Sailing our boat into Marina del Rey

After a quick and painless crossing from Catalina Island over to the mainland, we pulled our Newport 30 into Marina del Rey. Nice to be back in crazy but interesting Los Angeles. The crossing from Avalon Harbor back to Marina del Rey is 38 nautical miles, this means that, on our 30 foot sailboat, we spent about 8 hours in the crossing. Earlier this year, I wrote a much more informative page on 'what you should know before sailing from LA to Catalina Island'. That link should help you begin planning for this classic Southern California adventure.

Sailing into Marina del Rey

You know you're in the right place when you see the candy colored homes along the bay. Then eventually, you pass the bright blue lighthouse.

Arriving in Marina del Rey

Our boat docked up in Marina del Rey

As we have come to expect, as soon as we docked up in Marina del Rey, we saw something interesting. A couple of boaters were drunk out of their minds on their power boat. They were causing problems, the cops came down to straighten them out - and of course, the derelicts rejected that idea. A few minutes of yelling and the boat bums were on their backs adorned with handcuffs.

Welcome to LA.

cops regulating on a boat bum derelict

When I boat around I like to carry some form of transport for when I get to dry land. This keeps me from having to walk, which I often find a bit too slow. In this case, I brought a skateboard. Now, let me be clear, I am too old to skateboard. In fact, anyone that is not a teenager is too old to ride a skateboard. But, that said - I can still skate around sort of decently. And there is something to be said for docking your boat up and skating into Venice Beach. Eventually I made my way up to the Museums - Miracle mile. But I used a bus to get back to the Marina, as my calf muscles were fried.

girlfriend waking up in the main cabin

My girlfriend found herself some comfortable bedding in the main cabin. This allows us to use the V-berth for storage.

taking the dingy out around marina del rey

And then - I made sure the dingy still worked as I tooled around the many nooks and crannies of Marina del Rey.

All in all - it was a pleasure to spend a few days docked up in Marina del Rey. This remains my favorite spot to dock up at - when I want to explore LA.

Sailing over from LA to Avalon

There is a lot I do not love about LA. I could fill a book writing about things I don't love about Los Angeles. But, the one thing that I will always love about the city of angels is that you can leave the docks midday, sail your boat from LA to Avalon and crack a beer just in time for sunset.

Sailing from LA to Avalon is the best reason to live in Los Angeles

There, I said it. Had to get that off my chest. If I were to take that even farther I might say..

Sailing from LA to Avalon is the only reason to live in Los Angeles.

But now, Im getting carried away..

what is better than pulling into Catalina at sunset

Jessie and I arrived in Avalon this weekend and paddled over to the dingy dock and found this tender.
'The Tender Sphincter' ..

I am going to hope that this belongs to a 15 year old boy who just discovered ass jokes. Let's just hope it's not owned by an adult man.

But anyway - that's how Avalon rolls, you get a little bit of everything. The highs, lows and in betweens. Sometimes you get to see all three of those categories sitting in a row at the bar over at the Marlin Club.

heading back to the mainland after a quick weekend

San Diego has its proximity to Mexico - but LA has the quick and easy Catalina crossings.

If you're thinking about making the trip, a year ago I put together a much more constructive page where I go through all the travel/distance information from the major LA harbors over to either Avalon or Two Harbors on Catalina Island. Hope it helps with your trip planning.

Enjoy!