Living On The Hook
Now Playing: Alamitos Harbor.

Alamitos Harbor is a natural Harbor with the additional entrance jettys and sea walls protecting it from ocean swells. It has the additional protection of being located at the Southern end of Los Angeles Harbor, one of the largest commercial ports in the world.

In spite of that location, Alamitos has it's own scenic beauty from a sand beach, a nice waterfront with good resturants and a gem of a little residential island in it's midst, Naples.

Alamitos if one of the most boater friendly marinas I've come across so far. Reservations are possible by fax with pre-payment. This is a real plus when I'm coming in to work. Not knowing if there's a slip available the day before work is a bit scarey. At .60 a foot per night it's not a bad deal.

The Marina is run by the City of Long Beach. The Dock staff are friendly and helpful. Ten years ago, during my wanderings there never seemed to be guest slips available here. Downtown Long Beach was always available. But, they are remodeling their docks, so Alamitos is handling the guest boaters.

The guest slips are all on end ties. I'm squeezed in with a beautiful sixty foot plus world cruising sailboat, Sea Bear. The end tie gives me a nice view of the open water and yet I get very little swell from passing boats.

This is a great reprovisioning/repair stop. West Marine, Boater's World, Captain's Warf and Stoll Marine are all within the marina. There are canvas and rigging shops across the river in Seal Beach.

I was able to row the dinghy 200 feet to the fuel dock and fill up my propane tanks and get some beer. There's a marine service there at the fuel dock that will do oil changes on your boat at the dock for $75.00.

There's several nice waterfront resturants in and around the marina. Seal Beach's Main Street also has great shops and resturants. There's also two other malls with super markets, theatres and more resturants on Pacific Coast Highwway across from the marina. Belmont Shore's Second street with it's eateries and entertainment venues are just across the bridge. Buses run regularly and everywhere in Long Beach.


I miss the open space of an anchorage. However, It is nice not to worry about the boat while I'm working.

I've been leaving the boat for work at 4:30 am, riding the bike six miles to downtown Long Beach to hop Metro Rail's Blue Line to LA and transferring to the Red Line to Hollywood and then riding the bike down hill to Beverly Hills to do Press Junkets for the past three days. The earliest I can arrive at the hotel is 7:00 am.

It's a long haul. I did have a rental car reserved but I decided to save the $350. and ride the train.

Overall, it's let me relax for a week and a half from worrying about the boat's safety.

I also found MarinaInternet.net scanned on my Wi-fi card so I have a fairly good internet connection on the boat for $20. Perhaps that's why I like this place so much. I have been internet deprived for a couple of months. Hearing my ocean/island music station streaming on the internet are just one of the ingredients in my life that make me feel like I am HOME.

Noel Diotte
coverunner@tmo.blackberry.net
310 376-7057

Coverunner Radio - Ocean/Island Music
Listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/coverunner

Site: www.coverunner.com

Sent wirelessly from the sailboat, "Shearwater" off the Southern California coast.