paradise cove followup
 

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.

-B.

paradise cove followup
 

Thanks. Nice post that we need to see more often. Sounds like it was an
unforgettable weekend. Glad you made it back.
We had a similar experience in Port Townsend, Wa last year. the owner was
ashore drinking adult beverages when the wind came up. His 27 footer drug
across our stern anchor on it's way out to sea. We call the Knee Deep Navy
and they send out a commercial sea tow company for retrieval. I'd hate to
think what that bad anchoring job cost 'em.

Dan

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
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.

-B.

paradise cove followup
 

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.

paradise cove followup
 

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 20:01:07 GMT, "Matt O'Toole"
wrote:

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.


If they had caught-up and towed the Cabin Cruiser to safety, would
they have salvage rights? :-)

-k
mtn. view

paradise cove followup
 

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
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?

I agree that the best thing was to call the Coast Guard. However, in
response to your question, there is a common law principle that danger
invites rescue. It is also generally against public policy to discourage
"Good Samaritan" acts. There have been cases where persons who negligently
or recklessly created a dangerous situation were held responsible for injury
or damage to a rescuer. Of course, this would all depend on the individual
circumstances.

paradise cove followup
 

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
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.

snipped for brevity

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


Thaks a lot for taking the time to post this interesting report. Some
friends and I are planning an overnighter from Marina del Rey to Paradise
Cove. We're waiting until the weather warms up a bit. I assume you must have
been wearing a full wetsuit while you were snorkeling there.

Sam D.

paradise cove followup
 

Hey Sam,

Sounds great, we are looking forward to many more weekends there!

Yes, I wore a full 7mm wetsuit. I didn't wear a hood, but I would recommend
one in winter.

We didn't bring a dinghy on this trip. But next time I think we will.
There's a sandy patch just to the left of the pier (rocks elsewhere). So
you can probably lift the motor when you get close and paddle the rest of
the way in. The restaurant is good, but you'd definitely get wet when
landing the dinghy.

I'd enjoy hearing about your trip, please let me know how it goes. What's
the name of your boat?

Our next trip is Catalina the weekend of March 13. We're going to leave MDR
on Friday and sail to Avalon. Saturday we're going to participate in a 10K
run. We'll sail back on Sunday. Weather permitting of course.

It would be great fun to get a couple of boats and raft together at Paradise
Cove some weekend. There are a couple of moorings there, but I'm not sure
if they're available for public use?

-Brien

Thaks a lot for taking the time to post this interesting report. Some
friends and I are planning an overnighter from Marina del Rey to Paradise
Cove. We're waiting until the weather warms up a bit. I assume you must
have
been wearing a full wetsuit while you were snorkeling there.

Sam D.

paradise cove followup
 

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
Hey Sam,

Sounds great, we are looking forward to many more weekends there!

Yes, I wore a full 7mm wetsuit. I didn't wear a hood, but I would
recommend
one in winter.

We didn't bring a dinghy on this trip. But next time I think we will.
There's a sandy patch just to the left of the pier (rocks elsewhere). So
you can probably lift the motor when you get close and paddle the rest of
the way in. The restaurant is good, but you'd definitely get wet when
landing the dinghy.

I'd enjoy hearing about your trip, please let me know how it goes. What's
the name of your boat?

Our next trip is Catalina the weekend of March 13. We're going to leave
MDR
on Friday and sail to Avalon. Saturday we're going to participate in a
10K
run. We'll sail back on Sunday. Weather permitting of course.

It would be great fun to get a couple of boats and raft together at
Paradise
Cove some weekend. There are a couple of moorings there, but I'm not sure
if they're available for public use?

-Brien

Brien, my boat is Friend Ship II. It's a Coronado 25' and is docked at
A-2104 in MDR. I have a couple other friends from our sailing club in MDR
who would probably also be interested in joining up with their boats on an
overnight cruise to Paradise Cove. Maybe we can make it a group cruise. If
this is something you'd like to talk about, why don't you email me at


We're planning on sailing over to the Isthmus at Catalina for Cinco de Mayo
weekend.

Sam D.