Yesterday we sailed across Santa Monica Bay, passing Los Angeles in what felt much more civilized than driving I-5 (but what isn't really?). We arrived just after sunset to Paradise Cove WPT 34°01.00"N 118°47.75'W. This is a beautiful cove protected by Pt Dume from westerly winds along a stretch of coast just south of Malibu, boasting extravagant homes, a beautiful sandy beach, a small pier, one restaurant, and believe it or not.. no other boats.

Anchoring in the dark was a daunting experience in and around multiple kelp forests. We felt the anchor might not be dug into anything more than a couple of large kelp plants and kept a close eye through the night. A little after dawn, Dave and I both felt we were just a little to close for comfort to the beach in just over 10 ft of water at a lowering tide. We moved to a much better location between two areas of kelp (much easier to see what we're doing in the morning light). Of course all that maneuvering through kelp got our prop tangled again. It was my turn for the chilly morning swim to unwrap the tough plant from around our propeller. Getting in actually isn't the hard part its getting back on the boat with our make shift rope ladder that is tough.

It seems there is a SW wind forecast end of this week and we feel this is a great place to spend time till then. I have a tasty meal planned for this evening, a mexican style pork stew with sweet potatoes. Then, just maybe a beach day tomorrow.