Marina Del Rey for New Years? Thoughts.

[idavis]

I didn't know whether or not to ask this here or in General Discussion, but I figured the salt water forum was more appropriate. Has anyone been to the New Years fireworks show from Marina Del Rey? I was debating taking out our ski boat to watch the midnight fireworks show. Since I haven't launched from there, and this would be at night to boot, is this a good idea? It's an 18' Chaparral so I am not too worried about taking it out on the ocean. I will check the surf reports before I go. I am thinking that we would need to launch, then exit the harbor to the pacific, and then anchor somewhere close by. How deep is the surrounding area in general? I am used to anchoring in under 50' of water. I might need to buy a longer rode.

I figure at a minimum, I need to pick up a flare gun, a handheld marine radio, and possibly a handheld spotlight. I will be bringing a couple of gps units, and plenty of batteries. Anything else? I think it would be a blast.

[idavis]

I will go ahead and follow up to this. We had a blast. Launched the boat around 6PM, and did some tooling around the marina. Saw some dolphins by the exit, and made our way out to the coast. The waves were a little high and it was dark so I kept the joyriding to a minimum. We anchored south of the marina and waited. The fireworks show was really nice, and being right there, was even better. The really loud ones you could feel. All in all we had a really good time. I know that all the traffic on the way there and back were wondering what the hell a ski boat was doing out on the highway...

[cappo]

cool i never knew they put on a NYE show
we usually go there for the 4th of july fireworks

[Tail Chaser]

Did not know about the New Year show either.
Pretty sure the water depth is like 30 ft outside the breakwall. Not 100% positive so did not post earlyer.To lazy to put in my chart cd rom :oops:
Was out there for the 4th. Lot of boats. Must have watched like nine firework shows all down the coast from just outside the breakwall. 8) Caught my 5ft leo that night :D
Glad you had fun. Them waves around the breakwall can get fairly big and steep in the evening.

[idavis]

The fireworks show was excellent. At 11:59:30 they fire off one shot a second until midnight, and then they have a 5 min show.

We were anchored in about 22 ft of water just south east of the breakwall. The water was pretty smooth there. We had anchored out a little farther down the coast, but it was quite choppy with some big swells. My wife got seasick and we were heading back to the marina when we found the calm water behind the breakwall and closer to the beach. I did manage to find the charts online and a viewer. I put all the major points in my gps before we headed out for the night. Can't wait to do that again, only in the daylight.

[Tail Chaser]

Just noticed your in Saugus. Im in Acton 8)
Bummer your wife got sick.
I keep the herb, Ginger on board. It was in a sailers remedy for sea sickness I found online.
Seems to work good. And its all natural.
The 4th gets pretty crowded just outside the marina breakwall.
Everybody drifting around and moving.
Left my motor running the whole time just in case. Thats with even having radar.
Crowds thin out about 1/4 mile away though :D

[idavis]

I will keep the Ginger in mind. I don't think she had ever been seasick before, just the combination of being dark, and trying to keep a reference on shore, and the old motion of the ocean did her in. Once we got to calm water, she started feeling better, but never completely recovered.

I wouldn't mind going on the 4th, but wouldn't be real thrilled about the crowds. I guess only the hardcore were out there on New Years.

I do plan on taking the boat back out in the pacific for some fishing, but want to make sure the surf isn't too high. It's only an 18' bowrider and I don't want to be another statistic.

[Tail Chaser]

90% of them crowds were mostly at the harbor entrance.
Little creepy looking at all the glowing dots on the radar screen though.
Looking into the darkness. You could not see all the boats with your eyeballs.
Only one/two boats were down around Manhatten bch.
Its not that big of a deal out there at night. Just watch real close and move real slow.
Kinda like cruising in the fog :shock: :mrgreen: