The Unauthorized Randy “Duke” Cunningham Page

Here's some old messages about the Kelly C:

Kelly C boat registration

Author: Dan Anderson (—-.drydog.com)
Date: 06-21-05 11:16

Coast Guard Vessel Documentation

You asked for a vessel with a name like "KELLY C". That selection resulted in 4 matches.

(1 of 4) Vessel Name: KELLY C
USCG Doc. No.: 1051903
Vessel Service: RECREATIONAL
IMO Number: •
Trade Indicator: Recreational
Call Sign: •
Hull Material: FRP (FIBERGLASS)
Hull Number: 899
Shipyard and Address: •
Year Built: •
Hullyard and Address: •
Length (ft.): 65
Hailing Port: MOBILE
Hull Depth (ft.): 7
Owner: RANDY D CUNNINGHAM
7094 VIA DEL CHANO PO BOX 712
RANCHO SANTA FE, CA 92067
Hull Breadth (ft.): 19
Gross Tonnage: 57
Net Tonnage: 46
Documentation Issuance Date: May 31, 2005
Documentation Expiration Date: May 31, 2006
Previous Vessel Names: No Vessel Name Changes
Previous Vessel Owners: No Vessel Owner Changes


http://www.st.nmfs.gov/st1/commercial/landings/cg_vessel2.html

Note: there's a typo in the street address. It's:
7094 Via del Charro, Rancho Santa Fe. Also Randy's middle initial is "H," not "D."
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Photo of Kelly C:
http://dukecunningham.org/images/kellyc.jpg

1998 Union-Tribune story on Kelly C
http://dukecunningham.org/bibliography/ut19981115.html

See also registration for the Duke-Stir:
http://dukecunningham.org/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=312&t=312

Update 7/5/2005:
Buyer of overpriced Kelly C has family @!#$ company @!#$ Cunningham's Rancho Santa Fe home.
Three stories, each with something new:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/04/AR2005070400967.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050705-9999-1n5duke.html
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/06/news/top_stories/22_12_437_5_05.txt

Update 7/8/2005:
Cunningham signed Coast Guard documents saying he is sole owner:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/08/news/top_stories/23_21_197_7_05.txt

Reply To This Message

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Re: Kelly C boat registration
Author: John (—-.san.res.rr.com)
Date: 06-25-05 12:42

Dan,

There are some unusual omissions by Cunningham in this recent Coast Guard document, and some real discrepancies from earlier reports.

The document lists the Kelly C. had "no previous owners." But as has been reported, Duke purchased the boat from its previous owner, representative Sonny Callahan (R-AL).
http://dukecunningham.org/bibliography/ut19981115.html

Also within that article:
"Cunningham¿s chief of staff, Patrick McSwain, calls the craft a 'Flat-bottom houseboat'.¿ However, this vessel documentation lists its draft as a very deep, 7 feet ¿ hardly what anyone would ever try to call, "flat-bottomed." Who are they trying to fool?

"The congressman calls it 'kind of a river boat'.¿ Ah, I hardly think any "riverboats" are ever 65' in length, 57 tons with 3 staterooms.

"The yacht club¿s dock master, Kelvin Lee, calls it 'huge,' and says it¿s one of the biggest yachts on the club¿s property." Huge is right — and expensive to buy, and expensive to dock.

"Cunningham¿s boat is berthed at the Capitol Yacht Club, where the congressman pays $350 a month to tie up his $200,000 home away from home."

That is just not credible! (Unless someone else was "subsidizing it.") At the Gangplank Marina, where the Kelly C. was previously, slip fees and charges are well over $1,000 a month for a 65' boat, not a paltry $350.
http://www.gangplank.com/rates.html

Duke conveniently omitted the "Year Built" and "Shipyard" so it is difficult to accurately estimate the vessel's worth. However, new, it would most likely be worth at least10 times
what was said in the article ¿ about the price he also paid for the Rancho Santa Fe property. That is an awful lot of money for any congressman.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?I2AF3635B
(from http://www.yachtworld.com/)

Finally, I see he used the middle initial, "D." on this document instead of "H." or Harold as he has previously, on all his other legal documents. Has he legally changed his name?

Obviously, there is conflict between what was said in the UT article and Cunningham's current Coast Guard vessel documentation.

The question is whether Cunningham was just very sloppy in filling out the Coast Guard application form for the Kelly C. vessel documentation, or was he trying to hide something?

Reply To This Message

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Re: Kelly C boat registration
Author: Dan Anderson (—-.west.biz.rr.com)
Date: 06-25-05 14:23

Thanks for the research.

The Kelly C sounds like a costly second home. Did he get it at a good price for the yacht from the former representative ($200,000) or did he have help from his military contractor friends or someone else? It's certainly not a houseboat.

As far as the middle initial, I just think it was a transcription error. I could see someone typing in his name from a card and mistaking his "H" for a "D" (there's a typo in the stree address also—it's Charro, not Chano). See
http://dukecunningham.org/images/doc-2003-1392041.png

The previous owners may have been omitted because records were not kept that far back by the Coast Guard. Fortunately I saved a copy of the 1998 Union-Tribune article,
http://www.dukecunningham.org/bibliography/ut19981115.html

Reply To This Message

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Re: Kelly C boat registration
Author: John (—-.san.res.rr.com)
Date: 06-25-05 19:13

Dan,

Thanks for saving that 1998 U-T article. It had some interesting information.


I happen to own a Coast Guard documented vessel. (Of course, it's half the length, and worth at least a million dollars less than Cunningham's.)

Mine was built in 1987, although I bought it only four years ago as its third owner. Unlike Cunningham's, the current Coast Guard documentation of my boat does indeed list its two previous owners, dating back to 1987.

I would think the Kelly C. documentation would likewise list its prior owner.

Meanwhile, a review of other Coast Guard vessels' documentation shows that contrary to what I first thought, it may be not too uncommon to have missing, the "year built" or "shipyard", as Cunningham's does.

But I still cannot tell how unusual it is, to not have listed a vessel's previous owner, as is the case here, with Callahan's name missing. I think it curious.