Opinions on marinas

Gentlemen,

me and my wife are engaged in random musings about moving to SoCal... Thus need a locals' input on marina choice. Between Ventura and Channel Islands, what are pros and cons to consider? Our beloved E32-3 moves with us (if and when), of course, so need to consider a home for her...

Thanks in advance,
Stan

Well, right off hand I can tell you that places like Santa Barbara, Newport and Dana Point can be expensive and more than likely have a waiting list. Ventura and Channel Islands Harbor at Oxnard are close to the Channel Islands and are nice because you don't have the urban rat race to deal with like Marinas closer to LA, like San Pedro (LA Harbor), Marina Del Rey and Long Beach. I believe there is also a Marina at Huntington Harbor, but I have never been there. Oceanside has a small harbor closer to San Diego, but a lot farther from Catalina and the Channel Islands.

I am currently at Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro and I have been there for the last 10 years. A very nice Marina, but San Pedro is a pretty urban city. The advantages of where I am now are that we get a lot of wind most of the year due to the geography, being at the end of a peninsula and at the bottom of a hill and lots of rugged bluffs just to the West. It is also the closest point to Catalina Island, which is a real plus that can be reached in about four to five hours. Prior to being in San Pedro, I had a boat at Anacapa Yacht Club in Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. Closest point to the nearest Channel Island, Anacapa was less that 12 miles away and Santa Cruz Island was about 18 miles.

I for one have no interest in Marinas in Marina Del Rey, Newport or Long Beach, just too congested for me people wise and car traffic is bad in those areas, too much of a City setting for my taste. San Pedro, although urban with more that it's share of crime near by but not so much in the Marina areas, actually has a bit of more of a small town feel.

If I were to retire and live in a Marina on my boat in So Cal and did not have to worry about the expense or waiting lists, I would prefer places like Channel Islands Harbor, Dana Point, Ventura and Santa Barbara because they are more removed from the urban sprawl. But on the other hand I might just stay here in San Pedro where I am closest to Catalina.

BTW, the rates in San Pedro are some of the lowest on the Coast and we have 750 brand new slips at Cabrillo Way Marina and there are lots of open slips at Cabrillo Marina, two different Marina organizations. Just thought I would give you an over view of the harbors. I am sure more here can offer specific opinions about specific Marinas at the different harbors. Most of the harbors I mentioned have several marinas to choose from.

Beam Winds for now.

I wasn't going to comment because the original question concerned marinas between Ventura and Channel Islands, but in light of Jeff's comments I thought I'd weigh in with a few observations, just in case they might prove helpful to what he already said.

I'm located in San Pedro as well, just to the north of where Jeff is, in the portion of the marina named "Holiday Harbor." I like it there very much. Great management, excellent facilities, and quiet. They have a nice club house and put on social events. They threw a great Christmas party for the tenants, free of charge. Plus, as already noted, it's an easy sail to Catalina. And there are vacancies (at least for 30' sips). Highly recommended.

If you wanted a slip in Dana Point for some reason there should be no problem getting one. The Ericson 26 I just bought was in Dana Point and I kept it there for a month while making some mods to it before moving it up to San Pedro. The managment really urged me to stay but there is no way I wanted to. I like San Pedro much, much more than Dana Point. Dana Point is considerably farther to Catalina, the sailing right around the harbor is not as nice, there are tons of kayakers and paddle boarders clogging up the channels, and there is far too much pedestrian traffic around the docks from joggers, roller skaters, bike riders, etc. Plus, the docks are showing their age. I couldn't wait to leave.

The marinas in Long Beach are city run, so think "DMV" in terms of the customer service attitude. Last I heard you would indeed have to be put on a waiting list to get into Alamitos Bay Marina, but I haven't checked lately. Even though both of the Long Beach marinas (Shoreline and Alamitos Bay) are closer to my house than San Pedro is, I'm happy to drive the extra 10 minutes for a much nicer marina. I used to have a 27 footer, both at Shoreline and Alamitos Bay. Never again.

One last comment about San Pedro: I actually prefer the "old" (1986-vintage) marinas vs. the brand new one that was just built in the last year or so. The major problem with the newest one (besides the higher cost) is that some of the slips are a *long way* from the parking lot. I mean a loooooooooooong way!

