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Catalina Advice

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We are going to be bring the boat home for the summer. We will still make it to the river, but want to play in the ocean. Looking forward to day trips to Catalina Island from Oceanside. Grab some food and drink and head on home. What is a good website to learn what to do for making a day trip with my own boat? How & where to moor, get to shore, etc?

Thanks!

Joe
 

TPC

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If you go to Avalon best to cross at day break when water is the smoothest.
Motor up to near where the cattle boats come in and the Harbor patrol will eventually motor out and assign you a mooring.
Channel 9 if they don't show.

Absolutely, positively get a receipt and keep it for at least a year.
Not unusual, in fact becoming quite common for them to call/email one day and tell you they have no record of payment.


mooring_first_time_0.gif


Mooring spots are numbered and lettered on the floating ball (aka mooring can) in most cases.
In some spots it's just numbered on the whisker pole float and their is no ball/can.

Ya grab the whisker pole and pull it up and it's attached to a small line ya keep taking in and will lead to the main bow (hauser) line loop and ya connect that to your cleat.

Then their is also a spreader line attacher to the bow line loop ya feed through your hands and follow back to the stern line and attach it to your aft cleat.
MAKE SURE TO BE IN NEUTRAL or you may entangle the lines in your prop. It was on the south side of $300.00 last I did it.

Tell the Harbor patrol if ya need assistance when they assign you and they'll gladly come over and help you tie up. Harbor patrol people are much better than in the past and their boats are padded and won't damage your gell coat last I looked.
Not the total ass holes they once were. Most those bad guys are gone and it's a pretty cool crew now and improving.

A secret (for in the future) is if you first pull up all the slack in the spreader line (from the bow) you'll stay plumb. Perhaps don't try that trick until you've been to the island a few times and have the hang of it. Amazing how many island veterans don't know that trick and in fact will bet you it doesn't work.

When you depart don't be proud and make sure your mooring lines sink and are way clear of your prop before ya put her in gear. The water is usually clear.

Have a room reservation before ya come over. Ya never know. The cheap-o hotels aren't cheap anymore for what ya get so I always suggest go with mid-range pricing and see if they have a zip line submarine package in the room rate.

I love Avalon and Avalon Harbor. The harbor has a party-lets-live-attitude where in Two Harbors it's wooden people that bitch about everything including bitching about Avalon.
 

DeltaSigBoater

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From Oceanside to Avalon and back is around 112 miles (96 NMl) give or take.

Like TCP said go over in the morning when it's relatively flat.

Get a Waterproof Navigational Chart, as well as a Fix Mounted Chart Plotter, very easy to get lost and off course out there once you loose site of land.

A Fix Mounted VHF with 8' Antenna is also a must. If you have any reservations about mounting an Antenna on your boat, then my advice is stick to the river/lake. You're thinking you'll be alright with your cell phone, and a hand held vhf, then best of luck. Sometimes there can be interference from Camp Pendleton which kills your cell phone... I live next to Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, one minute I can have full bars and the next 'no service'. As for HH-VHF (5 watt max) they only transmit line of sight about giving you a range of 10 miles max, less depending on conditions. Where as a fixed mounted VHF at 25 watts will have a range of 25-30+ miles. However a HH is better than nothing and is a great backup. Also with a VHF USCG, Vessel Assist, Sea Tow, or a fellow boater can get a fix on your position if help is needed.

Another reason is the close proximity USMC & USN from where you're starting point is. If they are conducting an operation, a notice to mariners broadcast will come on channel 16 (once an hour) note where that is and change course. If you see a War Ship stay the hell way, you be greeted by military personnel with guns drawn.

Find out if there is Vessel Assist or Sea Tow out of Oceanside and join up. Its cheaper to sign up and have them come out vs the have them tow you in and not be a member.

Not sure what you fuel burn is, but I'd fuel up in Avalon before heading back to Oceanside, especially on that 1st crossing. It'll be $$$ but it's cheap insurance.

