catalina island

S

signalstan

New Member
Feb 28, 2007
11
fresno ca.
Boat Info
1995 250 sundancer 7.4 l. bravo3
Engines
7.4 L. bravo 3
hey all you socal boaters I just spent 4 days out at Catalina island and loved it so much I want to go back next summer and take my boat out this time if any one knows a good launch ramp where it is safe to leave a truck parked for several days I will be towing the boat down to long beach or san pedro from the fresno area also any tips on anchoring out at the island or renting a buoy would be greatly appreciated thanks Stan
 
Not sure about the parking in Long Beach. Moorings in Catalina are on a first come, first serve basis. No reservations. If you go in summer, you would need Togo early in the week to score a mooring in Avalon. Two harbors is a bit easier. Anchoring out takes a lot of anchor and rode. Depths can go from several hundred to over a thousand feet pretty quickly.
 
LB has a launch ramp at Alamitos Bay but I don't think you can overnight park, check with the city/harbormaster in Alamitos. Not many people will take a trailerable boat to Catalina.

I'm going to try and go over to the island for the first time tomorrow morning, but if I can't get an Avalon mooring even in Descanso and if Two Harbors is full I am going to probably head back to LB or possibly MDR or Newport as fun alternatives. I don't have sufficient rode for anything over 75 feet or so of water and some of the anchorages are pretty deep.

I can't imagine anyone voluntary anchoring in 1000 feet though. Does anyone really keep that sort of rode on board?
 
The Davies Ramp in Alamitos Bay allows overnight parking. It is under the 2nd Street Bridge. I regularly took a 23' Cobalt and a 24' Sea Ray Sorrento to Catalina. Granted....you have to pick your days and the adage "If you can see the Island, don't go" is pretty accurate. But the trip is well worth the ride. There is nothing like arriving in Avalon in your own boat. In the summer months, many locals will take their boats over on Wednesday, secure a mooring and take the ferry or helicopter back so they can work on Thursday and Friday. Take the big boat back on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and spend the weekend. Also, since the wind and waves usually kick up in the afternoon I used to leave the island just before dawn on Monday, put the boat on the trailer and still be at work on time. I just cleaned it up after work.

Daniel, you state you only have enough ground tackle to anchor in 75 feet of water. What would you do if your boat had a malfunction and was heading towards danger and you needed to anchor but you are in 200' of water. You don't have to be too far offshore in SoCal to be in 200'. You have an ocean-capable boat and because of where you boat, common sense dictates you assume for the worst. I would suggest you upgrade your ground tackle for at least 200' You also might consider a second/stern anchor. There are several places to anchor safely on Catalina but setting a stern anchor really helps with the peace of mind.

Good luck getting a mooring on a Friday in August. They do allow side ties if you know someone that does have a mooring. You also might call the Harbor Master in Avalon Harbor early tomorrow morning and ask what the mooring situation is. It could save you some fuel as well as a few hours.

Shawn
 
You will never get a mooring in Avalon in August. I would save yourself the trouble and head to Two Harbors. It is your best bet. I regularly took my 26 foot boat over prior to having my 34. It is very doable if you watch the conditions.

Desconso and Hamilton are rough places to sleep in small boats. I don't really even like doing it in my 34. September on and you can get moorings almost anywhere.
 
I went on Friday morning the weekend before Labor day and while I did get an outside mooring in Descanso, we ended up having to sleep on shore, it was way too rough to tough it out. It wound up being a really fun weekend nonetheless, wonderful weather, and the Octopus, Paul Allen's 400 foot megayacht was in for lunch on Friday. (we since found out this was actually the Luna owned by Roman Abramovich. It was pretty far offshore so I had a hard time identifying it!) Next time I will go on a Monday or after Labor day though.

Norcal, I guess what I should have said is I don't have sufficient scope to "safely" anchor in more than 75 feet, assuming a 7:1 ratio, like as in anchoring overnight and being able to sleep soundly! I have 100 feet of chain, and 500 feet of rode on my main, and I do have an emergency / stern anchor which is a 13lbs Danforth style with 15 feet of chain and 200 feet of rode. I don't anchor very much, I don't think many people do here, there are not that many spots to anchor in calm water. There is not really a place I can think of where I boat where I would be in 200 feet of water and simultaneously headed for danger. Presumably if I lost all power on the open sea where our depths are usually more like 2000 feet, not 200, and then drifted close to shore, the water would be shallow enough for the rode I do carry to start working again or at least be slowing my drift down enough for the tow boat to arrive if I was dragging.

I do appreciate your feedback though, I still have a bunch to learn admittedly.
 
Last edited:
Dsybok said:
I went on Friday morning the weekend before Labor day and while I did get an outside mooring in Descanso, we ended up having to sleep on shore, it was way too rough to tough it out. It wound up being a really fun weekend nonetheless, wonderful weather, and the Octopus, Paul Allen's 400 foot megayacht was in for lunch on Friday. Next time I will go on a Monday or after Labor day though.

Norcal, I guess what I should have said is I don't have sufficient scope to "safely" anchor in more than 75 feet, assuming a 7:1 ratio, like as in anchoring overnight and being able to sleep soundly! I have 100 feet of chain, and 500 feet of rode on my main, and I do have an emergency / stern anchor which is a 13lbs Danforth style with 15 feet of chain and 200 feet of rode. I don't anchor very much, I don't think many people do here, there are not that many spots to anchor in calm water. There is not really a place I can think of where I boat where I would be in 200 feet of water and simultaneously headed for danger. Presumably if I lost all power on the open sea where our depths are usually more like 2000 feet, not 200, and then drifted close to shore, the water would be shallow enough for the rode I do carry to start working again or at least be slowing my drift down enough for the tow boat to arrive if I was dragging.

I do appreciate your feedback though, I still have a bunch to learn admittedly.
Click to expand...

Not a problem Daniel. Your explanation makes sense. I wish I still lived down there as I miss open water boating rather than the "ditch boating" we do here on the Delta. But at least I'm boating.
 
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