Emerald Bay, Catalina Island

Shoyrtt

Shoyrtt

Alamitos to Avalon
SILVER Sponsor
Jul 16, 2020
1,891
Alamitos Bay, CA
Boat Info
1999 450 Express Bridge, 9’ Achilles dinghy w/15hp Suzuki EFI
Engines
Caterpillar 3126TA
We took our fourth trip over to Catalina Island, this time to check out Emerald Bay. Located on the west side of the Island, it is home to a Boy Scout camp and the Corsair Yacht Club's shoreside facilities. The 102 moorings were mostly vacant when we arrived. I hailed the harbor master who came over and told us it was his last day of work, as the Summer seasonal help were wrapping things up. He kindly helped find a great spot to enjoy the beautiful clear water Emerald Bay provides. Two of our kids joined us for the first time. With the water temperature at 70 degrees, we brought over the snorkeling gear for a go and Micah did some crazy flips off of the flybridge. Our five month old Maltese puppy wore her new outfit along with her life jacket when we went on the dinghy. Great cell service and the boys and I even watched some NFL during lunch. I would highly recommend this spot to everyone.
CatalinaIslandMap.jpg
EmeraldBay1.jpg
EmeraldBay2.jpg
EmeraldBay3.jpg

EmeraldBay4.jpg

And here is an image I found from the shore:
emeraldbay5.jpg
 
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Heading over Catalina tomorrow morning at 0 dark thirty. Shooting for Avalon as the wife has never been. May end up in Emerald or Isthmus depending on mooring availability.

Hope to have lots of pictures up here next week.

You going out this weekend Shoyrtt?
 
Chief Ed said:
Heading over Catalina tomorrow morning at 0 dark thirty. Shooting for Avalon as the wife has never been. May end up in Emerald or Isthmus depending on mooring availability.

Hope to have lots of pictures up here next week.

You going out this weekend Shoyrtt?
Click to expand...
Chief Ed, yes we are leaving Saturday morning early and heading to Isthmus Cove to spend the night. I’m guessing there will be plenty of moorings in Avalon for you and the wife, but if you decide to relocate, hopefully I will see you there.

Edit: The forecast is calling for patchy fog in the morning tomorrow and Saturday. Also, I think you will avoid them, but watch out for the shipping lanes heading in and out of the Port of LA/Long Beach.
https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=pzz655#
 
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Thanks, Shoyrtt. Maybe we’ll see you there. We’re casting off in about an hour. Our boat is “ Bye Felicia II”.

Thanks for the heads up on the fog. Good excuse to test the new Garmin radar!
 
We made it. Awesome crossing this morning followed by a great day. Avalon proper was full so they put us in front of Descanso Beach. Great spot...
 
Nice... Watched a lot of movies in that "Casino that was never a casino building". I came accross this pin in my kids collection. They used to get a new one every year.
IMG_1797.jpg
 
This still flying over there? That use to be cool to see pull into Avalon.
IMG_0431.JPG
 
Shoyrtt said:
We took our fourth trip over to Catalina Island, this time to check out Emerald Bay. Located on the west side of the Island, it is home to a Boy Scout camp and the Corsair Yacht Club's shoreside facilities. The 102 moorings were mostly vacant when we arrived. I hailed the harbor master who came over and told us it was his last day of work, as the Summer seasonal help were wrapping things up. He kindly helped find a great spot to enjoy the beautiful clear water Emerald Bay provides. Two of our kids joined us for the first time. With the water temperature at 70 degrees, we brought over the snorkeling gear for a go and Micah did some crazy flips off of the flybridge. Our five month old Maltese puppy wore her new outfit along with her life jacket when we went on the dinghy. Great cell service and the boys and I even watched some NFL during lunch. I would highly recommend this spot to everyone. View attachment 92687 View attachment 92688 View attachment 92689 View attachment 92690
View attachment 92692
And here is an image I found from the shore:
View attachment 92708
Click to expand...
Nice trip. We’ve hiked out there, but not used the moorings. Is there a dinghy dock you can use to go to shore and access any of the hiking trails? We are headed over week after next for 5 days.
 
mmcguire2002 said:
Nice trip. We’ve hiked out there, but not used the moorings. Is there a dinghy dock you can use to go to shore and access any of the hiking trails? We are headed over week after next for 5 days.
Click to expand...
Yes there is just make sure you have a 20+ foot line to tie off. There is always tons of dingys so have plenty of line.
 
ocgrant said:
Nice... Watched a lot of movies in that "Casino that was never a casino building". I came accross this pin in my kids collection. They used to get a new one every year.
View attachment 92820
Click to expand...
The Avalon Casino was never meant to be a “gambling casino”. Casino in Italian means”gathering place” and that was the intention of the Wrigleys who owned the island for a period of time. If you’ve never taken the tour it is really cool and the history of the building is fascinating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_Casino
 
mmcguire2002 said:
Nice trip. We’ve hiked out there, but not used the moorings. Is there a dinghy dock you can use to go to shore and access any of the hiking trails? We are headed over week after next for 5 days.
Click to expand...
MMcGuire, the dock at Emerald Bay was completely empty when we were there last weekend. I’m not sure if there was anyone onshore at either the camp or the yacht club to stop anyone from using the dock to go hiking.
 
NorCal Boater said:
The Avalon Casino was never meant to be a “gambling casino”. Casino in Italian means”gathering place” and that was the intention of the Wrigleys who owned the island for a period of time. If you’ve never taken the tour it is really cool and the history of the building is fascinating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_Casino
Click to expand...

Wanted to do the tour, but it’s still closed for COVID. Damn LA County....
 
That's pretty amazing. Can't wait to take my first trip out there. I'm getting this boat Seaworthy right now... bought a lake boat that had no vhf, flares, etc...
 
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