Also like TCP mention get a room and coming home in the morning. The ocean in the afternoon makes a busy weekend in Havasu look like a ripple on a pond.
 

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If you go to Avalon best to cross at day break when water is the smoothest.
Motor up to near where the cattle boats come in and the Harbor patrol will eventually motor out and assign you a mooring.
Channel 9 if they don't show.

Absolutely, positively get a receipt and keep it for at least a year.
Not unusual, in fact becoming quite common for them to call/email one day and tell you they have no record of payment.


mooring_first_time_0.gif


Mooring spots are numbered and lettered on the floating ball (aka can) in most cases.
In some spots it's just numbered on the whisker pole float and their is no ball/can.

Ya grab the whisker pole and pull it up and it's attached to a small line ya keep takeing in and will lead to the main bow (hauser) line loop and ya connect that to your cleate. Then their is also a spreader line attacher to the bow line loop ya feed through your hands and follow back to the stern line and attach it to your aft cleate.
MAKE SURE TO BE IN NEUTRAL or you may entangle the lines in your prop. It was on the south side of $300.00 last I did it.

Tell the Harbor patrol if ya need assistance when they assign you and they'll come over and help you tie up. Harbor patrol people are much better than in the past and their boats are padded and won't damage your gell coat last I looked.
Not the total ass holes they once were. Most those guys are gone and it's a pretty cool crew now.

A secret (for in the future) is if you first pull up all the slack in the spreader line (from the bow) you'll stay plumb. Perhaps don't try that trick until you've been to the island a few times and have the hang of it. Amazing how many island veterans don't know that trick and in fact will bet you it doesn't work.

Have a room reservation before ya come over. Ya never know. The cheap-o hotels aren't cheap anymore for what ya get so I always suggest go with mid-range pricing, and see if they have a zip line submarine package in the room rate.

I love Avalon and Avalon Harbor. The harbor has a party- lets-live-attitude :thumbup: where in Two Harbors it's wooden people that bitch about everything.

Perfect! Your post is much appreciated. Sounds like a blast :thumbup:
 

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From Oceanside to Avalon and back is around 112 miles (96 NMl) give or take.

Great post. Thank you. Just want to explore some other options v. the long drive to Arizona.... living 15 mins from Oceanside Harbor, hard to pass up getting in the Pacific.

Lots to learn...
 

Caydens Cat

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If you want to get some experience first, you may want to think about leaving out of Huntington and cut the trip down by half (or Dana, or Newport, etc etc.). Get some experience under your belt before a long trek.
 

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If you want to get some experience first, you may want to think about leaving out of Huntington and cut the trip down by half (or Dana, or Newport, etc etc.). Get some experience under your belt before a long trek.

Definitely. I took my old 22' from Newport and cruised around several times... this will be the first time with my 25' in the ocean.
 

pipemn

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Take lots money if your going to buy fuel in avalon
 

Caydens Cat

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That trek is always good time. Living in Huntington as a kid we would take my buddy's 13.5' whaler (sea sport) out to Avalon. Crazy times. Too young, too dumb, but damn we had fun!
 

OCMerrill

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Great post. Thank you. Just want to explore some other options v. the long drive to Arizona.... living 15 mins from Oceanside Harbor, hard to pass up getting in the Pacific.

Lots to learn...


Trailer up and launch out of Dana Point and enjoy 38 miles to the island instead plus the run back will be a little more tolerable. The run between both islands is where the water gets a little more aggressive. If you tow up to Huntington Harbor then Two Harbors is only 24 miles. Were going to miss that more than my partners realize I think.

Starting in a week we will move our boat back to Dana from a 3 1/2 year stay in Huntington Harbor.
 

work2ski

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I think the easiest crossing will be from South Shore (launch ramp near the Queen Mary in Long Beach). 30 miles, 40 minutes in the am from ramp to Avalon. Exit Long Beach harbor through Queens Way Gate and continue due south to Avalon. your compass heading and GPS should read somewhere between 180-185. And yes, use both.

