausalito on the site of Marinship, the abandoned World War II shipyard. Hippies and squatters are living free and easy on houseboats in a ramshackle shantytown, and greedy developers are determined to evict them and build new docks to attract affluent residents.

The counterculture is in full flower and the houseboaters, fearing their community will be destroyed, resist eviction with street theater, civil disobedience, monkeywrenching, and more. Like climbing into dinghies and pushing away police boats with oars. Like sinking a barge to block a pile driver. All in front of TV cameras!

Then, someone gets stabbed.

Pirates of Sausalito is fiction, but inspired by true events. As Larry Clinton, former president of the Sausalito Historical Society, said, “If it didn’t happen exactly this way, it could have.”

Imagine Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test meets Murder, She Wrote. One part hippies grooving on the waterfront and fighting the man, one part murder mystery.