MacGregorSailors.com

SoCal Owners:

Cindy and I want to take a trip to Catalina this summer but know we are not yet experienced enough to do this by ourselves. We don't have a date in mind yet so if you are interested going with us, the more boats the merrier, notify us and we can figure out the logistics.

Aloha,
Ron and Cindy
'Miss Dallie'

Out of interest, where will you be sailing from and how far is Catalina from you? How long do you reckon it'll take, how big are the waves likely to be?

Paul

All excellent questions...
We will Sail out of either Long Beach, Newport Beach, or Dana Point. As far as distance to Catalina? I have no idea. I plan on purchasing a chart which will answer that question. Wave condition is also unknown and really depends on Mother Nature. Time to travel to Catalina also depends on Mother Nature; wind, current, and water condition is out of my control.

Of course, this is why I'm asking others to join us as our experience is not up to par for us to tackle this venture by ourselves. I know there are plenty of MAC owners in the area that have made the trip. Any advice, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

Aloha,
RnC

I am thinking along the same lines but, plan to hook up with one of the already organized groups that make this trip as a regular part of their calendar. Examples are the US power Squadron, the Southern California Potters, the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club and many others.

The distance is 26 to 33 miles give or take depending on the launch point. Due to the prevailing winds, some launch points appear to include more sailing than others. Many tell of motoring out and sailing back.

Anyway, keep us posted on your plans.
Dave ( Gypsea Dream)

The SoCal Potters is a great group to link up with as they have an outting every month is Southern California. They have all types of boats that participate as well.


http://howies.net/socalpotter/

If you leave for Catalina from almost anywhere on the Southern California coast between 6 and 7 AM in the summertime, the water will be like glass, and you can motor over in 2/3 hours. It is NOT recommended that this trip, either coming or going, be started in the afternoon - - - that's a whole different world

Rick

I make this trip on a regular basis, I live near the 91 X Imperial so you will pass right by me on your way. The South Shore Launch Ramp near the Queen Mary is the best spot to start from. The route would be 91-710-Anaheim Street East. After you cross the river go right on Magnolia Avenue then over another bridge. Just as you come down that bridge you take the offramp to the right to Queensway and you will see the launch area on your right. You will pass by it and stay hard to the right around a U-Turn in the road. The driveway in will now be on your left, it is narrow but passable. There is a gate where you may pay with a credit/debit card or cash for the number of days you plan to leave your rig there. The restrooms are spartan but usually clean. The ramp is well protected from the prevailing winds and has 4 lanes. The parking lot is fairly well laid out and I have never seen it full. A very nice washout area which takes quarters. Even the ready lane is well conceived.

I have passed under the bridge with my mast up at high tide but at low tide you may find shoals on your port side. After the bridge you will pass by a Russian submarine and the Queen Mary on your starboard side. On your port will be a lighthouse and restaurant area with a guest dock. Then on your port will be a marina behind a breakwater. If you go into the marina you will see the pump out station to your port. These are great pumps, free of charge and always in working condition. Remember them for the trip back. After that you will leave the 5 MPH zone as you turn to starboard and head south along a cruise ship and freight area. When you clear the freight docks you will see a pass through the ports breakwater, set a waypoint in your GPS there as it is your target for the return trip. From there it is 26 miles to Two Harbors on a heading of 223 (43 for the return). You may reserve a mooring online, by calling 310-510-4254 or you may chance it and call the harbor master upon arrival on VHS Channel 9. In the summer they set up a "string line" and our Mac's will fit in some of the spaces on it. Bring an extra long painter for your dink because the dinghy dock gets quite full despite the new extension they added. To get a good idea of the facilities and how the moorings are set up go to visitcatalinaisland.com. You will find a grey box on the Two Harbors page for reserving a mooring. The check out time is 8 AM and currently we pay $28 for a mooring per night. If the moorings in our size range are full and they put you in a longer spot you will be expected to pay the going rate for the space, not for the length of your boat.

If you embark too early you may encounter dense haze (I doubt a Londoner would call it fog) so I try not to leave before 7 or 8. If you leave too late you may encounter high seas. Normally in the summer I can get to the island without seeing any chop at all. Same for the trip back as I leave when I wake up. I have encountered a "Potato Patch" of very confused seas within 5 miles of the island when it is rough later in the day. The trip takes about 90 minutes including the "5" zone running around 19 MPH once I get past it. I usually leave my mast at home, the forestay takes quite a shockload in rough seas and raising the mast takes precious time I could spend drinking Buffalo Milk (The house drink, it has no Buffalo in it, I asked) at the Harbor Reef Bar. Also the mast puts weight on high which adds to the rocking motion at the mooring. At Two Harbors you will find a very small community with the Harbor Reef Bar/Restaurant/Snack Bar, a small market, 2 public restrooms with quarter operated showers, a nice public beach with BBQs and some picnic tables. There is a fuel dock with a pumpout but I use about 8-9 gallons of fuel one way and carry the standard 24 gallons onboard with 2 X 12 gallon tanks leaving a large margin in case of error. I have the 60HP ETEC and run with empty ballast. The Harbor Reef is a surprisingly good restaurant. There is a patio bar with a view of the harbor and a bar with pool tables inside.