Have made this crossing numerous times over the past 5 years, water is usually fine until about 10-11am. Hardly ever stop in Avalon, usually just wave as I ski by :D

Have fun!
 

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Trailer up and launch out of Dana Point and enjoy 38 miles to the island instead plus the run back will be a little more tolerable. The run between both islands is where the water gets a little more aggressive. If you tow up to Huntington Harbor then Two Harbors is only 24 miles. Were going to miss that more than my partners realize I think.

Starting in a week we will move our boat back to Dana from a 3 1/2 year stay in Huntington Harbor.

I think the easiest crossing will be from South Shore (launch ramp near the Queen Mary in Long Beach). 30 miles, 40 minutes in the am from ramp to Avalon. Exit Long Beach harbor through Queens Way Gate and continue due south to Avalon. your compass heading and GPS should read somewhere between 180-185. And yes, use both.

Have made this crossing numerous times over the past 5 years, water is usually fine until about 10-11am. Hardly ever stop in Avalon, usually just wave as I ski by :D

Have fun!

Thank you, guys. Needless to say, this will be much more than a Dam Run in Parker :) Spent some time yesterday down at West Marine... looked at all the fun stuff I need to buy. Already have a GPS. Will purchase Sea Tow once I bring the boat home from the desert. Looking forward to running up and down the coast too. :thumbup:

Joe
 

OCMerrill

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Thank you, guys. Needless to say, this will be much more than a Dam Run in Parker :) Spent some time yesterday down at West Marine... looked at all the fun stuff I need to buy. Already have a GPS. Will purchase Sea Tow once I bring the boat home from the desert. Looking forward to running up and down the coast too. :thumbup:

Joe

In the ocean the entire world exists through a Marine Radio. Cant stress enough the importance of getting one that works and goes the distance.
 

BigSteve

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Lot of very good advice given.

The Outboard Church, yachts from Newport To Catalina for some great diving !

The ocean is very unforgiving at times. Traveling at night or the fog can close in leaving you blind in a heavy traffic area.

Having a good radar dome, chart plotter and sonar is great safety feature when boating beyond the sight of land.
 

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tstone

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A personal locator beacon (plb)is also a nice addition. Nice to know that if your drifting with no radio, or swimming, someone is headed your way.
 

Mandelon

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I have a very lightly used Standard Horizon HX270S handheld marine radio I no longer need. Will let it go cheap! I only used on our few trips to Catalina. We towed from San Diego and launched at the Queen Mary ramp. Avalon is a good time for sure.

Drop your crew off at the main dock and you'll save the water taxi fee. You can just tie up by yourself or with one crewmember.

Last I went you had to go out to your boat in the morning and wait for the Marina crew to come and clear you for the day rental of the can. It was a bit of a pain to sit around for an hour til they showed up. Take a newspaper and a towel cuz your seats will be all wet....and possibly bird pooped!

Without radar have at least a good handheld GPS, and learn how to use a compass.
 

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I have a very lightly used Standard Horizon HX270S handheld marine radio I no longer need. Will let it go cheap! I only used on our few trips to Catalina. We towed from San Diego and launched at the Queen Mary ramp. Avalon is a good time for sure.

Drop your crew off at the main dock and you'll save the water taxi fee. You can just tie up by yourself or with one crewmember.

Last I went you had to go out to your boat in the morning and wait for the Marina crew to come and clear you for the day rental of the can. It was a bit of a pain to sit around for an hour til they showed up. Take a newspaper and a towel cuz your seats will be all wet....and possibly bird pooped!

Without radar have at least a good handheld GPS, and learn how to use a compass.

Thanks, Mandelon!

I do have a little cheapo West Marine handheld... I have a birthday coming up, so I will treat my self to a nice fixed mounted / antenna set-up. :thumbup:
 

ChiliPepperGarage

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Lots of good advise on here. I usually drop off all passengers at the dock and then tie up by myself but for your first time you should have a helper as it can be tricky.

