Insider Info: On-the-Water Experiences

Many visitors and new residents love Marina del Rey for its waterside tranquility and most of all…its On-the-Water experiences. But how does one get in touch with the right people and places? We’ll help guide you with these tidbits below.

Connect with fellow enthusiasts; learn the ropes about what is current. Marina del Rey offers a welcoming community for boaters of all kinds and experience levels. There are many different boating clubs and associations that cater to the novice sailor/boater to help promote and encourage the development of sailing. Single Mariners of Marina del Rey is a non-profit club that only asks for donations to participate, while Marina Sunday Sailors offers your first two visits free and then if you want to join, it’s a small cost. Both clubs bring together adults who share a love of sailing and provide sailing activities in a friendly environment.

More MDR boat clubs

At the Marina's many yacht clubs, local and visiting boat owners can find access and a full array of services. The clubs also serve as a social hub for the boating community, and often offer facilities perfect for staging a memorable waterside event.

Yacht owners who plan on visiting our lovely harbor for a few days can rent guest docks through Pacific Mariners Yacht Club at a nominal fee per night based upon availability. For those who plan on docking in Marina del Rey for an extended length of time, yacht clubs such as Marina Venice Yacht Club (MVYC) might be of interest. On Sundays from 4:00-7:00pm they have an Open House for guests to check out the club. MVYC is a non-profit organization of people who just like the Pirates of the Caribbean, like to hit the Island for a great time, in the Corinthian Spirit.

More MDR yacht clubs

For an On-the-Water experience that's everything you envision – a range of sail and power yachts are available for private, skippered charter or bare boat rental. Marina Boat Rentals is your best source for daily rentals of these types of boats and kayaks. They even have two Duffy Electric Boats available equipped with a stereo and dining table – great for families and friends as it seats up to 12 people. If you’re looking to be more of an observer on the water, Blue Pacific Boating offers sailing to Malibu and Redondo beach, up close viewing of racing sailboats in Santa Monica Bay, and whale watching at sea level expedition style.

Insider Wrap Up: You don’t need to be affiliated with UCLA to participate in lessons and rentals through UCLA Marina Aquatic Center. It’s available to everyone for a modest affiliate membership fee. They offer lessons for kayaking, rowing, sailing, surfing and windsurfing.

AUGUST: CHEF'S RECIPE

In the spirit of the summer, Chef Jason of Cafe del Rey in Marina del Rey is pleased to share with you the secrets to his famous heirloom tomato salad with yellow watermelon and micro basil recipe!

Chef says, "One of my previous chefs and I came up with the combination of tomato and watermelon while on a guest chef event in Hawaii several years ago. We actually did it as a canapé with king crablegs. It was a wonderfully refreshing and beautiful marriage of flavors, perfect for a summer day in Hawaii. The dish evolved into a salad after we realized that the crab didn't really add anything to the dish... sometimes less is more. As heirloom tomatoes and yellow watermelon share the same growing season, this dish is always one I look forward to enjoying in the summer, and I hope you will too! We love to get our watermelon from the farmer's market, and our heirloom tomatoes from scarborough farms, which is a local small family owned farm."

Try it at home, and let us know how it turns out!

Heirloom Tomato and Yellow Watermelon Salad
Ingredients:
Serves 1
1 ea. Heirloom tomato (baseball size)
4 oz. Yellow seedless watermelon
1 tsp. Micro basil
2 oz. Aged sherry vinegar
1 oz. Extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. Toasted coriander
2 tsp. Minced tarragon
2 tsp. Honey
2 tsp. Whole grain mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the watermelon and tomato into 2 inch slices. Combine all other ingredients except the micro basil in a mixing bowl, and whisk until incorporated. Add tomato and watermelon, and toss until evenly dressed. Assemble salad by stacking the watermelon and tomato, alternating them. Garnish with micro basil. Enjoy!

More information visit: http://www.cafedelreymarina.com/executive_chef.htm

Workout Walk in the Marina

Excerpt by David Peevers on behalf of MDRCVB

Marina Beach, also known as Mother's Beach, is a lovely sand crescent of about 250 meters where the protected, shallow waters are absolutely warm and tranquil. Let's explore a real marina and work up a sweat!

Head left from Marina Beach along the paved biking and walking path. In just two minutes you'll turn right on Palawan Way and enter the world of ships. First up is a beached fleet of enormous outrigger racing canoes (marinaoutrigger.org) and as you continue along Palawan, you're on the designated Waterfront Walk. Soon you'll be surrounded by the forest of masts and rigging of the wind-jammers who ply the waters of California - and beyond.

After about 400 meters - passing a fleet of enormous power yachts - you'll come to the exclusive Del Rey Yacht Club. You continue on toward the left and head for the really huge, gleaming vessels of the FantaSea Yacht Club. Congratulations! You've just circumnambulated the entire Palawan Way jetty that symbolizes California's reverential history with the sea.

Now turn right and head towards the large white building with the bell tower and continue on Waterfront Walk past yet another armada of the fleet. After a good half mile you come to the end of the Walkway. You can turn left her on Admiralty Way to enter the home stretch or go right to prolong your hike through the pleasing greenery of Admiralty Park. Take a beverage break or continue and cross over Admiralty and head left along the narrow strip of greenery here. This is where you can take a stab at the Parcourse Fitness Circuit where signs challenge you to perform a series of intricate exercises over the next few hundred meters.

After your workout (like you needed it?) you'll pick up the adjoining waling and biking path and head for home. You'll soon be walking beneath a canopy of old pines and past nesting egreats who make their home here in a narrow lagoon. You'll then walk the last third of a kilometer along Washington Blvd. And then finally, you'll walk left on Via Marina and arrive sae and sound back at Mothers Beach. And we're willing to bet that the idea of a quick dip in the ocean never looked quite so good...

July 4th Fireworks in Marina del Rey

The traditional fireworks extravaganza over Marina del Rey takes place on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 at 9 p.m., and lasts approximately 20 minutes. Music coordinated with the fireworks display can be heard on KXLU FM radio, 88.9. The music will also be relayed over loudspeakers in Burton Chace Park.

Presented by the famed Zambelli Pyrotechnics, which originated more than 100 years ago in Italy, the display will follow the Italian tradition of huge finales. The event is sponsored by Los Angeles County Department of Beaches & Harbors.

Where to Watch the Fireworks
Fireworks are launched from a floating barge located in the waters of the main channel between Fisherman’s Village and the Breakwater (the ocean entrance to the harbor). 
Depending upon weather and cloud cover on the night of the show, the fireworks can usually be seen throughout the marina, and from the waterfront side of most hotels, restaurants, beaches, apartments and anchorages. You may be able to glimpse the fireworks from afar from Playa del Rey and Venice Beach Pier. Popular locations include:

•   Fisherman’s Village, 13755 Fiji Way (2 blocks west of Lincoln Blvd.)
•   Burton Chace Park, 13650 Mindanao Way (1 block west of Admiralty Way)
•   Marina Beach (Mother’s Beach), 4101 Admiralty Way (1 block south of Washington Blvd.)

Click here for further details!