Originally posted by flyfishinPam
14 years ago I spent a weekend in Ensenada with some friends. My truck was broken into and it appeared as though something scared whoever it was that
did it because the ignition switch was already out but it had just been abandoned. After dealing with the police report and insurance guy Carlos
Fiesta decided to take us out for a night of fun.
I remember him having the specific goal of plastering his Baja Expo stickers everywhere in Baja. You can still find them. They are high quality
white plastic in the shape of a european oval license plaque that say BAJA and the word expo in red.
He had several ways of doing the sticking of the stickers without being caught. In Houssongs he stood next to the door and put his hand against it as
though he were leaning on it. Then when he lifted his hand a sticker would be there. If something was within arm's reach of the car while in motion
or stopped, he'd make it a new home for one of those stickers.
They were everywhere for awhile, every booth at San Ysidro had at least one, the back and front of road signs, windows of hotels, restaurants, bars
and cars. That's evidence enough that he's been all around the baja and met a lot of us. Folks all up and down the peninsula just lost a friend.
W/o even knowing this guy I miss him. Great way to go, however. Big weekend to Baja 1000 in San Juanico. There's many a man & woman I will
never meet but will mourn their loss. Adios, Amigos. Tio
Carlos was the cream of the crop, the best of the best... We have lost a great friend to the Baja community... I met him over 10 years ago and he was
always supportive of our events, attended all the Viva Baja parties, and enthusiastic over anything Baja related. I think I last saw him at Mexico
Ted's Mexico Expo...
Originally posted by David K
I met him over 10 years ago and he was always supportive of our events, attended all the Viva Baja parties, and enthusiastic over anything Baja
related. I think I last saw him at Mexico Ted's Mexico Expo...
David - Thanks for throwing your Viva Baja! parties and also inviting me. It was a great opportunity for so many of us to congregate and talk Baja
(and eat great food). Please do another event in the near future.
The community of Baja California travelers has lost one of its most highly valued - and contributing - family members.
We are incredibly saddened by this tragedy.
Our thoughts and prayers right now are with the immediate families of Chuck Chambers, Russell Urban, and Sean Kelly - as well as everyone in their
"extended" families.
-
Doug Means and family.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
A bit contrarian, but why is this so sad? The guy had a zest for life. He lived life to the fullest. We all have to die. He left doing what he loved.
Is that really so bad? As B&B said - via con dios, amigo.
After five days of surfing and Mexican food, the three buddies were flying home to the South Bay from Scorpion Bay, the world-class surf break on the
Baja Peninsula.
They had eaten a roasted pig with other travelers, watched an off-road truck race and enjoyed the sun. But on the last leg of their journey home, the
trip took a tragic turn.
Veteran pilot and surfer Chuck Chambers radioed air traffic controllers that he was diverting his four-seat plane to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana
because it was low on fuel.
He never made it.
Chambers, 58, a Palos Verdes Estates real estate broker, and his two friends — Russell Urban, 63, and Sean Kelly, 44 — were killed Sunday night when
their single-engine Beechcraft Musketeer crashed into the Back Bay, an ecological preserve in the heart of Newport Beach. Federal investigators Monday
were examining the wreckage to determine what caused the accident.
"Nothing has ever happened before," said Judy Urban, who said her husband was a retired schoolteacher. "He always complimented his friend, the pilot,
because he was meticulous. That would make me feel comfortable."
Whereas previous trips to Mexico had been mixed with charity work, this one was pure fun. They had watched the Baja 1000 off-road race and ridden the
waves at Scorpion Bay, nearly 800 miles south of Tijuana.
"He had been a Baja lover since he was 16. It was his passion," said Chambers' widow, Leslie.
"They are older, established men, and they still have that love of surfing," she added.
On Sunday morning, the three men started on their trip home after stopping to refuel in San Felipe, said Leslie Chambers.
Her husband left an upbeat voice message saying that they would be home before 5 p.m., she said.
They made an intermediate stop in Calexico, a California border town south of the Salton Sea, but it was unclear if they refueled then, Leslie
Chambers said.
National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Wayne Pollack said he found "minimal fuel" in the engine compartment, but stopped short of
saying whether the plane had run out of fuel.
The pilot called the tower at John Wayne to warn that it was running low on fuel, said airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge. The airport is less than five
miles from the site of the crash.
The plane, built in 1968 was pulled from a mud flat in the Back Bay on Monday afternoon as the U.S. Coast Guard worked to control any contaminants
released into the sensitive Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve.
Chuck, along with two other friends, Russ Urban (my three son’s third grade teacher and “Teacher of the Year” in Palos Verdes) along with Sean Kelly
(surfing buddy) were killed last night. They were coming back from spending the night in Mulege. I last saw him take off from Cadeje Airstrip on
Saturday afternoon. He was heading to the Serenidad Hotel. Carlos wanted Russ and Sean to experience the Saturday Night Pig Roast, even though he had
done it so many times in the past. Chuck also wanted to get an earlier start on Sunday morning to avoid getting back to Torrance Airport after dark.
He last spoke with his wife in San Felipe at 11:00 am yesterday getting fuel and expected to land in Torrance by 4:30 after getting more fuel in
Calexico and clearing U.S. Customs.
His wife Leslie and daughter, Tracey are doing as well as can be expected. I have also spoken with Russ' wife Judy and Sean's wife, Laura. Everyone is
in complete shock.
Chuck died while trying to avoid the populated area surrounding John Wayne where he was trying to make an emergency landing. This was classic Chuck.
My friend Bert Lein wrote this to me earlier today as I was flying back from Loreto to LAX:
"There is nothing I or anyone can say to alleviate the pain we all feel after a tragedy like this.
When people die prematurely or accidentally, we always ask why? There is no answer except to quote the old saw, “life is not fair" of course that is
of small comfort to the survivors. All we are left with is the fact they will always live on in our memories, especially those memories of the good
times.
They go; we stay. The earth turns, constant change."
Bert and his family were with us in San Juanico for the Baja Mil.
I took this last photo of Carlos on Saturday afternoon as he was preparing to take-off. He was giving the gentleman who is in charge of the airstrip
some gifts (as he had always done with almost everyone he meets). The Tee-shirt was a gift but, it says "Carlos Fiesta". Yes, he lived life to the
fullest for sure.
The outpouring from the Baja Nomads community is overwhelming. He would be so honored by all of you.
Chuck Chambers/Carlos Fiesta:
August 21, 1952 "dash" November 21, 2010
He truly lived the "dash" in life to the fullest.
Carlos, Russ and Sean, go fly with the Angels my friends and fly far...
that was great John. i know 1st hand how close you guys all are.
please send me the info on services when they are available. you have my email.
i'll cherish the time in Nov 2001 when Chuck motored into Mulege up the river on his odessy in the figian panga and broke the prop which we got fixed
for him, and he and i met at the bar 1st time as planned via our prior emailing and off the old amigo's board. What a guy! What a life's worth of
adventure!
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
Thankyou to Baja Bound
Mexico InsuranceServices for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.
Emergency Baja Contacts Include:
Desert Hawks;
El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
