Anacapa to Long Beach - 10/12/98 to 10/17/98

S/V "Mandolin"
Anacapa to Long Beach - 10/12/98 to 10/17/98

(click on a thumbnail below to see the full-size photo)

October 13 - Anchored in the lee of Point Dume, CA

[Ellen writes] After deliberating on whether to visit Santa Barbara Island or head back to the Mainland, we decide to head for the haze of LA. We sure had a great time in the Islands and feel privileged to have had such calm conditions for anchoring and diving at Anacapa. A delay was caused by the Navy doing testing on the Pacific Missile Range. We and another sail boat were hailed by a helicopter and requested to hold our position while they finished their testing. Ok, so here we are eight miles from the nearest land and we are supposed to hold our position. The sails come down and we drift as the wind dies. I remember our friend Kevin Ritz commenting that he wanted to stop in the middle of a passage and just look around for a while. Well, Kevin, it's not too exciting, you just bounce around in the swells. Kind of uncomfortable actually.

I grew up in Southern California, but the only Channel Island I had been on was Catalina. We bought "Mandolin" in Southern California and we wondered if she had been to any of these island anchorages. We are now anchored in the lee of Point Dume, which is the beginning of Santa Monica Bay. Malibu is a few miles down the coast. The homes (mansions?) on the bluffs above us are probably worth a few million each. But those homes can't travel to Mexico while ours can. Another big thanks goes to Niels who supplied us with some homegrown tomatoes from his garden in Santa Cruz. We finished the last of them in a huge salad this evening.

We head on to King Harbor tomorrow, which happens to be where we bought "Mandolin". She had a different name then and now has all new paint and canvas (No more yellow!). I doubt anyone in the harbor will recognize her. While the LA area is not our favorite place, it's pretty neat to arrive by sailboat where I grew up. I didn't know anything about boats growing up and so I don't know anything about the harbors. Oh well. We have Brian Fagan's "Cruising Guide: San Francisco to Ensenda" and "Cruising Southern California's Offshore Islands". We recommend both of these books highly. Even if you're only going to be in the Islands a short time, the second book is well worth the money as it describes every anchorage and gives you a choice depending on conditions. We have found the first to be invaluable for transiting the tricky California Coast. Just wish we had had something similar for Washington, Oregon and Northern California. While on the subject of books, we picked up "The Peoples Guide to Mexico" while in Santa Barbara on the suggestion of Bill and Holly. This book is a fun read and has lots of information packed between the anecdotes and artwork. Pick up a copy if you are headed this direction.

October 14, Pt. Dume to King Harbor, Redondo Beach

[Todd writes] A gray day, mostly due to the haze blowing out onto the ocean from LA. There was enough wind to sail for a couple hours before the wind dropped completely. It got so gray on our approach to King Harbor that we turned on the radar. King Harbor is an interesting place. The harbormaster has no slips; instead all the slips are controlled by three private marinas, all in the same basin. After filling with fuel we walked around and priced them all. $20 - Port Royal, $25 - King Harbor, and $30 - Portifino (includes use of pool, hot tub and weight room). We chose to stay at Port Royal. The Cheesecake factory is right on the water so we stopped in for a salad and a slice of cheesecake. Good thing we split each, they were huge. Ellen baked scones in the evening. A wonderful treat with our nightly tea.

October 15, King Harbor to LA Harbor

Things cleared up a lot last night. This morning we went for a walk to Hermosa Beach where Ellen spent many a day in her childhood soaking up rays. Wholefoods up Beryl Drive is a great store. Picked up some fresh baked bread and other supplies before setting sail for LA. The wind picked up nicely. We were close tacking to get out of King Harbor and around Palos Verdes Point. We gradually went into a reach, then finally put up the spinnaker as the wind lightened. The sun set as we were approaching the first entrance into LA harbor. Instead of picking our way through lobster (not crab) pots at night we chose to duck in behind the breakwater and anchor for the night. For the uninitiated, lobster and crab pots are one of our most common dangers. These consist of a trap that sits on the bottom from 5 to 300 feet of water. Attached is a length of line, usually polypropylene, tied to a small buoy. If we hit on of these buoys we risk catching the line with the propeller creating something that resembles spaghetti around the shaft. Typically the engine stalls out, hopefully you don't bend or break the propeller, shaft or part of the engine. The next task would be to try to untangle the mess. This usually requires someone going in the water with a knife to cut it away. So far we have been lucky, but they keep us on our toes.

LA harbor is huge, the breakwater has three entrances and is about 11 miles long paralleling the coast. Ellen got no ends of entertainment out of being anchored next to the channel where the shipping traffic is moving any time of the day and night. (I went out on many a whale boat charters and trips to Catalina Island from this harbor. How wild to be anchored out here! -- Ellen)

October 16, LA Harbor to Alamitos Bay

This morning we motored along the inside of the breakwater until we reached Alamitos bay. Along the way there is a measured nautical mile that is marked on the breakwater. Using this we were able to calibrate our knot meter. We were able to get a slip on an end tie. The West Marine was within sight. This could be dangerous to the cruising kitty. They had a replacement autopilot waiting for us and the pump we need to complete the installation of our watermaker. The afternoon was spent installing the pump. Now only the plumbing and electrical is required before we are turning seawater into fresh. Can't wait. Ellen's Mom, and friends, Flo and Arlene, came down to the boat for a visit in the evening. We had rosemary French bread with tomato basil spread as an appetizer before Flo took us all out to dinner at a Greek restaurant, Mikonos, in nearby Belmont Shores. Between the live Greek music, belly dancer, wonderful food and waiters singing happy birthday to Ellen in Greek and English we all had a great time. Afterwards we drove up to Ellen's Mom's house and spent the night. (Todd danced with the belly dancer. She said, "Oh! He's good!" -- Ellen)

October 17, La Crescenta

While Ellen and her Mom went to an AAUW (American Association of University Women) brunch, I spent the morning surfing the internet. Mt. Lowe was our destination this afternoon. Anne, Ellen and I drove up to Mt. Wilson, then went on a several hour hike to the top of Mt. Lowe. Fortunately last night some Santa Ana winds blew most of the haze and smog out of the LA basin allowing us to see all the way to the ocean. We'll be spending a few more days in the Long Beach area before heading further down the coast.

We love getting your emails. It's terrific to hear from you!

Todd and Ellen Mandeville
S/V "Mandolin" - Cal 34
svmandolin@hotmail.com
www.aljian.com/mandolin

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