Paul and Linda on a sailing trip to Santa Catalina Island

On June 21, 1968, Paul McCartney attended the Capitol Convention in Los Angeles and presented The Beatles’ vision for their new label, Apple, to the Capitol Records executives. He was joined by Tony Bramwell, Ron Kass, and Ivan Vaughan. To Paul’s surprise, the day after, Linda Eastman, whom he had contacted upon his arrival in the USA, was waiting for him at his hotel suite.

Actress Peggy Lipton, who had a short-lived romance with Paul in August 1964, recounts in her autobiography that Paul also called her upon landing in New York, inviting her to meet him in Los Angeles. She was waiting for Paul in the morning of this day, June 23. She was heartbroken to see him and Linda Eastman emerging from his room.

Paul, Linda, Ron Kass, Tony Bramwell and Ivan Vaughan went on a sailing trip to Santa Catalina Island. They were joined by movie director Mike Nichols and film producer Billy Graham.

As a photographer, Linda Eastman took many photos of Paul during this day. One of them would be used as the cover of her posthumous book “Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs”, released in 2011.

The next day, Ron Kass was invited to go sailing on the boat belonging to movie director Mike Nichols of The Graduate. Mike and Dustin Hoffman, the film’s star, had always been two of Paul’s biggest fans, and Mike extended the invitation to include us all, but Paul knew that if Linda went with him on the boat, the news [of their relationship] would get out very quickly. He was torn between going, or keeping her a secret for a little longer by hiding her back in the bungalow. In the end he decided they would both go, and Linda could always say she was just taking pictures.

As we left the hotel to get into the limo, [actress] Peggy Lipton suddenly appeared, bikini and towel packed in her beach bag, ready to spend the day with us. Somebody must have told her we were going sailing. ‘Oh my God,’ said Paul when he spotted her. ‘She can’t come.’

I had to tell her in the nicest possible way that it was a private party, while Linda stood quietly to one side pretending she wasn’t with us. Peggy was very upset and got very argumentative. I realised that she needed the publicity for her career and had been told to make sure she got it, but Paul was tired of girls who used him. We drove off fast, leaving Peggy standing on the hotel steps in tears.

It was one of those perfect days, though not for Peggy, of course. We sailed to Catalina, feeling like Bogart and Bacall for whom the island was a favourite destination, along with the Flynns and the Fairbanks. We dived off the sides of the sailboat into the clear blue sea where dolphins swam, sunbathed on the decks, ate bacon sandwiches and drank champagne. It was a wonderful day, an antidote to the months of madness in London.

Tony Bramwell – From “Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles“, 2005

WITH PAUL TO HOLLYWOOD (by Tony Bramwell)

[…] Between three and nine we snatched six hours’ sleep but on Sunday morning we couldn’t have stayed in bed because we knew all sorts of interesting plans had been made for us. Ron Kass had arranged for us to go sailing on a luxurious 50-foot yacht belonging to his friends Bilt and Betty Graham. We drove from Beverly Hills to the Marina del Rey — stopping along the way to buy some of those famous “Movie Star Homes Guide Map” things which sell in vast quantities to tourists. We had a quick tour round, gazing at homes which belonged or might once have belonged to famous folk ranging from Andy Williams to Gary Cooper. We got to the yacht at about lunchtime — and had BREAKFAST! With champagne rather than coffee!

BROKEN

The motor on the yacht had broken down so it was completely under sail. To get out of the harbour we had to use ropes, pulling from the opposite side of the dock. Then we spent six lazy well-fed hours just drifting up and down the Californian coast, sunbathing, movie-making and drying up all the champagne bottles.

On Sunday night we’d planned to get around to at least a few of the many parties at which we were half-expected. But the effects of that long 6,000-mile 14-hour flight from London were having their delayed action. So instead we just fell asleep at the hotel. At around seven in the evening! […]

Tony Bramwell – From the Beatles Monthly Book, N°61, August 1968

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