Angry Ranch Hand
New Member
- May 17, 2011
- 177
- Boat Info
- 2011 Cruiser
Raymarine C90, AC / Heat, KVH Sat, Bow thruster, every option sans snowplow
- Engines
- Merc 502 / Bravo III Seacore
We crossed over to Catalina's Isthmus for a week of goofing off.
Nice and cool each morning on Catalina's west end, Wife and I decided to hit the early coffee at the Reef snack bar, and venture a new direction trail each day:
Road across the Isthmus:
Walking over the Isthmus we past by the one room school house still in use today. The LA County School District had the bright idea to bus the kids 2 hours each way to Avalon. That crazy idea puke'd, so boating the school kids was tried and it was evident real quick it was a ridiculous plan. So the one room red schoolhouse lives on.
Our eleven year old was all over this. He thought it was super cool and wondered how they pull it off teaching several different grades in one room.
The cafeteria is outside on the patio BTW.
As we continued our walk across the Isthmus towards Cat Harbor, we pass by the really cool looking Isthmus Yacht Club. Built During the Civil War, it only allows 25 members. You have to married to be a member goes the tale. If you loose your spouse,, you loose your membership. "The idea is to discourage skirt chasing" the retired LEOS moored around us mentioned to my wife.
Evidently membership includes a room at the club they added.
End of the trail, the view of the ocean. A few dedicated benches about, plaques on them dedicated to a character or two that gave the "West End" some of it's charm over the years.
"The boating grandmothers run the wealthy families" our retired LEO boating friends back in the Harbor told us. "They keep the families kids on a short leash with trust funds and call all the shots" Chris, the retired Sheriff added..
Perhaps one such grandmother sat on one of the benches overlooking the ocean.
She had a personality like an axe handle. We chatted for a spell while her grand children and our 11 year old collected sea shells on the beach quite some distance below.
We were all followed along the Cat Harbor shoreline by two HUGE bat rays, and Grandma Axehandle wanted to talk about it. ( I tried to video them,, too much reflection off the water).
You could tell by her bearing, cut of clothes and cold steel eyes she controls some big bank accounts.
"You're the family with the giant patio swim step boat. That looks marvelous!!" she mentioned. Our swim step gets more comments than anything,, and then folks want to see the boats bedrooms.
Their are two different dive shacks in Two Harbors.
One for the visitors recreation, and one located back by the outboard motor shop for the service divers.
They do underwater repairs, un-wraps of lines caught in props, and they charge much less here for bottom cleaning than in the marinas.
On the walk back, I wanted to tip the divers that removed some stray tangled rope from our props we picked up.
(I tried it myself and sliced my hand deluxe BTW.)
The divers were off on another assignment, so I left money with the Reef bartender to buy them a few drinks instead.
We sat at the bar for a beer or two and a Dr friend of ours and his wife pulled up stools next to us after their long hike. They are trying to put their lives back together, have returned to boating after their adult kids backed their lives and their life savings into hell. But that's perhaps a story from them to post here one day. Quite a distressing story indeed.
Any bartender or manager without a foreign accent is directly (1st string) related to the Wrigley family.
Then a young couple walked up who had hiked in from Parsons Landing for a drink. The guy a special effects tech for a studio, a self-professed nerd but really cool personality,, his girlfriend a stunning 10 in looks and outstanding character, a hairstylist from Santa Monica.
The Reef is the only bar outside of Avalon BTW.
She looked real familiar, and with conversation, and takes from my adult kids, and everyone else's take,, we figured out who she probably was. Read that; probably was.
She had a television show back in the 90's when she was a kid actor. Her career got stereo typed in the part she played. After attempts to get more acting work failed, her plan is to lay low for a spell, perhaps be forgotten somewhat and shake the stereo typed character she created and maybe re-set her show biz career.
Was she ever hot looking. Even after hiking 8 miles and no makeup. Turn your head around shocking attractive, and dressed nasty.
The kids eventually gave them a dingy ride back to Parsons Landing. They were way to s#it-faced to hike it.
Later, we were running the dingy back to our MoHo boat and came across a couple who's dingy ran outta gas. No paddles and just drifting, the guy trying to act cool and paddle with his hands. Zero traction.
Looked like when the cartoon Coyote with TNT gets blown off a cliff and is flapping his arms trying to fly.
We threw them a rope and towed them to the camping beach. "Not as romantic I guess" I told them.
I wanted to take him to the gas dock,, but he needed 2 stroke oil for the fuel mix, and nfw was he going to pay the "whopping" $1 for the 3.4 oz bottle the gas dock sells.
Outstanding snorkeling just off their camping beach.
Water temp 72 deg F.
Camping beach:
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Something I never paid much attention too are Nordic Tugs. Quite a following, and some really nice ones in the Harbor we passed in the dingy.
Nordic Tug:
Evidently a pride of ownership boat. The owners in this particular club visiting the Isthmus really keep them up. They have that curbside appeal like they are a well-built boat.
Rumored to be very comfortable.
We left Two Harbors the next morning with the feeling, in spite of a few minor mishaps,, the best boating trip we ever took.
I kicked the boat in the ass just past the Coast Guard Buoy. It was so smooth we got up to 33 knots (indicated) pretty quick. A few 41 knot blasts, but the swells were getting us airborne, so I eventually pushed my speed back to 33 Knots.
Wife was asleep in the back bedroom, our 11 year old asleep in the front the whole crossing. We sent the older kids home earlier on the Express.
Within minutes I spotted structures and lights of Long Beach. 33 is fast on the ocean for a big MoHo boat.