BTW: All of my comments above about slip availability pertain to 30' slips. I don't know if there are waiting lists at any or all of these marinas for other sizes, but as that's the only size I was interested in it's all I asked about. I should also mention that, although I'm in a 30' slip, I pay for the size of the boat (26') and not the size of the slip. That is a fairly recent development brought about by the number of vacancies the marinas now find that they have on their hands--again, at least in the 30' range.

Cheers,
Alan Gomes
E26-2
San Pedro, CA

Ventura has more restaurants and night life and Channel Islands Harbor is bit quieter and not as many places to eat, but some. Ventura seems to be a little bit more bustling than C.I.

Stan, where are you likely to be living if you move down here?

My apologies for not reading Stan's inquiry more carefully. In response to Alan's reply, he is dead on about the Marina's in the West Channel area of San Pedro. I agree about the new Cabrillo Way Marina and it's long distances from the slips. I am at the 1986 vintage "Cabrillo Marina" right next to "Holiday Harbor". "Cabrillo Marina" also offers a lot of social perks, like Customer Appreciation day day BBQ's, Halloween and Christmas parties, as well as Marina Swap meets and other gatherings. In the past 10 years I have only had two slip fee increases. I know other's that are moored at "Holiday Harbor" and they seem very content and I know the service and amenities are well maintained there as well. Holiday Harbor used to have a really nice brunch for their customers that I attended a couple of times. I think they were only charging about $3. bucks at that time about 5 years ago. If you really want to get a cheap slip, there is also "Al Larson's on Terminal Island, where it's about $100. a month cheaper than any place in the West Channel. Then there's Wilmington, where I think the per foot rate is as low as $8. bucks a foot.

Once again, Alan is dead on about Channel Islands and Ventura harbors. Personally I liked Channel Islands because there were just fewer people around. When I was there 12 years ago there were at least 3 restaurant's you could tie up at and have dinner or lunch. I think most of those have closed down now due to the economy and the "View Tax" that was imposed up there that caused them to move out. I used to really like going to "Pirates Grub & Grog", they had some pretty good live music on the weekends. Nothing like that here in San Pedro, but hey, Wilmington has the 'Chowder Barge" with one guest slip. If you have never been back there in Leeward Bay, you should try it at least once. It's like a scene from a Popeye cartoon with lot's of old Sea Dogs and toothless Sea Hags and a listing barge that serves frosty 24oz mugs of beer and pretty good grub. http://www.chowderbarge.com

Once Again, Beam Winds!

As Keith pointed out, Ventura has more restaurants right in the harbor area, but Channel Islands has a few and there are lots of others very close. (Ventura Harbor is only about 10 minutes from Channel Island Harbor by road.) Ventura Harbor is closer to the city of Ventura so you would be closer to everything that goes on there.

A plus for Channel Islands is it is easier to get in and out of than Ventura Harbor. I think Ventura Harbor is a little closer to Santa Cruz Island than is Channel Islands Harbor.

The only marinas I have any experience with in Channel Islands are the two I have had slips in; Anacapa Isle Marina and Peninsula Yacht Marina, both owned by Almar. There are lots of vacant slips in both of them. Anacapa is the pricier of the two. I am currently paying $12.16/ft at Peninsula. Some of the others, like Vintage Marina, may be cheaper. Catalina Yacht Anchorage is a new marina on the east side of Channel Islands Harbor, but I think they are full since they opened with pretty reasonable rates. (I don't really care for their location or the way their slips are laid out.)

Peninsula is older, and the docks show it. There was supposed to be a major renovation but I think that is on hold due to the economy tanking.

I pay about $11.60/ft at Vintage Marina. Our docks are good and they always keep the heads clean. Vintage owns/manages Channel Islands Marina too. There are plenty of open slips now.

BTW, good Sushi and sometimes fish available a short walk away from the slip, though not real nice facilities. Some other, nicer restaurants, albeit more expensive, are a bit longer walk.

BTW, good Sushi and sometimes fish available a short walk away from the slip...

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If you are talking about Fisherman's House Sushi, that place is not bad. They have been running a 50% off deal on their sushi and hand rolls (not regular rolls) for some time now. There is also another fish house similarly named (Fisherman's Catch) up Victoria Ave. in the same shopping center as the VON'S grocery store. Very good, and they operate their own fishing boats, so the local fish is definitely fresh. Love it when they have Sea Bass on the menu. Their Sea Bass tacos are the best!

