Kayak Launch Dock
Kayak Launch Dock
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Kayak Canoe Boat Small Watercraft Dock Marine Edge Roller Launch Assist $89.95 |
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First Attempt to Launch the Bermuda Floating Dock $44.99 First Attempt to Launch the Bermuda Floating Dock – Giclee Print |
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Skyline Kayak Tour $75 Revel in the best view of Boston’s skyline – from a kayak on the Charles River! You’ll begin with a quick introduction to kayak strokes, then you’ll launch and begin your paddle along the Cambridge shoreline.After passing the Great Dome of MIT, you’ll cross the Charles River to the Esplanade while taking in the skyline including the Hancock and Prudential buildings, Citgo sign, State House Dome, and the financial district.You’ll continue paddling under the numerous footbridges of Stoorw Lagoon. After a break for snacks and non-alcoholic beverages near the Hatch Shell, you’ll paddle under the Longfellow (“Salt & Pepper”) bridge back to Kendall Square. |
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Launch $54.99 Jon Baker Launch – Framed Art Print |
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Full Day Kayak Adventure $160 Your tour will combine adventure coupled with just the right amount of luxury to make this a fun, educational, and personally uplifting experience.By the time youve paddled enough to work up an appetite, you and your party will park your kayaks on the beach and be treated to a wonderful, riverside catered lunch.After lunch, you will climb back into your boats and hit the water again to explore areas such as Salt House Cove, Tilghman Creek, the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge or the beautiful tidal marshes along the Chester River. Kayak tours depart from our private launch site on Little Queenstown Creek. Traveling in a sea kayak allows you to be one with the elements and view nature from a perspective that many will never experience! |
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Bic Adventure 120 Kayak $799.95 Sit-in for lake & sea, Solo leisure paddling and for Short trips Slightly longer than the 100, the new Adventure 120 Sit-in is just as easy a paddle but with a bit of extra glide and great for paddling on lakes, rivers, lagoons and calm seas. Fast and stable, it's aimed at kayakers looking for a great compromise between extra glide and less volume. The wide cockpit shape assures a hassle-free launch and land. Adjustable foot rests and the high quality "Ergoflex Seating" seat give excellent paddle comfort. The padded knee rests add an extra and very welcome touch. The large forward storage area, plus a rear platform with integral elastic straps mean you can really load up with equipment. A fast, stable kayak with top quality fittings.Key Features of the Bic Adventure 120 Kayak: Adjustable footrests Adjustable Backrest Wide rear hatch with quick-lock closure Stowing mesh at front Front and rear carry handles Drink holder Storage glove box at front Cockpit foam protection Storage glove box at front Waterproof rear hatch |
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Harbor Kayak Tour $95 Experience the thrill of paddling through the Charles River Locks into Boston Harbor! You’ll begin with a quick introduction to kayak strokes, then launch and paddle towards the Museum of Science.You’ll glide through the old locks of the original Charles River Dam (built in 1910), then paddle past the Nashua Street Park and under the Zakim Bunker Hill bridge. Then you’ll pass through the current dam and enter Boston’s Inner Harbor.In the Harbor you’ll head to Charlestown Navy Yard to view the U.S.S. Constitution, U.S.S. Cassin Young and other ships. Next, take in the amazing waterfront skyline, the Old North Church and the Financial District.Then enjoy the winding channels at North Point Park and break for snacks and beverages before heading toward the Esplanade and onward across the Charles River. |
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Bic Adventure 100 Kayak $649.95 Neat Sit-in for lake & sea and solo leisure paddling The new Adventure 100 is an easy paddling Sit-in that's great for lakes, rivers, lagoons and calm seas. Fast and surprisingly stable considering its compact size, it's very easy to handle on land too and fits neatly on the roof of your car. The wide cockpit shape assures a hassle-free launch and land. The fittings include foot rests and an adjustable backrest that guarantee a comfortable paddling position. And it's got ample storage space front and back. A versatile, compact and speedy Sit-in.Key Features of the Bic Adventure 100 Kayak: Adjustable footrests Adjustable backrest Wide rear hatch with quick-lock closure Stowing mesh at front Front and rear carry handles Storage glove box at front |
