MDR to Catalina questions?

Hardcrab · Post by **Hardcrab** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:40 am

We are itching to make our first run to Catalina very soon. Does anyone have some good and vital info we should know before we head out, such as good first time spots, moorings or hook, what to expect, whatever you think. We are total rookies when it comes to anything Catilina. Is it the best idea to have at least the first trip over to be with some veterans? If that's true, how good does a group run sound? Please excuse my ignorance on this topic. (At least I'm smart enough to know who to ask to get the best answers.

)
Thanks for the help.

ssichler · Post by **ssichler** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:48 am

Handcrab,
I'd be up for a trip. March is looking pretty full but maybe in April?

You can definitely make it by yourself.

Basic strategy is to leave earlier in the morning so you arrive before noon and the typical NW 10-15knot winds kick in.

From MDR breakwater to Two Harbors it's 30NM. You should be able to motor over no ballast in two hours.

Click HERE to keep an eye on the weather forecast.

HERE'S a great free guide to two Harbors (Adobe PDF File)

THIS is an awesome book that has a lot of info on Catalina an Socal.

(Mod edits: Changed overly long URL into link; added other links for convenience; added Adobe warning. -KBM)

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:12 pm

This time of the year Catalina is all yours. Very few boats and you can go to Avalon or Isthmus. I prefer the Isthmus for its lack of everything except piece. Depending on what you want to do and how many people you are taking with you would depend on where you want to go.
Mdr to Isthmus 30 miles add another ten for Avalon.
Catalina has a web site tells you about mooring and things to do.

Getting there is easy as long as you leave early enough.
I would leave at 6am if you can. Bundle up it will be cold.

is your boat at MDR? or are you trailering? if you trailer leave from LongBeach. Take about ten miles off the trip.

A dingy with a small motor is almost a must, unless you pay the shore
boat the 4 or 5 bucks back and forth every time you want to go ashore.

If you Go to the Isthmus and you have a good dinghy I like to stay at
cherry or fourth of July cove. If you want to be closer to the shore stay
in the main cove and get on the "arrrr" line near the dinghy dock.
That way you can row to shore . No need for a motor. We stayed there last time and I liked it.

The key for staying there at this time of the year is warm sleeping bags
and a some cover in the cockpit to keep things dry. a sunshade works.

Avalon has all the shopping and bars and restaurants. and tour boats.
its busy. But the Isthmus has one bar one restaurant and one food store
But it seems to have everything you would need.

I want to go there soon but need to find a sailorette to go with me so I need a few weeks but if you feel comfortable going by yourself
by all means do it. I crossed over last time with just me and the dog.
and back. The trip is fun.

One more thing make sure you have a radio to contact the shore patrol
where ever you go. They will meet you and guide you to whatever mooring is available you want. They will also help you Moore.

Let me know what it is you want to do, how many are going on your boat,
how long you want to stay, what kind of dinghy. Ill give you more info.
, Mike

pokerrick1 · Post by **pokerrick1** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:11 pm

I disqagree Mike, a dinghy is NOT necessary at Catalina. For the cost of a dinghy, I can make A WHOLE BUNCH OF TRIPS ON THE SHORE BOAT AT $4 each!! In the summer, if you get a mooring close to shore, you can swim either ashore or to the dinghy dock LOL.

Rick

ssichler · Post by **ssichler** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:59 am

Having a dinghy in Catalina might not be necessary but it allows you do some fun stuff like motor over to another cove, take a picnic lunch down the beach in a seculded area, dive or snorkel. I've watched people without dinghys wait quite awhile in the summer for the shore boat.

Bobby T.-26X #4767 · Post by **Bobby T.-26X #4767** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:17 pm

ssichler wrote:Having a dinghy in Catalina might not be necessary but it allows you do some fun stuff like motor over to another cove, take a picnic lunch down the beach in a seculded area, dive or snorkel. I've watched people without dinghys wait quite awhile in the summer for the shore boat.

i agree. i've done it all ways. that is:
1) without a dinghy: can be done but no fun.
2) with a dinghy and no motor: you can eventually get there, but if it's windy, the paddling is forever.
3) with dinghy and motor: the best. cruise around the harbor, look at boats with a cocktail in one hand and your bride in another. total flexibility.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:17 pm

Plus a dinghy looks cool tied to your boat when your moored.
which goes into hard dinghy or soft. inflatable banging against the
Mac all night doesn't cause as much damage as a hard dinghy.