The marina keeps up the facilities well at Peninsula, but as I mentioned they are a little tired. Some people, like the guy in the slip next to me, don't like the Almar operation. I don't have a problem with them, although with the exodus of boats from the marina you would think they would be a little more amenable to negotiating their rates...

Yeah, Fisherman's House sushi is the one I was talking about. We will have to try Fisherman's Catch some time.

In the past 10 years I have only had two slip fee increases.

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Well this is a timely discussion. I've been thinking about leaving Alamitos for San Pedro.
Every time I turn around, the rent is going up for docks that should be condemned.
Who has the cheapest slips in LA harbor?

Martin

Martin King said:

Well this is a timely discussion. I've been thinking about leaving Alamitos for San Pedro.
Every time I turn around, the rent is going up for docks that should be condemned.
Who has the cheapest slips in LA harbor?

Martin

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As Jeff mentioned earlier, the cheapest marinas are going to be in Wilmington, between the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the Henry Ford Bridge. Those marinas are kind of...ummm..."third world." But they will be less expensive--for a reason. If you are unhappy with the quality of the docks where you are now, you will not be happy moving to these marinas.

Holiday Harbor (Berth 34) has its rates on line: http://www.holidayharborcm.com/ (Click the link on "Marina Information.") The Cabrillo Marina (to the south of me) is priced comparably.

--Alan

Al Larsons is $8.00 a foot for slips and $7.00 for moorings. Closest marina to Angels Gate. No social life or restaurants close. It is on Terminal Island between Al Larsons ship yard and the Federal prison. We really like keeping the boat there and enjoy the other boat owners. Bathrooms are clean, the office has a cooler with some edibles and lots of beer for sale and the manager can be a bit gruff, but she keeps tight control over what goes on in the marina. Since we moved Regulus in there have been a few more Ericsons move in. Pretty much a nice small quiet marina except when they are doing some noisy work at the shipyard next door during week days.

Hope this helps
Greg

Oceano said:

Stan, where are you likely to be living if you move down here?

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Great question... Do not know yet. Life in SF area is lately becoming progressively worse - traffic is WAY up (not an anecdote, I have specific measures), crime is up, prices on everything are up, and while the rest of the country struggles to get jobs going, we often cannot find qualified people... So the dream is to get out of rat race in a few years. This year I lost my older brother - he was 50 - and a good friend, who was 60... makes one think. We may have to live on a strict budget but still have a life .

Alternative proposal that I entertain is to get a bigger Ericson and just move aboard .

Thanks everyone for great information. Now I'll point my property search towards your suggestions .

Happy New Year everyone!

Regards,
Stan

Martin King said:

Well this is a timely discussion. I've been thinking about leaving Alamitos for San Pedro.
Every time I turn around, the rent is going up for docks that should be condemned.
Who has the cheapest slips in LA harbor?

Martin

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If you looking for cheap in San Pedro, Greg is right about Al Larson. Close to the Angels Gate as well. Docks are not very well maintained though. Here their info: http://www.larsonboat.com/marina.html

Here's Cabrillo Marina's berth info: http://www.cymcabrillo.com/berth_info.asp

Would love to have you as a neighbor Martin!

No one has mentioned King Harbor yet. We have Voice of Reason at Port Royal Marina in Redondo Beach. 5 minutes to the ocean AND there are already 4 E-32s on our dock alone. We could start a one design fleet from the same gate entry.

That said, I have a friend who is in Ventura Marina right now. There are open slips and the docks seem in good shape, though my wife saw a cockroach the size of a rat in the women's bathroom on Monday night. I've also overnighted in Channel Islands Harbor on many occasions, primarily at Anacapa Marina. The facilities there are nice and there is good restaurant access.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

Well, Stan, if getting out of the rat race is the goal, Marina del Rey is probably not top of your list. Its great benefit (to people like me) is that its close to a wide swath of Westside Los
Angeles--the rat race. But for an entirely artificial harbor, it works very well on top of its convenience. There are about 16 marina operations within the Marina itself, with slips ranging from $300 (25 feet) to $500 (35 feet) at one end of the spectrum, to gold-plated accomodations for 200-footers. There are about five yacht clubs, and both Del Rey YC and California YC have live-aboard arrangements (I believe a yacht club would provide the most appealing living conditions). Twenty years ago there was a waiting list everywhere--now you can take your pick.

MDR--location, location, location. And once there, something for everyone.