Anduril Sailing Blog: Catalina Island - Playground for Rich and Famous

After the no sighting of movie stars at Marina Del Ray we decided to sail to Catalina Island; the playground for the LA famous and rich. With Greg’s nephew, Joe, in tow, our first stop was Two Harbors. This is a boater’s camp with showers, washrooms, store, and restaurant. We indulged in the facilities and had a tremendous hike up the big hill to have a view of both the west and east sides of the island. This was truly cactus country and I have photos to prove it! Joe did see a movie star up close and he smiled at us but Greg and I are not up on Hollywood and can’t recall who he was. Oh well!!! If you want to know, ask Joe.

The next day we had a nice anchorage at Hen Cove Bay and jumped in the water off the side of the boat. I tried out my new snorkel and fins and scrubbed the moss off the Hydrovane rudder.

Our last day on Catalina Island revealed an island version of Las Vegas. Avalon was packed with weekend boaters, tourists, and commerce. Avalon Bay accommodates hundreds of boats in very close proximity with bow and stern weighted mooring buoys. It makes for tight quarters and you better put out the fenders to ward off the neighbours. We took the water taxi ashore and were pleasantly bored for the next 6 hours as there is nothing to do but spend money in shops, restaurants, or on tours. We withered the time away and Joe caught the ferry home to his home in LA late afternoon.

Greg and I were up and going at 6:45 AM to try to arrive at Dana Point before the small anchorage was filled. We found a spot and headed to the beach for the Ohana concert raising money to pay for coastal access to beaches in southern California. In Canada we take for granted the access we generally have to the lakes and oceans. Concert was great featuring music from Elvis Costello and Eddie Vedder but the facilities were insufficient to handle the numbers. As a fellow festival mate yelled, “Elvis, but what are you going to do about the washroom situation!!!!”