The gas dock attendant was floored we only burned 14 gallons on the crossing.
Was a fantastic experience.
Yeah,, I can do this all the time.
Nice and cool each morning on Catalina's west end, Wife and I decided to hit the early coffee at the Reef snack bar, and venture a new direction trail each day:
Road across the Isthmus:
Walking over the Isthmus we past by the one room school house still in use today. The LA County School District had the bright idea to bus the kids 2 hours each way to Avalon. That crazy idea puke'd, so boating the school kids was tried and it was evident real quick it was a ridiculous plan. So the one room red schoolhouse lives on.
Our eleven year old was all over this. He thought it was super cool and wondered how they pull it off teaching several different grades in one room.
The cafeteria is outside on the patio BTW.
As we continued our walk across the Isthmus towards Cat Harbor, we pass by the really cool looking Isthmus Yacht Club. Built During the Civil War, it only allows 25 members. You have to married to be a member goes the tale. If you loose your spouse,, you loose your membership. "The idea is to discourage skirt chasing" the retired LEOS moored around us mentioned to my wife.
Evidently membership includes a room at the club they added.
End of the trail, the view of the ocean. A few dedicated benches about, plaques on them dedicated to a character or two that gave the "West End" some of it's charm over the years.
"The boating grandmothers run the wealthy families" our retired LEO boating friends back in the Harbor told us. "They keep the families kids on a short leash with trust funds and call all the shots" Chris, the retired Sheriff added..
Perhaps one such grandmother sat on one of the benches overlooking the ocean.
She had a personality like an axe handle. We chatted for a spell while her grand children and our 11 year old collected sea shells on the beach quite some distance below.
We were all followed along the Cat Harbor shoreline by two HUGE bat rays, and Grandma Axehandle wanted to talk about it. ( I tried to video them,, too much reflection off the water).
You could tell by her bearing, cut of clothes and cold steel eyes she controls some big bank accounts.
"You're the family with the giant patio swim step boat. That looks marvelous!!" she mentioned. Our swim step gets more comments than anything,, and then folks want to see the boats bedrooms.
Their are two different dive shacks in Two Harbors.
One for the visitors recreation, and one located back by the outboard motor shop for the service divers.
They do underwater repairs, un-wraps of lines caught in props, and they charge much less here for bottom cleaning than in the marinas.
On the walk back, I wanted to tip the divers that removed some stray tangled rope from our props we picked up.
(I tried it myself and sliced my hand deluxe BTW.)
The divers were off on another assignment, so I left money with the Reef bartender to buy them a few drinks instead.
We sat at the bar for a beer or two and a Dr friend of ours and his wife pulled up stools next to us after their long hike. They are trying to put their lives back together, have returned to boating after their adult kids backed their lives and their life savings into hell. But that's perhaps a story from them to post here one day. Quite a distressing story indeed.
Any bartender or manager without a foreign accent is directly (1st string) related to the Wrigley family.
Then a young couple walked up who had hiked in from Parsons Landing for a drink. The guy a special effects tech for a studio, a self-professed nerd but really cool personality,, his girlfriend a stunning 10 in looks and outstanding character, a hairstylist from Santa Monica.
The Reef is the only bar outside of Avalon BTW.
She looked real familiar, and with conversation, and takes from my adult kids, and everyone else's take,, we figured out who she probably was. Read that; probably was.
She had a television show back in the 90's when she was a kid actor. Her career got stereo typed in the part she played. After attempts to get more acting work failed, her plan is to lay low for a spell, perhaps be forgotten somewhat and shake the stereo typed character she created and maybe re-set her show biz career.
Was she ever hot looking. Even after hiking 8 miles and no makeup. Turn your head around shocking attractive, and dressed nasty.
The kids eventually gave them a dingy ride back to Parsons Landing. They were way to s#it-faced to hike it.
Later, we were running the dingy back to our MoHo boat and came across a couple who's dingy ran outta gas. No paddles and just drifting, the guy trying to act cool and paddle with his hands. Zero traction.
Looked like when the cartoon Coyote with TNT gets blown off a cliff and is flapping his arms trying to fly.
We threw them a rope and towed them to the camping beach. "Not as romantic I guess" I told them.
I wanted to take him to the gas dock,, but he needed 2 stroke oil for the fuel mix, and nfw was he going to pay the "whopping" $1 for the 3.4 oz bottle the gas dock sells.
Outstanding snorkeling just off their camping beach.
Water temp 72 deg F.
Camping beach:
Something I never paid much attention too are Nordic Tugs. Quite a following, and some really nice ones in the Harbor we passed in the dingy.
Nordic Tug:
Evidently a pride of ownership boat. The owners in this particular club visiting the Isthmus really keep them up. They have that curbside appeal like they are a well-built boat.
Rumored to be very comfortable.
We left Two Harbors the next morning with the feeling, in spite of a few minor mishaps,, the best boating trip we ever took.
I kicked the boat in the ass just past the Coast Guard Buoy. It was so smooth we got up to 33 knots (indicated) pretty quick. A few 41 knot blasts, but the swells were getting us airborne, so I eventually pushed my speed back to 33 Knots.
Wife was asleep in the back bedroom, our 11 year old asleep in the front the whole crossing. We sent the older kids home earlier on the Express.
Within minutes I spotted structures and lights of Long Beach. 33 is fast on the ocean for a big MoHo boat.
The gas dock attendant was floored we only burned 14 gallons on the crossing.
Was a fantastic experience.
Yeah,, I can do this all the time.
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