Sailors mourn boater found in the Santa Barbara Harbor

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-Boaters and sailors are mourning one of their own.

Bill Proctor, 79, who lived aboard his boat in the Santa Barbara Harbor, was found floating in the water a week ago.

His wife Jill Proctor said they would sometimes stay on the boat and sometimes on shore.

She was on shore when he failed to call her on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning.

When she called the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol they had already found his body in the water.

They pulled him onto the boat launch, but he could not be revived.

It is not yet clear how he ended up in the water or how he died.

Quincy Briscoe who sails with his father and has a slip across from Proctors said he saw him lifting weights the day before he was found.

Briscoe said people have dropped off a wreath and flowers.

"These flowers came all the way from Oregon. Other flowers are coming from all over, " said Briscoe, "So this is certainly a community in Santa Barbara Harbor also in Marina Four and yeah, it's going to be a little different now."

Another neighbor Don Poppe said he will miss saying hello to him whenever he was on the dock.

"Every evening he would be up on this top deck playing guitar and and singing,"said Poppe, " I don't think he ever met anybody he didn't want to be friends with, so, yeah, we said hi on the dock and yeah, we’ll, definitely miss seeing him down here."

Both men were getting ready to sail in the Santa Barbara Yacht Club's Wet Wednesday competition when they stopped to talk about their friend.

Jill Proctor said they used to have a sailboat but sold it a few years ago.

Proctor also had a doctorate in computer engineering from the University of California , Santa Barbara and was a professional illustrator.

A mermaid illustration is on the window of his boat.

Others illustrations show the Santa Barbara Courthouse, the harbor and a map of the city.

One friend said Proctor was the son of a single actress.

He lost his right eye in a crib accident when he was a baby and wore a patch like a pirate.

People often wondered if was related to Procter and Gamble , but that is not the case.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a niece in Santa Barbara.

They are planning to hold a memorial on Sunday, Sept. 3 over Labor Day weekend at Leadbetter beach.

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