A few weeks ago I submitted a posting asking for info on anchoring at
Paradise Cove in Malibu. We went last weekend, so here's some info on our
experience.

We left Marina Del Rey at 10:30 in a Catalina 36. Paradise Cove is due west
and the wind was nose on. It was a beautiful day, sunny and clear day.
Temperature was around 70F, and winds initially were around 12 knots.

The wind and waves built throughout the afternoon with plenty of whitecaps.
We had many periods of solid 18 knot winds, and short periods of winds in
the low 20s and waves around 5 ft. It was difficult making progress upwind,
but we were having a great time.

We arrived at Paradise Cove and set the anchor by 16:00. We anchored in
sand outside the kelp beds about 300 feet off the pier in 38 feet of water.
The wind died down suddenly, partly due to shelter of the cove and partly
due to their own accord.

I snorkeled for a short while, with visibility around 15 feet (not bad for
the coastline around here, but nothing like the islands). I also swam down
and checked the anchor, which was fine. We enjoyed a bottle of wine on deck
as the sunset, and watched numerous pods of dolphins swim by. A few of them
even jumped, and it was a happy time with a goreous sunset.

There were two other sailboats in the cove, further out and apparently
unoccupied (one was moored). There was a 25 foot cabin cruiser anchored
about 100 feet from the pier. We saw a few kayakers around before sunset
too.

After sunset there was a dramatic change. A nasty Santa Ana kicked up out
of the east. I would say the winds were in the high 20s with gusts around
40. It blew out any westerly swell, so the water was calm. The winds are
warm.

We enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner. After dinner, the wind was very severe and I
checked the anchor. It seemed to be holding fine (single plow anchor off
the bow). I let out more scope as a precaution, and went below.

At 20:10 (shortly after letting out more scope) we heard a loud BANG! I
looked up through the campionway and saw a structure. My first impression
was that our bimini had been blown off. I scrambled up the steps, then
realized the structure was not our bimini, it was the cabin cruiser. First
I didn't know if we'd dragged anchor or what had happened. Then I realized
we were still anchored fine, and my impression was that the cabin cruiser
had swung into us. There was no one onboard the cabin cruiser (we'd seen
some folks in a dinghy earlier). And it was clear that the cabin cruiser
was dragging anchor.

I debated whether I wanted to try and board her and reset the anchor on the
cabin cruiser. However, we're not very experienced, don't have a dinghy,
and the winds were howling. Instead I wrote down the CF numbers and hailed
the USCG.

The cabin cruiser was flying out to sea fast! Luckily, there's no lee shore
in this condition at Paradise Cove. The USCG intercepted the vessel at
around 22:00. We could see from the anchor light that the vessel was about
to go hull down, and we estimated it must have been nearly 10 nmi away by
then (it was flying fast).

We were fine, only our BBQ was destroyed. Our anchor was holding, but the
event made us all anxious. I sent the crew to sleep and I stayed on deck
and watched the anchor until 1AM. It was a beautiful night, warm, very
clear, the moon almost full. I went below for some sleep, and got up every
two hours to check the anchor throughout the night.

The next morning was beautiful and all was well. We had a non-eventful trip
home.

The owner of the cabin cruiser paid for the damage and all is well and
everyone happy.

A little more adventure than I would have wished for, but it's a beautiful
place and I'll be sure to go again.

-B.