Marina del Rey shoal 1/27/23

[Christian Williams]

Ran aground today in MDR cut, outgoing side. The storms shifted sand. Give channel markers a wide berth until they get the channel markers relocated.

No damage, but first whammo to a dead stop in 30 years here. Reminded me of the Chesapeake, where I did that daily.

 

[Alan Gomes]

I have been adding some rope clutches and swapping my halyard winch for a larger one this week and have been monitoring the VHF while I work. A couple of days ago I heard a powerboat that ran aground in this area and the skipper was very perplexed because he said he was inside the marked channel and didn't see how it was possible. He got pulled off, and afterwards the Coast Guard was broadcasting warnings about the shoaling. I was again at the boat all day today finishing up the job but heard nothing about it on the VHF.

 

[southofvictor]

Ouch, glad there‘s no damage. Were you able to get yourself off or did you get help?

 

[Waayout]

I was out on the 15th of this month and a 40ish ft Beneteau was aground almost in the middle of the north exit. Harbor Patrol and Sheriff were helping them rock back/forth, they made it to deeper water.

 

[Christian Williams]

Were you able to get yourself off

My big three-blade prop puts out quite a tugboat wash, and it was just sand, so getting off was easy. But a while since dead stop from 6 knots, and the stern rising like a elevator. Must've been entertaining for the fishermen on the rocks.

 

[Bolo]

Were you able to get yourself off

My big three-blade prop puts out quite a tugboat wash, and it was just sand, so getting off was easy. But a while since dead stop from 6 knots, and the stern rising like an elevator. Must've been entertaining for the fishermen on the rocks.

Out of curiosity, did your depth sounder give any warning or were you not paying attention to it because….well…there was suppose to be enough room? If you’re familiar with the Chesapeake Bay, if seen this sort of thing happen often coming out of Knapps Narrows, just past the bridge heading east. A large sail boat ran aground just ahead of me in the center of the channel which was obvious when the boat pitched forward suddenly. I came around him but with a shallower keel I just bounced along the bottom. That was with my former Hunter 285 years ago.The channel at Knapps shoals out often I guess because of the swift waters that run through it during tidal changes. It’s a constant battle to keep it deeper.

 

[Christian Williams]

I found the California coast surprising. A few miles offshore here it's 900 feet deep. The harbor is dredged to minimum 16 feet, and the approaches--unlike Chesapeake or Biscayne Bay--don't need buoys or day markers. The fathometer is useful for navigation, say, fishing at the 60-foot line, but otherwise there is rarely any need for it, and mine stops reading at 300 feet.

Anyhow, that's Los Angeles. No weather, no shoals, no currents, no clouds. And then the occasional correction of reality....

 

[Bolo]

I found the California coast surprising. A few miles offshore here it's 900 feet deep. The harbor is dredged to minimum 16 feet, and the approaches--unlike Chesapeake or Biscayne Bay--don't need buoys or day markers. The fathometer is useful for navigation, say, fishing at the 60-foot line, but otherwise there is rarely any need for it, and mine stops reading at 300 feet.

Anyhow, that's Los Angeles. No weather, no shoals, no currents, no clouds. And then the occasional correction of reality....

I’ve heard more then one ocean sailor say that when you sail the Chesapeake Bay you need to keep on you toes. That’s just a normal day’s sail for me.

 

[G Kiba]

Always a good thing to keep an eye on the depth in SF Bay and the delta for both draft and skirting for current relief. Maybe another reason why people say "if you can sail here, you will be fine sailing in most places". I think that's a bit over reaching. I am always the one who is more cautious about sailing places I have never been.

 

[Christian Williams]

CYC notice today (MDR local). Nothing to worry about, but it looks like dredges will be required down the road.

 

[Loren Beach]

Maybe your yacht club should do what ours has done for decades and operate your own dredge!
The dredge builder still features us in their web site, and we are dredging several months every winter, as sand accumulates. We purchased their smallest dredge, and are a rather different customer than the usual buyers of their mammoth machines used all over the world.

The only way for a smaller club to afford this is to have about 35 or 40 volunteer members to position it, attach and move hundreds of feet of piping, and operate it 7 days a week for two to three months. Cost wise, compared to hiring a commercial dredger, we amortized this 300K dredge totally out in under four years.

Yup, I am dressed in yellow foulies, driving one of the three boats to move it from the boat yard up to our club moorage. Cold day and a glacially slow trip upstream.

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[Filkee]

Ran aground today in MDR cut, outgoing side. The storms shifted sand. Give channel markers a wide berth until they get the channel markers relocated.

No damage, but first whammo to a dead stop in 30 years here. Reminded me of the Chesapeake, where I did that daily.

Oh, jeez. I remember in the early 80s when (I think) the south entrance was closed for a long time for that. At least it’s just sand, but still unnerving.

 

[Christian Williams]

Loren, that is truly amazing. I would love to be in a club that took such matters in hand and with such cool equipment to learn how to use.

I was in a pond off the South River (Hillsmere Pond, Annapolis) and drew four feet. The inlet was frequently three feet. I tried, recruiting friends and children, to shovel a channel while wading at low tide. I manufactured out of abandoned plow parts and 2x4s a drag dredge to be pulled by my 10 hp outboard. I tried anchoring in the cut and running the outboard at WOT to wash away a channel. Nothing worked. So I would put everybody on the rail, heel it over, and ram the bar at full speed. Usually we could make it over but if not we had to kedge off and everybody glared at me, covered in sweat and nettles.

Golly, a real dredge!

You are joking I know about taking such matters in own hands in this perhaps largest artificial harbor in America. DIY attempts here are why they have those deck guns on the CG cutters.

 

[sislander]

Ran aground today in MDR cut, outgoing side. The storms shifted sand. Give channel markers a wide berth until they get the channel markers relocated.

No damage, but first whammo to a dead stop in 30 years here. Reminded me of the Chesapeake, where I did that daily.

I was notified by the marina that the north entrance was closed and dredging will start soon.