I would say a motor is a must unless you stay 100 feet from the dinghy dock.

that's 4 dollars a person one way.

I go to shore maybe 4-5 times a day. But I have a dog that needs to go ashore.

I would say a dinghy is as important as bringing lots of money
for dinner drinks and top off your gas tanks at 4 to 5 bucks a gallon.
even if I went for just one day and night I would bring a dinghy.

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:03 pm

pokerrick1: A six and a half foot dinghy with a 2 hp motor would
be good for two people. That would run just over a grand.
The suz 2.5hp four stroke is Ideal motor for anything up to 10 foot dinghy

I have a 9.5 and a 6.5 with inflatable floors. The 9.5 is heavy
and takes a bit of hassle to toss around. The 6.5 stays on my boat
all the time and can be tossed around easy. I use an evinrude
4.0 two stroke on either one. These dinghies were bought on ebay.
Baltic boats, they are tough inflate to a solid platform and are not
expensive. I also installed a motor mount to
the swim ladder of the mac to carry the 4.0. It works great.

I also popped for the really expensive inflator from west marine.
That works great too.

A couple times I towed my 13 foot whaler over. That is a major hassle.
but if you want to explore its a better dinghy. But I think The good
explorer dinghy would be a thirteen foot towed inflatable with
a 2 stroke 15hp would be fun. You can dive off it, take 4-5 people
around and still tie up to the dinghy dock. But you need two men
a boy to handle it.

on the low end scale a Coleman cheap inflatable would get
you to the dinghy dock from no more than a hundred feet away.
but thats more toy then dinghy.

A dinghy gives you more options. and increases the fun factor.
Plus when you spend as much as I have on them
you like to talk about it to justify the costs.

All this talk about dinghys and Catalina is giving me an itch to go again.
Two weeks from now weather permitting I think Ill cross over.
I have a crew lined up and anyone want to shoot across
let me know. Ill leave Fri. morning come back sunday morning.
Mark, rick, Scott, Phil, anyone else up for it?

Mike

pokerrick1 · Post by **pokerrick1** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:54 pm

Sounds good Mike - - - but first I have to round up a female crew member.

Wasn't planning on doing that until spring. I understand DST is coming into effect early on 3/11 this year? That right?

PS We'll all use YOUR dinghy

Rick

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:39 pm

sounds great, whats a dst?

shop early come spring all the good ones are taken....

jda · Post by **jda** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:58 pm

dst = Daylight Savings Time. And yes, according to my calendar it does begin on March 11 this year and I believe it ends one week later than normal in November.

jda

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:13 am

DST ohh ok. I thought it had something to do with Dames....

Hardcrab · Post by **Hardcrab** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:39 pm

Oh please, I do hope you mean March 23, right? :) Yeah, you must mean the 23rd. :) No way you can mean the 16th. :( Nah, it ain't the 16th. :( He really must mean the 23rd. :) Yeah, thats it, the 23rd. :) I would like to ask if we might tag along on the 23rd, :) if possible. Can't make the 16th, :( but the 23rd, :) now thats a horse of a different color. Did I already mention the 23rd? :) We'll be at the MDR launch ramp at zero dark thirty, on Friday, the 23rd, :) without a dingy. This could be a chance to learn the ropes for our first run. Do you usually motor over and back? Any particular group VHF channel to monitor? I'm getting jazzed already!
Twenty Three. :D
Pokerrick, I hope you can make it, seeing as how we have already met.
Bill and Sue,
"Cease-fire"

Mark Karagianis · Post by **Mark Karagianis** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:40 pm

Hardcrab, check out this really good link on Events & Venues from last year this time Catalina Trip March 25-26 [Pics on last page] . A bunch of us - six boats - went as a group to Two Harbors and met up with several more who moored or anchored i=on the mainland side.

Since I'm fairly sure I didn't link this right, go to the second page of Events and scroll down to find it. All of your questions will be answered.

March 23-25? It's a little early in the season and it's hard to predict the weather that far out. Could have anything. But the last two weekends were amazing. Yeeasteday it was 78 degrees, sunny, absloutely flat, and at 2pm the wind shifted 180 degrees just like that!

Mark

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:02 pm

Here it is: Catalina Trip March 25-26 (2006)

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

MDR to Catalina questions?

MDR to Catalina questions?

Dingy

Catalina