We are spending a long weekend in Dana Point, California.
Dana Point beaches are among the most beautiful in Southern California. Stretching for nearly seven miles, visitors can find the perfect beach for surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, fliteboarding, or sunbathing. It is a wonderful and unique place to bird, people or boat watch. Dana Point beaches remain the centerpiece of life in this Orange County town, whether it’s spending the day in the waves or watching the sunset.
We spent the day with friends at the Dana Point Marina.
The Dana Point Marina has been a beautiful harbor centerpiece for over 40 years, providing a secure, full-service boating facility to Dana Point’s active boaters, racers, sailors and sport fishers. There are over 2,400 boating slips. Slips are just steps from the heart of the harbor, where boaters can dine, shop, take a yoga class, join in community events or simply relax on a perfect Dana Point day.
Boat slips range from 21 feet to 85 feet.
Did you know there are rules for naming a boat?
A boat's name can relay a lot about its owner: life philosophy, life's work, love life, or lack thereof. Your boat plays many roles in your life: it's a home, an escape, a grand adventure, a lifestyle, a livelihood, a partner in crime, and, yes, even a silent confidant. The name of a boat can carry weight, indicate a weight lifted, or take a completely lighthearted approach – the options are endless.
Boat names should be kept very brief—usually to a single word or two, and on rare occasions three words. Remember that it should be short enough to fit on a transom, and easily understood during a VHF radio broadcast. Traditionally, naming a boat after a special woman in your life was considered appropriate.
Before you choose a name, give it a run through one of the boat name databases available online, and check out the annual BoatUS Top 10 Boat Names List.
If you choose a popular name, and in particular a name that is popular in your boating region, there's a good chance you'll eventually cross paths with your name-doppelgänger and cause some confusion over the radio waves.
Boat Name Superstitions Once named, superstition dictates that it's bad luck to change the name of a boat. But if you must, there's a tradition that follows (as with most things in boating) which can "clear your boat of bad juju". One boat renaming ceremony we found: place a piece of paper with the boat name on it in a small box, burn the box, then release the ashes into the sea or river. If you're not one for superstition, you're not alone – particularly as this one may have come about simply to dodge the attention of tax agencies when a large ship changed hands.
By far the easiest way to name a boat: ditch its predecessor. Whether your previous vessel had a run in with the sea floor or you wanted an upgrade, naming your second, third, and fourth boat after the first is a breeze. You don't even have to change the artwork on the boat decal. If you're attached to a boat name, there's no shame in wanting to keep it. Rendezvous II, Abigail Rose II, Act III, Adventure Us IIII – all names worthy of a second life.
Naming a boat after the lady in your life doesn't just score brownie points: it carries on an age-old tradition of naming boats after women.
There are several theories about how this came to be. One is that since the word for “ship” in the languages of the Mediterranean was feminine, the gender of the ship remained the same even in languages in which the word for ship or boat was male or gender-neutral. Another theory is that since boats were traditionally given female names, they became associated with women. In addition, working boats and ships were historically manned by all-male crews. Some ships, like whaling ships, would be at sea for years at a time, and would have a closer relationship with the boat than the mothers, wives, or sweethearts they left behind on shore. Legend has it that ships would sometimes behave like women too, with their own personalities and the specific ways they liked to be handled.
Fun activities to enjoy.
"Seaweed" is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
Some seaweeds are microscopic, such as the phytoplankton that live suspended in the water column and provide the base for most marine food chains. Some are enormous, like the giant kelp that grow in abundant “forests” and tower like underwater redwoods from their roots at the bottom of the sea. Most are medium-sized, come in colors of red, green, brown, and black, and randomly wash up on beaches and shorelines just about everywhere.
The vernacular “seaweed” is a bona-fide misnomer, because a weed is a plant that spreads so profusely it can harm the habitat where it takes hold. Not only are the fixed and free-floating “weeds” of the sea utterly essential to innumerable marine creatures, both as food and as habitat, they also provide many benefits to land-dwellers, notably those of the human variety."
"Seaweed is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and can be tasty. For at least 1,500 years, the Japanese have enrobed a mixture of raw fish, sticky rice, and other ingredients in a seaweed called nori. The delectable result is a sushi roll.
Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. Their known medicinal effects have been legion for thousands of years; the ancient Romans used them to treat wounds, burns, and rashes. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the ancient Egyptians may have used them as a treatment for breast cancer.
Certain seaweeds do, in fact, possess powerful cancer-fighting agents that researchers hope will eventually prove effective in the treatment of malignant tumors and leukemia in people. While dietary soy was long credited for the low rate of cancer in Japan, this indicator of robust health is now attributed to dietary seaweed.
These versatile marine plants and algae have also contributed to economic growth. Among their many uses in manufacturing, they are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) in such commercial goods as toothpaste and fruit jelly, and popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics and skin-care. "
How do you keep seals away from the boat or the dock? Place buckets or other distractions.
You can always stand watch!
Egrets, pelicans, gulls, and herons
Watch out for seals!
Poofy hair!
Bird of paradise flowers
