Ghost Town Marina

The Port of Los Angeles built a new marina here in San Pedro after tearing out the old one and rearranging the streets and wharf.                                                    
                                         
                                               

                                                                                                               
Marina gates and rails running along marina.

Facing north.

Facing south where half of the slips remain empty.

Catalina can be seen in the distance

Looking across the West Channel towards PV.

Two cranes have been installed to place boats in and out of the water. There is a large fenced storage yard for boats and trailers. All of this is blocked off and has never been used. Actually the parking lots for the southern half of the marina is blocked from entrance from the street but you can still walk along the edge.

Flowers and plants are everywhere. Tables and benches plus a nice wooden boardwalk can be enjoyed.

The marina is located right next to great food and beverages

At the south end the Lane Victory is docked and can be visited.

For more info about the Lane Victory

Not often but this week a cruise ship was here for a day next to the ghost town. The port just finished building a large parking lot for the occasional cruise ship when the cruise ship terminal next to the USS Iowa is full. 

A rare sight to see is the Flag of the City of Los Angeles

More May colors

The street that runs by the ghost town marina has a very nice green belt running between the two traffic lanes.  

There is rarely any traffic which makes walking or cycling great but it can be windy in the afternoon.

Pathways are a combination of boardwalk, dirt, and slick.

testing videos

When I was racing speedway I used to blog after every race but then I had a high speed DSL hooked to a land line. Now I am hooked to a dock living on a boat. No more land lines only dock lines. We have free WiFi at the marina but for the most part in the past it has been pretty sketchy. Recently I purchased an Android phone after my iPhone was stolen and the new device it pretty remarkable. This is my first try at posting videos to my blog. A one minute video recording with the phone holds 159 megabytes of data and the ability to upload it varies with the bandwidth of the IP and whether WiFi or 4G is used. I found an editor to reduce the length of the taping and this seems to have a reasonable approach.

USS Abraham Lincoln

Watched the giant carrier pass by the light house at the end of the breakwater and turn toward the pier at the end of West Channel where she docked July 25, 2011.

Ship commisioned 11 November 1989.

Cost $4.5 billion

Class: Nimitz Aircraft Carrier

Overall Length 1,092'

Beam overall 252'
          waterline 134'

Speed 30 plus Knots

Aircraft carried: 90 fixed wind and heliocopters

On January 13, 2010, the carrier completed upgrades and repair that cost $250 million at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The carrier was to be assigned to Carrier Strike Group Nine.

On February 03, 2011, The ship was awarded the Battle Effectiveness Award for its high standards of excellence and combat readiness

Los Angeles Navy Week July 25-31

My Pelican Pictures

This is an update of an old blog.

These first pictures were taken close to White's Point from the path that leads down to the water by Royal Palms. The pelicans are actually below me in several shots.

That is Point Fermin in the background

These were taken in March of this year.

They soar in small groups or in large ones. They start flying along the breakwater in Cabrillo Beach then ride the uplift along the cliff edge to Royal Palms then turn around and fly back close to the wave tops.

California Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis californicus

Now the pictures shift to two pelicans following in a returning fishing boat.

They know there will be something to eat.

The beggars are very good at panhandling

A flock of gulls also followed the boat into the dock but they stay in the air above the pelicans hoping to get some left overs.

It is not uncommon for gulls to steal from a pelican when they try to swallow their catch. The pelican stays in one spot above the water then dives and when it resurfaces the gull is ready to steal.

The fisherman cleans out the dead bait from his bait tank and gives the pelican an early supper.

San Pedro's Tall Ships

These pictures were taken on March 26 during a LAMI crew training trip.

Both of the brigantines went out and we proceeded east  towards Long Beach.

The two ships are named Exy Johnson and Irving Johnson and are close to being twins but there are some differences.

Inside or outside the breakwater it is not uncommon to find freighters and oil transport ships at anchor.

A brigantine is rigged with two masts.

The GPS display and compass are located forward of the helm

The mainsail is on the left and the square sails (top to bottom) are Fore Top gallant, Fore Upper Top Sail, Fore Lower Topsail and the Course.

Same sail from a port view

Lunch break

Captain at the helm

Going below to the berths.

From 20-34 berths depending on route or program.