Finally warming up in Marina Del Rey!

 

We arrived in Marina Del Rey yesterday, the 2^nd of December. Wow…what an incredible Marina!

Before I talk more about Marina Del Rey, I will get you caught up since my last post on Thanksgiving after our move to the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club.

We had an enjoyable 3 nights stay there. The facilities were amazing…. clean and luxurious.  The guest dock was large and directly in front of the club. We had use of their showers, dining room, swimming pool and Jacuzzi. And, the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating. We had heard that the people at the club were a little “snooty” but we found that not to be the case. 

The day after Thanksgiving, we did our usual walk, but this time on the Hollywood Beach. The beach is so vast and pretty much empty most of the time. We just don’t get it. I think if I lived there, I would be taking advantage of the beach every day.

Hollywood Beach

Some of the gorgeous homes along the beach

Rick showing Harley how to climb stairs

Rick and Harley up in the Lifeguard Stand (Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island in the background)

 After our 4^th day at the YC, we moved over to the Anacapa Yacht Club for 2 nights.  This Yacht Club was not as lavish as the last, but it had guest slips on the same docks as the Channel Islands Harbor YC. So we were happy with the facilities there.  One of the coolest things at our new slip was that we were one dock away from a sailboat that was recently owned by Neil Young. It’s an amazing sailing vessel and in my wildest dreams this would be the perfect boat I would have! The name of this dreamboat is W.N. Ragland.  Check it out on the Internet. It’s incredible!

http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/way-its-supposed-be-wn-ragland. 

W.N. Ragland - Neil Young's Yacht

Lighting up the dock for the Holiday's

The weather was warm in the day but it really cooled off at night. We had the diesel heater in use most evenings. We can’t wait for warmer weather.

 

A little BMW we saw parked near the Farmer's Market one day

On our last night, we had dinner on Rob and La Donna’s sailboat. They bbq’d salmon and asparagus. And, Rob made some ginger drink that was very tasty. For desert, I brought some cookies from Toppers Pizza. Rob and La Donna had mentioned how delicious their cookies were to us the night before so I thought it would be a nice surprise to bring these for desert. Unfortunately, they did not look as pretty when I delivered them as when I first picked them up.  Earlier in the day when I arrived at Toppers with a backpack, I put the cookies, which were heated and placed in small pizza boxes, into the backpack, but sideways. Oops! So when I got back to our boat to check out these spectacular cookies, they were all clumped up on the side of the box that they came in. Oh well…they apparently tasted pretty good no matter how weird they looked!

The next morning, we left our slip and headed out for Malibu. There was zero wind and zero swell. I was glad about the zero swell, but some wind would have been nice.  The wind piped up just long enough for us to put our jib and mainsail up. Then and as soon as they were up, the wind died and we put them away. We motored the rest of the way to Malibu. 

Happy to be moving on to a new destination. Harley on the lookout.

Saw this fishing boat on the way. 

When we got to Malibu we anchored in front of the Paradise Pier, which is just in front of the fourth arroyo that you come to after you pass Point Doom.  The anchorage was calm with hardly any wind but there was just enough swell to make it uncomfortable. Rick was up pretty much all night checking on the anchor, and I was up almost as much hearing him get up and down. Also, the light from the iPad, which had an anchor alarm on it, kept me awake too. I’ve learned when you are at anchor; you sleep with your iPad! 

 

Too cool for just flip flops, yet too warm for tennis shoes. Don't worry…I didn't let him off the boat that way!

The next morning, we had a slow morning just sitting out in the cockpit and enjoying the views of the cliffs and the beautiful homes on them.

Paradise Pier

We pulled up our anchor around 9a.m. and had to motor again all the way to Marina Del Rey. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sea looked like glass. We arrived at the guest dock of the California Yacht Club.  This place was the finest of them all. All of the yachts on the dock, which were gigantic, were so pristine, spotless, and shiny and dust free!  My jaw dropped the entire walk from our boat along the dock to the ramp up to the yacht club.

Coming into Marina Del Rey

California Yacht Club 

We only had one night here. That’s all that this yacht club comps. We would have loved to stay longer! It’s a very, very nice yacht club and it’s conveniently located. The West Marine was not quite a mile away, inside a little strip mall with a Ralph’s, some good restaurants and cute little boutiques.

 

Guest dock

I love this face!

Today we had to leave the California Yacht Club. Before we left we took our time and had breakfast on the boat and fixed a few minor things that needed fixing. We also dove into the V-berth so Rick could look for some boat parts. While in there, we found my inflatable SUP board. So, we took that out and I put air in it immediately. I even paddled around the Harbor for a while, trying to get comfortable on it again. After I got my bearings straight, I took Harley on the board with me.

Testing out the SUP board

Right before we left our cool spot on the guest dock, we called the next yacht club in the Harbor that we had made previous arrangements with to stay…. The Pacific Mariner’s Yacht Club.  We gave them a call to let them know we were on the way and to find out exactly where they wanted us to park our beast!  The girl who answered the phone was not certain about where we were to go, so she had us call someone else who was supposed to know. Well, I called that number several times with no answer. So, Rick suggested that I paddle over on the SUP board and find out where we go.  So I went over on the board. I found our slip and called Rick on the phone and he motored over and I directed him into the slip along with two other men who were willing to help.

We have been here for a few hours. This club is not as exquisite as the last one, but it is pretty homey and the people couldn’t be friendlier. 

I can’t get over how friendly these yacht clubs are and we aren’t even paying them. We only stay the free nights and then we go. They are as gracious as ever….as if they were getting something in return.

Since being in Marina Del Rey the weather is quite a bit warmer than it has been and the sun feels intensely hot at times.  The evenings still a little cooler but not as cool as where we’ve been!

Tomorrow is Rick’s birthday and we don’t have much planned other than going out to dinner. I’m hoping he wants to go out adventuring instead of working too hard on the boat. He has a few projects he’d like to get done.

Our next plan is to sail to Long Beach on the 6^th.  Check in with us then!

Enjoy the Holidays!

Maryalice, Rick and Harley