John A. Traina Jr. a farmer?

A shipping magnate· certainly. A social mover and handshaker· yes. But a farmer? He can see himself wearing the title somewhere down the road· relaxing on his vineyard in Oakville.

But staying active and alive are important to him at the moment.

"They can't put 'alive' on your tombstone," Traina Jr. says.

There is little worry of that. Traina is a modern San Franciscan. He is an active father and wants to stay in The City, where he can make a positive impact.

Traina is the great grandson of an Italian immigrant who started a chocolate factory in the area around 1850. His family has stayed nearby San Francisco area ever since.

Traina's romance with shipping began in his childhood.

"I've always liked ships and always liked to travel," he says. "I'll never forget the times my parents and I crossed the Atlantic on the great liners of the '30s. Just seeing the ships of San Francisco stirs me."

In the mid '50s, he graduated from Stanford, attended business school and went into a long career in the shipping industry.

He has done just about everything you can do in the business, from working with cargo to hammering through labor negotiations. He headed the passenger fleet at American President Lines, helped start the Prudential-Grace South American cruises, and was vice president of the passenger division for Delta Steamship Lines.

Though this last position was both lucrative & secure it did not challenge Traina. He left to start his own cruise line saying, "The best way to prove you can do what you know how to do is to start over again. It's a much more exciting place to be than just keeping something alive."

So, when Delta had advance bookings of 100 percent through 1982, Traina then left to found and head Pearl Cruises, opening China for tourism.

"The three most intriguing things about starting this line," he says, "are that it's new and exciting, it's going to open up the Orient and its headquarters are right here in San Francisco."