Peter Bird used to drive one of my London Taxi Cabs around the Bay area picking up gear for his row. I also owned the house next to the Clementi Inn, this is where Peter Bird stayed during his preparations. This was the first office of Ocean Rowing Society. Alan Wicker of BBC visited in 1987 and did a piece about the cab service.
Ocean Rowing Society International will celebrate 25 years of continued activity next year (2008).

Kenneth F.Crutchlow, Executive Director of the Ocean Rowing Society Int.

Sonoma Valley, California

By Claudia Reed

The Clemente Inn, built in 1906, was the place to go in the 1920s, bringing tourists in droves from the Bay Area.
It's not only an eyesore, but a safety hazard, as well.

That seems to be the general consensus regarding the Clemente Inn, a hotel at the corner of Highway 12 and Mountain Avenue in Agua Caliente that was born around 1906 and apparently died in the Great Depression.
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In 1977, the Clemente, apparently still impressive from the outside, was declared a historic landmark by the state of California. The insides, however, were beginning to rot.

In the early 1980s it was purchased for $25,000 by Kenneth Crutchlow of England, along with a full set of restoration plans.

"I bought it from four guys who specialized in historic buildings," he said. "I don't know why they couldn't make a go of it."

Crutchlow's bid to "make a go" of things included the dream of an upscale hotel and the reality of having to secure a $189,000 loan to help cover renovation costs. The lending institution, however, required 18 percent interest.

"It just didn't pencil out," Crutchlow said. "Seven percent would have done it. I was there with a chance. I had a chance. I had my hat in the ring."

Not one to cross the ocean without something to show for it, Crutchlow cut out a portion of the Clemente's wooden wall to create a garage for imported London cabs, a popular transportation and tourism option until California's emission standards pushed the comfortable vehicles off the road. A more permanent Crutchlow creation was the Sonoma-based Ocean Rowing Society, which is still active in such long-distance rowing spectaculars as the California/Australia run.