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An Overlooked Gem
by Kay Pastorius
Cruisers find Alamitos Bay, California to be an unexpected dream destination
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I didn’t start out to make Long Beach, California’s Alamitos Bay my boating destination -- and when I got there, I never planned to stay several months. However, as it turned out, I found Alamitos Bay to be one of the most accommodating and interesting Southern California marinas I have ever visited.
Here’s how it all happened.
My husband, Joe Waller, and I had originally traveled to Alamitos Bay Marina to look at a Grand Banks 42 that was advertised in the local paper. We ended up buying the boat and “inheriting” a slip at the marina. We stayed for several months, while we got the boat ready to make a long-range cruise to Mexico.
Over the years, I had met many boat owners who kept their boats in Alamitos Bay. I had been to the marina for a number of bon voyage parties; and I had cruised from Alamitos Bay to other places on friends’ boats. So, it wasn’t like I was a stranger to the area.
Still, I had never thought of Alamitos Bay as a full-blown “boating destination,” like, say, Catalina Island, Seattle or Cabo San Lucas. As it turned out, after staying here aboard my own boat, I found that Alamitos Bay is one of the most boater-friendly places in Southern California – and it is definitely worthy of the term “destination.”
A Bad Rap
One thing you may hear about Alamitos Bay from Long Beach area boaters is that the docks have not always been well maintained by the marina’s owner, the city of Long Beach. While this may, indeed, spark complaints from the marina’s permanent slip tenants, it is not a major concern for a visiting boater. For a cruiser in transit, the marina is a paradise.
Alamitos Bay Marina is centrally located. It is close (23 miles) to Catalina Island and its idyllic offshore cruising waters; it offers rapid access to open water for pleasureboaters and sport anglers; and it is close (7 miles) to Huntington Flats, a noted fishing area. Since it is smack-dab in the middle of the Los Angeles Basin, there are three major freeways that take you to Long Beach, which means easy access for trailerable boats.
Alamitos Bay Marina boasts seven basins that offer a total of 1,975 slips, from 16 to 124 feet. The facility offers on-site security, restrooms and showers, plus dock boxes and dinghy storage.
A free 24-hour pumpout station is available at the long dock near the harbormaster’s office. Alamitos Bay Marine runs the local fuel dock, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during winter; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during summer.
Two launch ramps are nearby. Davies Launch Ramp is located off Second Street by the Davies Bridge. It offers four lanes and is open 24 hours a day. The facility has 156 parking spaces, and parking is $6 per day. Marine Stadium has a six-lane launch ramp, open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. This facility offers 90 parking spaces, and parking is $6.
Getting Around
Boaters enter Alamitos Bay from the south, along a 17-foot-deep channel.
During low tides, the entry channel to Alamitos Bay is shallow on the east side, opposite Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The only other hazards are some low bridges on the way to the upper bay.
GPS coordinates for the harbor entrance are 33 degrees, 44.218 minutes north latitude; 118 degrees, 87.282 degrees west longitude. It was reassuring to have those GPS waypoints for the harbor entrance, as fog can roll in rapidly. Also, there are many jetties and entrances into Long Beach Harbor, which could prove confusing the first time you come to Alamitos Bay.
As you enter Alamitos Bay, you’ll see Seaport Village – a large dining and shopping complex – on the east side of the channel entrance. Visiting boaters can tie up at its 371 foot guest dock, but no overnighting is allowed here.
Continuing up the channel, boaters will find Marina Park, at 5255 Appian Way. It is home to Marine Stadium, a prime waterskiing area; and Pete Archer Rowing Center, which was originally built for the 1932 Olympic Games.
The bridge that spans Marine Stadium has a clearance of 32 feet. A second bridge at Marine Stadium and the west waterway has a 13 foot clearance.
Long Beach Sailing Center, a training ground for youth sailing, is also based in Alamitos Bay. It maintains a fleet of Sabots, donated by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.
Alamitos Bay is bordered by the historic Naples Island neighborhood, which was designed to mimic the on-the-water elegance of Venice.