One of the most important things is to learn how to drive your boat in the ocean. It is not like a lake where you just slam the sticks forward and go. You have to learn to throttle over the waves properly. Throttle up going over, throttle back as you "fly" the boat at the trough and then throttle up again as you come back down. If you don't give it enough throttle going up the bow will drop in the crest with a hard bang. If you give it too much the boat will point the nose to the sky. If you're too slow on the sticks coming back in the boat will drag and it will feel like some one threw out the anchor.
You want to keep the boat as level as possible. Search you tube for off shore videos to see how the boats look. You can trim up to get the boat out of the water more but if the nose goes too high then add more tab. Sometimes you may not run any trim at all and still need tabs. You have to play around and it might be different every time you go out! If you don't get it right you'll be in for a long ride if it gets bumpy. Oh, also may have to put one tab down if you are on a quartering sea otherwise the boat will be at a weird angle and you'll feel very uncomfortable with it.


It takes a while to get the feel of it but once you figure it out you'll have a blast. I'd much rather run from Oceanside than trailer it to a closer ramp. Heck, we look for excuses to go for a run. It's not about the destination, it's the about the trip to get there!

Here's just one video showing how they try to keep the boats level.

[video=youtube;o94ZHLXzTZM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o94ZHLXzTZM[/video]
 

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Lots of good advise on here. I usually drop off all passengers at the dock and then tie up by myself but for your first time you should have a helper as it can be tricky.

One of the most important things is to learn how to drive your boat in the ocean. It is not like a lake where you just slam the sticks forward and go. You have to learn to throttle over the waves properly. Throttle up going over, throttle back as you "fly" the boat at the trough and then throttle up again as you come back down. If you don't give it enough throttle going up the bow will drop in the crest with a hard bang. If you give it too much the boat will point the nose to the sky. If you're too slow on the sticks coming back in the boat will drag and it will feel like some one threw out the anchor.
You want to keep the boat as level as possible. Search you tube for off shore videos to see how the boats look. You can trim up to get the boat out of the water more but if the nose goes too high then add more tab. Sometimes you may not run any trim at all and still need tabs. You have to play around and it might be different every time you go out! If you don't get it right you'll be in for a long ride if it gets bumpy. Oh, also may have to put one tab down if you are on a quartering sea otherwise the boat will be at a weird angle and you'll feel very uncomfortable with it.


It takes a while to get the feel of it but once you figure it out you'll have a blast. I'd much rather run from Oceanside than trailer it to a closer ramp. Heck, we look for excuses to go for a run. It's not about the destination, it's the about the trip to get there!

Here's just one video showing how they try to keep the boats level.

Nice advice :thumbup: And that is the goal :)
 

TPC

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Their is the shore boat for $7.50 each way will deliver you to the Green pier / return to your mooring.
For decades it was 50 cents, it jumped to a buck one year and has been climbing ever since.

That adds up so sometimes people in their dingy will give others a lift to the pier or back when they are passing by.
Figure with your kids and their friends or you and the squeeze it adds up to quite bit of expense each trip if ya do the math over several days at just one RT each.

You can call the Shoreboat on VHF ch 9.

FYI:
In Two Harbors we belong to and anyone can belong to the West End Cruising Club. One of the perks is free, unlimited Shoreboat for the whole family in Cat and Two Harbors and surrounding coves. That's a BFD, and we especially use it on busy weekends when dingy theft is almost imminent or the dingy docks are really crowded.

BTW the West End Cruising club includes a free bottle of wine with each dinner ordered the Reef restaurant, free Zip Lining and half dozen other activities. We use the hell out of it.
Last we paid it was $250 but it's probably gone up for new members.
The only thing that changes in Catalina are the prices.

When ya join mention your favorite bartenders or any employees name and they get a $50 vig.
Being the Two Harbors town drunk I've recruited quite a few people to join and the bartenders have done well.
 

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Their is the shore boat for $7.50 each way will deliver you to the Green pier / return to your mooring.
For decades it was 50 cents, it jumped to a buck one year and has been climbing ever since.

That adds up so sometimes people in their dingy will give others a lift to the pier or back when they are passing by.
Figure with your kids and their friends or you and the squeeze it adds up to quite bit of expense each trip if ya do the math over several days at just one RT each.

You can call the Shoreboat on VHF ch 9.

FYI:
In Two Harbors we belong to and anyone can belong to the West End Cruising Club. One of the perks is free, unlimited Shoreboat for the whole family in Cat and Two Harbors and surrounding coves. That's a BFD, and we especially use it on busy weekends when dingy theft is almost imminent or the dingy docks are really crowded.

BTW the West End Cruising club includes a free bottle of wine with each dinner ordered at company restaurants, free Zip Lining and a dozen other activities.
Last we paid it was $250 but it's probably gone up for new members.
The only thing that changes in Catalina are the prices.

When ya join mention your favorite bartenders or any employees name and they get a $50 vig.
Being the Two Harbors town drunk I've recruited quite a few people to join and the bartenders do well.

Just checked prices:

New Members $300 before June 1st
$350 after June 1st 2013-2014 Season

Really appreciate the education :thumbup:
 

blefever

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I have a very lightly used Standard Horizon HX270S handheld marine radio I no longer need. Will let it go cheap! I only used on our few trips to Catalina. We towed from San Diego and launched at the Queen Mary ramp. Avalon is a good time for sure.

Drop your crew off at the main dock and you'll save the water taxi fee. You can just tie up by yourself or with one crewmember.

Last I went you had to go out to your boat in the morning and wait for the Marina crew to come and clear you for the day rental of the can. It was a bit of a pain to sit around for an hour til they showed up. Take a newspaper and a towel cuz your seats will be all wet....and possibly bird pooped!

Without radar have at least a good handheld GPS, and learn how to use a compass.

If your not staying on the boat you do need to check in before 9am, but you can call the Harbor Master and they will tell you if your good to go or not.
 

DILLIGAF

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All good advice. One more thing try to run over with another boat or two and stick together. Its a great trip out there. You might get lucky and get to run with some dolphins :)
 

Mandelon

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If your not staying on the boat you do need to check in before 9am, but you can call the Harbor Master and they will tell you if your good to go or not.

Its been a couple years, so maybe so. They told me I had to be there or they could reassign the mooring. Sure seemed dumb to me.
 

Michael1

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Sorry if this is duplicate information, but I don't think I saw anything regarding checking the weather forecast. That's more important than anything. Go to http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/lox/, click on location on the map for the area you are boating. Pay particular attention regarding wind conditions, wind waves, and visibility. Also if it is predicted that you are going to get an offshore wind flow (land to ocean), it is probably best to pick another day. Santa Ana's can be particularly nasty, and people have died.

Weather reports aren't 100% accurate, and they can change quickly. I recommend checking the weather report on your marine radio (they also pickup the weather broadcasts) when you get out there, so you know if you need to leave early to come back in.

Never use land based weather reports for boating on the ocean, as one guy did in my sailing club and got into trouble. They aren't accurate at all.

I recommend checking buoy data for wave height, period, and wind chop. You can find out what's ahead before you even leave the house.

I also recommend everyone wear life jackets. Even the best swimmer won't last long on that cold water flailing around trying to keep his/her head above waves and splash, before getting hypothermia. The water temperature is much lower offshore, usually in the low 60's. If someone falls overboard, you can lose sight of them quickly in the waves, too.

I don't think anyone mentioned a flare gun, signal flares, and signal flag. They are inexpensive.

As someone else mentioned, it's a different ball game than lake boating. It can be a lot more dangerous, but also a lot more fun. I carry portable backups to the onboard marine radio and GPS, in case of electrical failure.

Don't underestimate what can happen. A few years ago, a guy headed out to Catalina from Long Beach in a sail boat. His sails tore, so he tried to start the engine. It wouldn't start. So he tried to call the Coast Guard on his marine ratio, and the electrical went out so his marine radio wouldn't work (we've all seen these multiple failures on boats). They found him several months later off the shore of Central America.

