Torrey Pines Paragliding

by | Jan 27, 2018 | Bubbleinfo Readers, Bubbleinfo TV, Jim's Take on the Market, La Jolla, Local Flavor | 5 comments

Those who took in the pro golf and spectacular weather at Torrey Pines today also saw a number of paragliders in the background.  It reminded me of our reader Murph checking out the bluff-front houses:


Here’s how he described his close calls:

During my “formative” flying days (about 3 years ago) I had quite a reputation at the Torrey Pines Gliderport. Some of my hair-raising moments included……..

**I was losing lift and trying to make it back to the gliderport, but could not make it so I had to land at Black’s beach. This is rather routine as you just aim for a dry section of sand. Well, as I was rounding a bend and setting up for a final *flare* to land I realized that it was high tide and that particular section of beach did not exist anymore! I landed in 4 feet of water and began a mad panic to unclip my gear before the waves sucked me and my wing back out to sea.

Never have I been so happy to see a middle aged nude guy, as he raced into the surf and held onto my paraglider so I could extricate myself!

**Once while flying over the Torrey Pines Reserve area the wind got too strong and I landed traveling BACKWARDS on the north side of Torrey Pines Rd with my wing draped over a tree. The lifeguards showed up and left when I told them I was uninjured. 15 minutes later I started hearing lots of sirens. They started getting louder and before I knew it there were 4 emergency vehicles there. I told them I was okay so they all left….including a hook and ladder truck that COULD HAVE helped me get my wing out of the tree, but hey…I was alive AND unhurt so no worries here!

** My alternative landing stories also include one where I was trying to fly with the big-boys above Scripps aquarium. In my attempt to make it back to the lift-band along the cliffs I sunk-out and had to land right on La Jolla Shores Dr. Fortunately for me a construction truck not only yielded, but even gave me a ride back to the gliderport!

Luckily I have never hurt myself or anyone else. Torrey Pines is actually a very safe paragliding site……as long as you stay within your comfort zone and fly smart.  The more I fly the more conservative I get. My library of noteworthy “stories” has not expanded in the last couple years.


Paragliding Must-See

by | Feb 9, 2010 | Jim TV, Local Flavor, North County Coastal, Thinking of Buying? | 20 comments

Thanks to murph2222 for this spectacular video of La Jolla Shores Lane!

Paragliding at Torrey Pines

The big white house is owned by Sheila Potiker. Her late-husband, Hughes Potiker (who died last year at the age of 80), founded Entertainment Publications, the coupon-book publisher.

One of those older houses to the south, probably the one with the above-ground rail going down to the beach house, has an subterranean elevator too – I’ve seen it!

Here’s his second video too, from the ultimate real estate paparazzi:

Paragliding at the La Jolla mansions on my old yellow glider

Razor House Sold Again

by | Aug 28, 2019 | Flips, Jim's Take on the Market, La Jolla, Oceanfront | 5 comments

Josh came down from Beverly Hills to round-trip the Razor house, which had sold for $14,097,000 in 2011. It closed yesterday for $20,800,000.

The previous sale did have some hair on it:

Public documents show what the new owner paid is lower than liens on the home, which totaled about $22.7 million. Burns, who expressed interest in the home about seven months ago, initially offered more than $16 million but in October dropped it to $13.9 million. He won out with his new bid after negotiations that resulted in concessions from some of the lienholders.

Here’s a sample of Burns’ negotiating skills in an Oct. 20 letter addressing Leslie Gladstone, the trustee in the Cooksey bankruptcy case:

“This new offer is lower than my first offer because the lack of other qualified buyer offers over the last months of heavy advertising proved that my past offer was above the Fair Market Value of the property,” he said.

Burns continued to say: “The First Mortgage Holder (Bank of America) will need to ultimately decide if it wishes to own this property, or if they would like to achieve their maximum recovery now and be free of the expense and liability of owning a property that has been the white elephant for four years.”

A court record dated Dec. 7 shows Gladstone agreed with Burns’ argument on the distressed home.

“This immediate relief is appropriate because Bank of America will foreclose on the Property if the sale does not close prior to December 31, 2011,” said Jeffry A. Davis, attorney for Gladstone.

The property, the work of renowned San Diego architectural designer Wallace E. Cunningham, is unfinished and has never been occupied. The new owner plans to work with Cunningham to complete the design.

The seller did install a kitchen, and staged it nicely – and included the photo above which helped disclose a possible annoyance with the property/location – you get the paragliders flying by:

Here is the Visa commercial that featured the home:

Black’s Beach House

by | Aug 31, 2010 | Interesting Houses, Local Flavor, North County Coastal | 15 comments

Here is the link to Dale Naegle’s website, with the story and photos during construction: http://www.dalenaeglearchitect.com/Site/Pavilion_Story.html

In 1960 Sam Bell heir to General Mills (Bell Potato Chips) purchased a summer home with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.  His property extended down a 300 foot cliff to the mean high tide line of the surf below.  His beach is isolated 4 miles from public access to the North, and is accessible only at low tide through rugged, slippery rocks from the south, and remains unused and out of sight. Only surfers 100 yards away can see the mushroom shape of the guest retreat.

You can also see it from above in murph’s paragliding video:

Paragliding at Torrey Pines from mike murphy on Vimeo.

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