During our stay at Alamitos Bay, my husband and I spent many idyllic afternoons aboard our dinghy, going through the Naples canals. In the late afternoon, gondolas ply these canals -- and you might swear you were in Italy, because these gondolas are exact replicas of their Venetian counterparts. We didn’t meet up with any musically inclined gondoliers, so we ended up serenading one surprised oarsman with our own rendition of “O Solo Mio.”
The stunning architecture of the individually designed homes along the Naples canals was a great source of interest and fantasy for us. We marveled over the unique features of each home, and wondered what celebrities might be living there.
It was summer, and the beach was especially attractive. We had easy access to the ocean for body surfing and for taking long walks on white sand beaches that stretch for miles. We could take a dinghy to Marina Park’s Mother’s Beach, or mosey along Bayshore Avenue and swim in the confines of the bay.
Alamitos Bay Landing has a long visitor’s dock you can use, if you are only coming in for the afternoon. You can go ashore and shop, have a manicure or have a bite to eat.
Worldclass Shopping and Dining
Eating out was an adventure while staying in Alamitos Bay. Belmont Shore’s trendy Second Street shopping district is about a mile’s stroll away from the marina. There are interesting shops, fine gourmet restaurants and great pubs to visit.
The marina itself has several good restaurants and cafes, including the Crab Pot, the Rusty Pelican, and Schooner or Later (which is great for breakfast and has its own guest dock). Pine Avenue is “Restaurant Row” for Long Beach -- and a runabout bus leaves every 15 minutes from Alamitos Bay Landing, to take you to its fine dining establishments.
While in Alamitos Bay, I delighted in shopping by dinghy. Like few other destinations, you can take your dinghy almost everywhere you might need to go. Tie up the dinghy at the free dock at Marina Pacifica shopping center, and you can go to a movie, do your grocery shopping or go to dinner.
You enter the shopping center through the parking garage and take the elevator to the street level. Emerging at the shopping center can be somewhat like cultural shock, after being in the secluded boater’s paradise of Alamitos Bay. You’ll see non-boating people walking around, seemingly oblivious to the yacht haven on the other side of the mall.
Every weekend in the parking lot near the local West Marine, there is a terrific Farmer’s Market. We stocked up on fresh organically grown produce, warm whole-grain breads and cut flowers for the cabin -- and we even found a Frenchman selling homemade pastas and delicious sauces to complement them.
Across Pacific Coast Highway, I found my favorite local provisioning spot: a Trader Joe’s store. If you’ve never been to one of the stores in this chain, the company offers gourmet and hard-to-find food items from around the world, at discount warehouse-type prices. Here, I found good wines, great appetizers and all sorts of ready-made food items that seem custom-designed for people on boats.
It was summer “pops” concert season while we were in Alamitos Bay, and we were delighted to be able to stay aboard our Grand Banks and hear the concerts at Marina Stadium. On Thursday nights, municipal band concerts are held in this stadium beside the water. Boaters are welcome to anchor off the park area – and this is the only time larger boats are allowed in the stadium.
We also attended a concert in front of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and another across the highway at the Long Beach Marketplace. All the concerts were free.
You can rent a bike at several different locations near the marina, and there is a bike path that leads all the way from Alamitos Bay to Shoreline Village.
We had an occasion to have our boat hauled out for repairs, and were impressed with the full-service Marina Ship Yard in Alamitos Bay. Many other local marine businesses stand ready to handle just about any job on your boat.
Visitors will find numerous guest moorings at Alamitos Bay -- and boat owners are permitted to sublease their slips, which means many slips are available while lessees are off cruising. The marina office posts subleases that are available and will take reservations over the telephone (you can use your credit card).
While Alamitos Bay Marina is an overlooked gem of a destination, it is still advisable to reserve space ahead of time, if you plan to visit during a weekend. Guest moorings are 60 cents a foot, per night.
Isn’t it funny how we often find the best things in unexpected places?
Kay Pastorius and her husband, Joe Waller, are currently cruising in Mexico aboard their Grand Banks 42, JoyFull. Kay is a frequent contributor to Sea Magazine and is the author of the popular cookbook “Cruising Cuisine: Fresh Food From the Galley,” published by International Marine.
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This article first appeared in the March 1, 2001 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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