Michael
 

Tom Brown

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Catalina is one of the coolest things I've done in my life. I will always be indebted to OCMerrill and his family for sharing that experience with us.

If I lived in CA, I would be swimming those waters and enjoying Catalina at every possible opportunity.

Go for it, Advantage1. You will fall in love with boating all over again. :) :thumbsup
 

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Catalina is one of the coolest things I've done in my life. I will always be indebted to OCMerrill and his family for sharing that experience with us.

If I lived in CA, I would be swimming those waters and enjoying Catalina at every possible opportunity.

Go for it, Advantage1. You will fall in love with boating all over again. :) :thumbsup

Thanks, Tom. That's the idea! We can go from house to launch ramp within minutes, so we will be exploring the waters soon. I need to purchase a few items and drag the boat back from the desert... all good.

Joe
 

OCMerrill

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Thanks, Tom. That's the idea! We can go from house to launch ramp within minutes, so we will be exploring the waters soon. I need to purchase a few items and drag the boat back from the desert... all good.

Joe

Apologize in advance to your trailer. :D

I moved our power-cat back to Dana Point last Friday. If you decide to trailer up and want to hang out we can side tie over at the shoal and you can take some runs out and back. Good way to get used to the big blue.

catindana.jpg
 

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Apologize in advance to your trailer. :D

I moved our power-cat back to Dana Point last Friday. If you decide to trailer up and want to hang out we can side tie over at the shoal and you can take some runs out and back. Good way to get used to the big blue.

Poor trailer... I know. :(

Beautiful boat! Like to see it in person.

Nice of you to extend your time! And I will take you up on your offer ~ that would be awesome, THANK YOU.

We have a few more river trips planned then I will be bringing her home to Oceanside for the summer. All goes as planned, I will have her back over Memorial Weekend or first week in June. Looking to use North County RV & Boat Storage in Vista.

Joe
 

Hot for Teacher

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a bunch of the SCOPE club have slips reserved for Memorial Day weekend at Dana Pt....come hang out with us on the guest docks!!!
Dock party Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday run up to Newport for lunch, then BBQ party at a locals house Sat night, Sunday run down to
Oceanside for lunch....
Fun weekend!!!
 

TPC

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a bunch of the SCOPE club have slips reserved for Memorial Day weekend at Dana Pt....come hang out with us on the guest docks!!!
Dock party Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday run up to Newport for lunch, then BBQ party at a locals house Sat night, Sunday run down to
Oceanside for lunch....
Fun weekend!!!

Reads like lots of fun. :thumbsup
 

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a bunch of the SCOPE club have slips reserved for Memorial Day weekend at Dana Pt....come hang out with us on the guest docks!!!
Dock party Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday run up to Newport for lunch, then BBQ party at a locals house Sat night, Sunday run down to
Oceanside for lunch....
Fun weekend!!!

Thank you for the invite! Very cool :thumbup: Getting things in line to bring the boat home. Will definitely reach out if I have her home in time for Memorial.
 

BandC Racing

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We are going to be bring the boat home for the summer. We will still make it to the river, but want to play in the ocean. Looking forward to day trips to Catalina Island from Oceanside. Grab some food and drink and head on home. What is a good website to learn what to do for making a day trip with my own boat? How & where to moor, get to shore, etc?

Thanks!

Joe

Let me know if you want someone to chase you across....there and back. The wife, two daughters and I have been talking about making the trip. I have a 25' shockwave that we want to run over there and back
Bill
 

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Let me know if you want someone to chase you across....there and back. The wife, two daughters and I have been talking about making the trip. I have a 25' shockwave that we want to run over there and back
Bill

Will do, Bill! I'll fire the thread back up once I bring my boat home. Looking forward to getting out!
 

Boatracer36

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Its a lot of fun out there. We usually run out of Dana point ski in the morning then cruse up to Laguna beach and anchor in the coves. Or we head back to the harbor and go to the back and theirs like a sand bar you can anchor at, pretty cool almost like the river lol. We also will be running to Catalina getting ready for the ski race. Let me know when you go out. Brad
 

Hot for Teacher

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Hey Brad, we're running up to Newport for lunch on Sat...going to Blue Water...

You ALL need to come hang out over Memorial Weekend...party on the docks, lunch runs, Sat BBQ at a friends house (short drive away)...

Tom
 

ChiliPepperGarage

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Memorial Day at Dana is always a good time! :thumbup:

These were from a couple years ago before my ex liberated me of my boat and all my money. :(

IMG_1510.jpg IMG_1525.jpg Cool Roofing Boat.jpg IMG_4676.jpg IMG_4677.jpg IMG_4678.jpg
 

steves86ta

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Did you ever make the trip?

Im seriously considering doing a trip from either Newport or Long beach but im in a 21' Bahner (IO of course). I'm planning on reading up and learning how to understand the weather reports, but heading out early in the morning. Staying the night in Avalon, then heading home the next morning.

I have an off shore radio, a gps, and a compass already in the boat. And plan to take some of the advice in this thread and buy the charts etc before making the trip.

My question to the group would be, is this just to small of a boat, if I go on a day that the water is relatively calm? She holds 40 gallons of fuel, and runs pretty well, and has some decent power.

Im just worried since its a mini day cruiser and has a relatively low freeboard. But i watch the catalina ski race and i see boats sometimes smaller with less freeboard??? Thanks for any advice you can give. This would obviously be my first trip over. Its the one in my sig pic
 

Advantage 1

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Did you ever make the trip?

Im seriously considering doing a trip from either Newport or Long beach but im in a 21' Bahner (IO of course). I'm planning on reading up and learning how to understand the weather reports, but heading out early in the morning. Staying the night in Avalon, then heading home the next morning.

I have an off shore radio, a gps, and a compass already in the boat. And plan to take some of the advice in this thread and buy the charts etc before making the trip.

My question to the group would be, is this just to small of a boat, if I go on a day that the water is relatively calm? She holds 40 gallons of fuel, and runs pretty well, and has some decent power.

Im just worried since its a mini day cruiser and has a relatively low freeboard. But i watch the catalina ski race and i see boats sometimes smaller with less freeboard??? Thanks for any advice you can give. This would obviously be my first trip over. Its the one in my sig pic

Not all the way over, no. Been up and down the coast and out just learning how the handle the waves. As previously pointed out, this is nothing like the river... yup. Pretty knarly at first being out there. Get our far enough and the water is actually blue! Go figure.

OCMerrill and ChiliPepperGarage offered up some driving education :thumbsup I will take them up on this, just need to pick a weekend. For now we been having fun getting on the water and learning.

We're going to Mohave for the dam run in a couple of weeks then possible back to Parker for Labor Day. Maybe a drop in the Pacific between the two trips. Amazing how time flies.

Lots of awesome advice given here from the inmates... learned volumes since my original post in March!
 

Hot for Teacher

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Let us know when you plan on heading out and we'll try to make it.....always good to have a couple boats out there...
 

Hot for Teacher

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Throwing the boat in Lake Pacific tomorrow.....anyone going out....thinking of running to Catalina for lunch.....
 

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Throwing the boat in Lake Pacific tomorrow.....anyone going out....thinking of running to Catalina for lunch.....

Awesome! We will have to set a date and get a group out there. I started this thread 8 months ago... lots of great responses and advice! We have been out of O'side Harbor several times throughout this last summer, just not across. Amazing how fast this year went.
 

Hot for Teacher

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Awesome! We will have to set a date and get a group out there. I started this thread 8 months ago... lots of great responses and advice! We have been out of O'side Harbor several times throughout this last summer, just not across. Amazing how fast this year went.

Sounds good....Looking forward to hanging out!
 

Hot for Teacher

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Looks like next Sat should be nice weather..... Feb 7th ..... lets plan on a run...we would launch out of Dana Pt..
 
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