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.