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December 29, 2000

Coffee tastes good, if you don't mind the motion

  • News you can use after 5 p.m.

    • WINCHESTER BAY, Ore. (AP) -- The back-and-forth motion can ripple your latte, but if you've got a strong stomach you should have no trouble enjoying "the coffee boat."

    Named Nautical Coffees when it opened on the Salmon Harbor two years ago, Cindy and Kent Sapp have remodeled a 42-foot cabin cruiser into a floating coffee shop.

    The 44-year-old boat is good-sized, but most people prefer to leave the galley for the cold outdoors.

    "What's fun is to watch the seals," says Peg Quell, 60, a regular. She especially likes to watch the seals chase salmon until fish swim right up onto the bank.

    Peg and her husband, Bill, live on a sailboat tied up across the harbor, and they motor over to the coffee boat in their inflatable dinghy. They're such good customers that Cindy named drinks after them -- the Barnacle Bill (Irish cream and chocolate) and the Peg Leg (coconut, peanut butter and chocolate).

    "You put a little whipped cream on that and you've got it made," Peg says proudly.

    The coffee boat happened by accident. The Sapps used to live in Cottage Grove, but they always loved Winchester Bay and kept their 40-foot sailboat, Nebbia, in Salmon Harbor.

    The Sapps had plans to move aboard their sailboat and get it ready for extended cruising. They also knew their daughter and her husband were interested in buying a live-aboard boat. The young couple even looked at an old fixer-upper they thought they could afford named The Viking, and were disappointed it wasn't for sale.

    But the owners suddenly changed their minds and Kent, who couldn't reach his daughter or son-in-law, negotiated a deal on their behalf. When Kent called to tell the couple he had bought them the boat, they replied that they had just bought a house.

    So they ended up with a boat they had no interest in owning.

    Kent immediately put the boat up for sale, but found no takers. He began fixing it up a little, hoping it would help attract a buyer. One day as he worked on board, Cindy brought him a thermos of coffee. And that's when the idea of the coffee boat hit him.

    "There were days when we sat here and never got a customer," Kent said.

    But business has picked up and is now profitable, especially in summer.

    Some regulars pack a lunch and drive down from Reedsport. They eat and drink at the tables behind the boat. All-terrain vehicle users show up when they ride on nearby dunes. Kent calls these people "the sand fleas." Other regulars include fishermen, crabbers, and the Coast Guard.

    Working at the coffee boat is better than clerking at a regular store, Cindy says. She likes dealing with customers who aren't bitter.

    If that's not enough, Cindy says to "just look at my view."



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