Boating near Malibu, CA
 

I have some friends who have rented a house north of Malibu on the beach (El Matador Beach) for the summer. I want to take my boat up there, anchor and go ashore. The house they have rented comes with jet skis and a small tendor type craft. My question is, how close can I actually get to the shore/beach and anchor to ferry people from ship to shore ??

200 feet from shore....And Technically the only law is that you have to be going "under 5 mph with in 200 feet of shore" Doesn't technically say you can't go closer but to stay on the safe side, I'd just anchor up at least 200 feet out. 200 feet is pretty damn close anyway!

Is the house near the bay just south of Broad Beach? It's always calm there and I see a few boats anchored offshore all the time during the summer.

Tank

Thanks dude - Actually, the house is just a couple miles north of Broad beach....just above that small south facing point at the north end of Broad. You can see the house placemark in the image below and the broad beach placemark just south of the house.
Would you be comfortable anchoring in front of that house and leaving the boat unattended ? I guess it just depends on the swell, winds and setting the anchor well....

Yea, it's usually pretty calm there. Thats considered part of the Santa Monica Bay (the north end of it). South of Pt Mugu the water always lies down do to the way the coast curves in and blocks the swell. But like you said, it just depends on the wind and swell. Another thing you're going to have to watch for is the kelp beds. Lots of kelp there. Also, if you do it, I'd throw a smaller stearn anchor as well to keep it from swinging and dragging your anchor.

And by the way, if you zoom in really close on the house you can see just how close 200 feet is. It's no more than that little rock formation just south of the house is from the shore. Too close to anchor I'd say.

Where the hell do they keep the tender and jet skis?

Sweet pad though. That would be an insane set up if you could pull it off. I've run the boat down the coast along Malibu before. It's a really cool way to get a different prospective of those crazy azz houses along the coast you cant see from the street side.

Good deal - yeah, I used the ruler on Google Earth and plotted 200' from shore and it is WAY closer than I would ever want to anchor near land...especially in the ocean. Hopefully some of those kelp beds will not be there otherwise I'll just have to pick my way through them, or better yet...stay outside them.
I have no clue about the jet skis and tender but apparently they are there and the house has a guy who takes care of all that - so, we will see.
A sweet pad indeed....some of those houses are totally insane. I'll keep ya posted man; thanks again for the info/help.

Luke

Loved to check the houses on the coast along there. I lived in Newport Beach for a couple of years, and I remember when I first took my boat out, how amazed I was at the architecture.

The coastline is stunning, but my feeling was that it isn't nearly as user-friendly as the east side. :D Cliffs, rocks and more cliffs. Have fun and post some pics- looks like a great spot.

this is near Laguna...

How close do you really need to be to the rocks. Remember I have seen your crew

:eek::drink:

Funny chit, Matt - you know me too well.

I ran up to this spot on Sunday - was pretty ugly out there and this particular beach area is totally unprotected. Don't think I'll be dropping anchor there anytime soon and leaving my boat unattended - way too much wind and swell.
What is strange, is that another guy who lives next door has a nice center console with triple 300's that he leaves tied up about 500' off the beach. No stern anchor, just a bow line attached to a bouy. I have no idea how he could have possibly got a mooring permit up there as it's the only boat moored on the entire coast north of santa monica....

that's the guy I was talking about. I've seen that boat before. I don't think he needs a stern line due to the consistent swell that keeps the boat nose out. Its usually pretty calm there. Maybe it was just a bad day.

Where's the pics by the way!? Letting us down luke!