If you wish to anchor we can discuss it but I will say our boats do not lend themselves to anchoring in such deep water, 100' plus. Anchoring areas tend to be set pretty far from shore except in Catalina Harbor on the west side of the island across the isthmus from Two Harbors.

If you plan to just go to a beach somewhere else you can read up on the rules at the visitcatalinaisland.com site, public access to the beach is fairly unfettered but hiking is, well... fettered. You may need a permit or not be allowed at all depending on the whims of the rangers. As you know fire danger is a serious concern in the low chaparral. If you plan on going to Avalon, I really can't help much except to say there is a fuel dock there I have used once. If I ever want to visit Avalon I will use the Catalina Express because getting a mooring in the summer there is a challenge.

I would love to be part of any party headed that way, let's try and set up a SoCal trip. We have had a great time on the past trips!
If you have any questions I am sure we can find the answers.
Dave

(The ramp at Cabrillo Beach is about 2.5 miles closer to the island but is a terrible facility, no washout, one lane with only one side of the dock accessible, exposed to the wind, bad restrooms and low branches in the ready lane to snag your rigging. It does have decent parking though.)

I used to have friends that lived on yachts in the Cabrillo Marina - - - and I always marveled at how bad the launch ramp was there for a newer facility.

Rick

PS Don't forget there is another destination besides Two Harbors, which is also pretty nice with good food and drink - - - called Avalon.

I agree Rick but a mooring there is very hard to come by. If we tried to show up at Avalon with 5 boats we would not get 5 moorings in the summer months. There is also a tent camp at White's Landing north of Avalon about 4 miles. The moorings are, from the south, Moonstone, White's Cove and Hen Rock. It has a wetsuit and kayak rental facility and the tents have floors. It is a great spot to see buffalo and has a very large beach. There are a few yacht club stations there as well, including Balboa Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. You can wander the beach at will but you cannot use the dock or facilities unless you are a guest. It is actually where Cabrillo first landed when he came to Catalina. At that time there were 4-5 thousand natives living on the island running a trading economy. They produced soapstone bowls used for cooking.

If we wish to go to Avalon it is best to get a hotel room and travel by Catalina Express. Avalon is famous for it's pottery and crafts. You can rent electric vehicles and bicycles but you cannot take them past the city limits. They also have a great jazz festival at the Casino. The Casino was finished just after the government annexed the island and made gambling illegal. So now they show a movie in it every so often and have some live shows.

Venture Yacht Club of San Diego (a Trailer Sailer club) has a couple of Catalina trips planned this summer with the next one on July 22. I wish I could join, but have other obligations. Their website is: http://www.vycsd.com/

Catalina is always a wonderful destination. Highly recommend Two harbors over Avalon. If I remember correctly, the string line is only about $21 nightly and is swimming distance from the beach for the dogs, kids and Theos. Also highly recommend motoring over early in the morning. Get comfortable sailing the local waters in the afternoons before challenging the channel under sail. Do beware the fog though. Although not as common as in Frisco or London, it can be just as thick with visibility down to less than a Mac length. Stay home.

Only to hijack the thread a little, we will be on the water for the next 9 days or so. We will be starting in Alamitos Bay but plan to dangle on the hook or moorings in Newport and Dana Point before heading back up to Long Beach and pulling the boat the day before July 4th.

If anyone wants to raft up or buddy boat, drop me a line.

Theo

I would be interested as well. It would be nice to get a Mac specific trip to Catalina so that the more experienced people can help out the newbies with their rigs. I am located pretty close to David Mellon off of Imp Hwy and Kellogg in Yorba Linda.

Wholly Kow I'm at Kellogg and Orangethorpe, we are mere blocks from each other.

The logistics of getting something like this planned is a nightmare, but what the heck, let's do this!

I've checked my calendar and we have weekends open in September going forward. The rest of July and August is eaten up by business trips/appointments. If anyone is interested in going, we would like to motor or sail or both to Catalina for the weekend; since this is new to us, we will leave it up to the more experienced MacDaddies out there to guide us on this venture. We are open to suggestions and are looking forward to helping plan this trip.

We don't have a dingy, is this something we should purchase prior to take this trip?

aloha,
Ron and Cindy
Miss Dallie

HI Miss Dallie: As I have mentioned in a few posts, for 10 years we would drop anchor in Avalon for a week at at time. AValon is sorta tropical. 10 degrees warmer in the winter and 10 cooler in Summer. The shortest launch point is at Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro. NOt sure any more of storage arrangements for car and trailer?? Most of the time we had someone who would take the car and trailer back to our house. Then we would spend a night or two at Emerald Bay and broad reach back to MDR and our friend would meet us there. You might think about a reach back to Dana Point or Newport. It's about 22 miles From Cabrillo to Long Point which is just west of Avalon, then you turn to port and you're there. You're looking at 5-6 hours. From San Pedro you set your compass at -0-. We would always leave about sun up. Later in the afternoon the winds can be bad through the slot. Mooring cans were on a first come basis. Dinghy is a good idea, shore boat can get expensive. Maybe you could borrow one. Don't need motor just a good pair of oars. Take a chain and lock to secure it to dinghy dock. I think if you are going in September you won't have as much trouble as during summer months. We went once in November. Had the whole place to ourselves. If you've never been to Catalina you'll love it. Fair Winds and Full Sails....