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Half Day Sea Kayak Tour $85 Your tour will combine adventure coupled with just the right amount of luxury to make this a fun, educational, and personally uplifting experience.You will explore areas such as Salt House Cove, Tilghman Creek, the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge or the beautiful tidal marshes along the Chester River all while learning basic kayak instruction, safety, and paddling technique.When you’re ready for a break from paddling, you and your guide will pull your boats ashore and explore the area?s beautiful beaches by foot.Kayak tours depart from our private launch site on Little Queenstown Creek. Come experience nature through this historical and peaceful means of travel! |
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La Jolla Sea Caves Kayak Tour $70 Hands down the most popular of our kayak tours, this beautiful seascape and wildlife excursion is awesome!This guided, 2-hour kayak tour gives you the opportunity to see leopard sharks, garibaldi, dolphin, and many other beautiful fish. You may even be visited by one of the many sea lions who live in the area. Harbor seals are known to peer at us through their side of the glass.After a brief paddle instruction and safety talk, you bring your kayak down to the beach and launch from the La Jolla Shores, paddling to the La Jolla Sea Caves and taking in the gorgeous views while watching for the abundant wildlife. You then kayak into the fascinating kelp beds of the La Jolla Ecological Reserve and enjoy the surf zone on the way back. |
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Living Dock Kayak Launch Planting at Clarks Island in Clearlake Oaks CA
Marina Del Rey: See How the Other Half Lives
Looking for a place to stay in L.A.? Try Marina del Rey, an ideal choice for a getaway or vacation with its swanky hotels, nearby water recreation and more restaurants in one square mile than even New York City.
Marina del Rey also happens to be located just minutes from such popular L.A. tourist areas as Venice Beach and trendy Santa Monica, a kind of nirvana for shoppers who love perusing the upscale boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops while never going further than a couple of blocks from the sea.
On our latest trip to the area, we headquartered at Marina del Rey, stepping up to the Ritz-Carlton for one of those this-is-how-the-other-half-lives weekend adventures. We got a good dose of L.A. chic and had fun pretending we were bigshots who could actually afford to live at the marina. “On the water” for us didn’t mean chartering one of the 6,000 or so small boats and yachts in the harbor; it was paddling a couple of kayaks in and around the marina which, as it turned out, was probably just as much fun.
Marina del Rey is situated about 14 miles west of Los Angeles, a fairly quick freeway drive west on the 10 freeway, which intersects with both I-405 and I-5. But be careful not to arrive during rush hour – the 10 seizes up with traffic to the point you’ll feel like you’re crawling that last 14 miles.
The marina was first conceived as far back as 1887 when real estate developer M. C. Wicks envisioned turning the Playa del Rey estuary into a major commercial harbor. But Marina del Rey wasn’t completed until 1965 following decades of problems with funding, storm damage and other issues.
Today, the marina is not only home to the L.A. boating crowd, but it’s also a popular destination for day-trippers, weekend visitors and a steady clientele of business travelers. The marina is surrounded by high-rise condos, hotels, apartments, shops, and restaurants. The area’s waterfront parks make ideal picnic spots.
With its panoramic views of marina, the Ritz-Carlton was the perfect choice to soak up the flavor of the marina. Everything’s close to the Ritz so it proved quite convenient just to park our vehicle at the hotel and explore the marina on foot. The Ritz-Carlton features amenities you find in the finest resort hotels including a resort-style swimming pool practically right next to the luxury yachts in the marina. An outdoor restaurant called the Wave is a great way to enjoy the nautical ambience, while we especially enjoyed dinner at the indoor-outdoor Jer-ne Restaurant under the direction of Chef Chad Minton, who serves prime meats free from hormones and locally caught seafood.
