Brien Alkire wrote:

A few weeks ago I submitted a posting asking for info on anchoring at
Paradise Cove in Malibu. We went last weekend, so here's some info
on our experience.

We left Marina Del Rey at 10:30 in a Catalina 36. Paradise Cove is
due west and the wind was nose on. It was a beautiful day, sunny and
clear day. Temperature was around 70F, and winds initially were
around 12 knots.

The wind and waves built throughout the afternoon with plenty of
whitecaps. We had many periods of solid 18 knot winds, and short
periods of winds in the low 20s and waves around 5 ft. It was
difficult making progress upwind, but we were having a great time.

We arrived at Paradise Cove and set the anchor by 16:00. We anchored
in sand outside the kelp beds about 300 feet off the pier in 38 feet
of water. The wind died down suddenly, partly due to shelter of the
cove and partly due to their own accord.

I snorkeled for a short while, with visibility around 15 feet (not
bad for the coastline around here, but nothing like the islands). I
also swam down and checked the anchor, which was fine. We enjoyed a
bottle of wine on deck as the sunset, and watched numerous pods of
dolphins swim by. A few of them even jumped, and it was a happy time
with a goreous sunset.

There were two other sailboats in the cove, further out and apparently
unoccupied (one was moored). There was a 25 foot cabin cruiser
anchored about 100 feet from the pier. We saw a few kayakers around
before sunset too.

After sunset there was a dramatic change. A nasty Santa Ana kicked
up out of the east. I would say the winds were in the high 20s with
gusts around
40. It blew out any westerly swell, so the water was calm. The
winds are warm.

We enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner. After dinner, the wind was very severe
and I checked the anchor. It seemed to be holding fine (single plow
anchor off the bow). I let out more scope as a precaution, and went
below.

At 20:10 (shortly after letting out more scope) we heard a loud BANG!
I looked up through the campionway and saw a structure. My first
impression was that our bimini had been blown off. I scrambled up
the steps, then realized the structure was not our bimini, it was the
cabin cruiser. First I didn't know if we'd dragged anchor or what
had happened. Then I realized we were still anchored fine, and my
impression was that the cabin cruiser had swung into us. There was
no one onboard the cabin cruiser (we'd seen some folks in a dinghy
earlier). And it was clear that the cabin cruiser was dragging
anchor.

I debated whether I wanted to try and board her and reset the anchor
on the cabin cruiser. However, we're not very experienced, don't
have a dinghy, and the winds were howling. Instead I wrote down the
CF numbers and hailed the USCG.

The cabin cruiser was flying out to sea fast! Luckily, there's no
lee shore in this condition at Paradise Cove. The USCG intercepted
the vessel at around 22:00. We could see from the anchor light that
the vessel was about to go hull down, and we estimated it must have
been nearly 10 nmi away by then (it was flying fast).

We were fine, only our BBQ was destroyed. Our anchor was holding,
but the event made us all anxious. I sent the crew to sleep and I
stayed on deck and watched the anchor until 1AM. It was a beautiful
night, warm, very clear, the moon almost full. I went below for some
sleep, and got up every two hours to check the anchor throughout the
night.

The next morning was beautiful and all was well. We had a
non-eventful trip home.

The owner of the cabin cruiser paid for the damage and all is well and
everyone happy.

A little more adventure than I would have wished for, but it's a
beautiful place and I'll be sure to go again.

Thanks for your story! I'm glad it all ended well. I'm sure you did the right
thing by calling the USCG.

My question is, what might have you exposed yourself to, legally speaking, by
boarding the other boat? In the old days of corinthian spirit and honorable
gentlemanly dealings, your effort would have been appreciated. But these days
I'm not so sure -- people (and their insurance companies) are too quick to blame
anyone else they can, and "no good deed goes unpunished." Maritime law can be
weird sometimes too. Anyone?

Matt O.