Our room on the sixth floor not only gave us picture-postcard views of the marina, but also of the neighborhoods to the west and north of the marina. Our standard room was over-sized, had two queen beds, and offered plenty of space for the three of us – two parents, one eight-year-old. The room’s stylish décor was done in beige, gold and blue tones and included a modest-size LCD TV. A luxurious mahogany desk offered plenty of space to set up our laptop and conduct a little business. Marble floors and countertops highlighted the bath area, while a selection of Bvlgari products included soaps, shampoos, creams and, in general, the largest assortment of personal grooming aids we had seen outside of a department store.
The 1.5-square-mile marina is large enough that you will get some exercise walking the perimeter, not to mention the workout your arms will get if you follow in our footsteps and rent some kayaks from Marina del Rey Boat Rentals. They offer a wide variety of craft, including motorboats, but we chose to get a little bit of a workout by cruising the marina at water-level. No need to worry about falling in — the rental company has a kayak launch area on its dock where you just get in your kayak while it’s still on the dock and they shove your boat into the water. Coming back, same story – they bring your kayak up on the dock and you disembark right on the dock.
This kayak trip proved to be a highlight of our day. Paddling these kayaks through Marina del Rey was especially rewarding on a blue-sky, bright-sunshine day. The channels are wide and the boat traffic was light, so there was never a navigation issue. We got a water’s-eye view of some of the fanciest yachts on the West Coast while enjoying the seabirds, seals and other wildlife that pop up every now and then in these bright blue waters. And there’s plenty of marina to explore – you could spend all day paddling up and down each finger of the marina, although our two hours was just about right for arms and shoulders not used to a lot of paddling.
You can also avoid paddling altogether and still see the marina up close and personal. There are small tour boats that will take you through the many channels, tell you some Marina del Rey history and show you some boats owned by some very famous people.
A visit to Marina del Rey would not be complete without a side trip to Venice Beach, one of California’s most famous beach areas. It’s just a couple of miles from the marina to Venice, but the culture change is like going to a different continent – at least coming from the Ritz-Carlton. We were temporary members of the yachting class and then, 10 minutes later, we were seeing the first real group of hippies we’d seen since the early 1970′s.
Venice Beach, to be fair, is not all hippies and, in fact, has a crowd that is just about as diverse as you can find. From young people on skateboards to stylishly dressed young professionals to retirees to tattooed remnants of the Vietnam era, the boardwalk in Venice will show you life from every angle. Stroll the wide walkway and you’ll cruise by tee-shirt shops, pipe shops, bikini shops, body piercing shops. You’ll hear music all along the way as you journey through music history from the Beatles to Hendrix to Jamaican reggae.
The folks who come down to Venice are doing it for the ambience and/or exercise. They’re roller skating, bicycling, running, dog-walking or just strolling. They’re dressed in everything from business suits to bikinis. Some will stop and have a pizza, a burger or a hot dog, or do a little shopping in markets that offer handbags, luggage, jewelry, carvings, incense, oils and many items you can’t even imagine. And, of course, everyone loves the beach, which is about as wide and inviting as any in the area.
Venice Beach turned out to be the perfect complement to Marina del Rey. If you want to experience some real coastal energy, the waterfront area that includes Marina del Rey may be just the place to find everything you need.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Marina del Rey is about 14 miles southwest of Los Angeles city center, and less than a mile from Los Angeles International Airport. It’s adjacent to Venice Beach, and Santa Monica also is close by.
WHAT: Marina del Rey is home to 6,000 boats and is surrounded by high-rise condos, hotels, apartments, shops, and restaurants.
WHEN: Any time of year. The coastal breezes keep the area temperate even when the hottest part of summer arrives, and the sun shines even in winter.
WHY: Location, location, location. Marina del Rey not only has its own nautical charm, but nearby beach communities offer plenty of shopping and people-watching.
HOW: For more information on Marina del Rey, contact the Marina del Rey Convention and Visitors Bureau at 310-305-9545 or go to www.visitmarinadelrey.com. For information on the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, phone 800-241-3333 or visit www.ritzcarlton.com.
About the Author
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer and president of Getaway Media Corp, which publishes websites focused on regional getaway travel. Among the sites currently offered by GMC are http://www.californiaweekend.com , covering California beach vacations and other Golden State destinations, and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com , covering Northwest travel .
