Home Care In Marina Del Rey, CA

A massive fire decimated the California Yacht Club located in Marina del Rey, CA.

The fire was reported around 11:30 pm on December 11, with crews arriving to find heavy smoke and fire engulfing the two-story building. Two firefighters suffered moderate injuries before the blaze was knocked down just before 1:30 am on December 12, 2023.

Among the prominent California clubs, it has been a frequent host to national and international regattas, with recent events including the J/70 World Championship, US Junior Women’s Championship, Martin 242 North American Championship, and CFJ National Championship.

The club was started in 1922 in Los Angeles harbor by a group of dedicated yachtsman – most from Los Angeles Athletic Club and the rest active in other early yacht clubs of the day. But when the USA went to war in 1941, the club’s facilities were taken over by the Coast Guard.

After World War II, the facilities were so run down that CYC was forever gone from its birthplace. However, a group of previous CYC members and other prominent yachtsmen were encouraged by the development of Marina del Rey and reactived California Yacht Club in 1961.

Former owner Steve Hathaway noted that his father helped build the club in the 1960s. “It’s been a home for so many people. We are so heartbroken right now… It tears me apart to see… It’s just terrible,” said Hathaway.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Comment: This one is personal as Scuttlebutt was founded at California Yacht Club with two generations of the Leweck family having photos and trophies that perished in the flames. – Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

Excerpt from Los Angeles Times on December 15, 2023:

The blaze engulfed decades’ worth of boating trophies, historical artifacts and cherished memorabilia at the California Yacht Club. Fire crews attempted to control the blaze as heavy smoke and flames consumed the two-story building. By the time they had subdued the fire two hours later, only the skeletal remnants of the clubhouse were left standing.

John Myers, senior vice president of the club, said the blaze had been reported by an employee working late in the clubhouse Monday night (Dec. 11). The fire spared the remainder of the facilities on the ground, including the docks and the yachts moored there. But the clubhouse, and particularly its second floor, was all but wiped out.

The second floor once housed a collection of the club’s prestigious racing trophies, kept on display for members and visitors. The fire melted all but a single salvageable California Cup. Most notably, the priceless King of Spain Trophy, acquired in 1929 from King Alfonso XIII, was lost.

Additionally, the club lost cherished photographs of every past commodore, a significant position within a yacht club. Members said they didn’t know if anyone had digitized the images of the commodores or of the club’s founders.

The main topic among members now is what’s next for the club. Dakoske Koslu noted that the club’s ownership changed over the last few years, and many are unsure and concerned about the club’s continuation after the fire.

Residents of a Marina del Rey apartment complex recounted the terrifying experience of sheltering in place, many in their bathtubs, for three hours as another resident of the complex indiscriminately fired off as many as 100 rounds from a firearm on the building’s rooftop over the weekend.

According to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s release, deputies from the Marina del Rey station responded to a call regarding gunshots from inside the apartment complex, located in the 4100 block of Via Marina, around 10:15 p.m. Saturday night.

“Deputies established a containment of the location and requested additional resources,” the LASD update stated. “An LASD air unit observed a male suspect on the roof…firing rounds from a rifle.”

“We heard three pops, and we weren’t sure what it was,” Elizabeth Amos, a resident of Pearl Apartments, told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.

Amos and her husband, Jeff Rubin, ran into the bathroom where they spent several painstaking hours sheltering in place.

“We were like, ‘What is that?’ and then we heard the gunman by the pool saying something along the lines of, ‘I have an AR-15 and nobody cares,’ and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” she explained.

“There would be like 20 minutes of silence,” Rubin added, “and then another round of gunshots and that went on for three hours.”

Amos said it was almost more reassuring to hear the gunfire because at least they knew where the gunman was instead of a silence that meant he could have been anywhere in the building.

People returning home from a night out were forced duck for cover on the side of the road as deputies attempted to deescalate the suspect’s rampage.

“My Uber dropped me off because my street was closed,” Marina del Rey resident Kierra Swusdee said. “I was walking down the [street] and this guy was crouching behind a car and was like ‘Come here, there’s a shooter!’ So, I ran and hid behind the car.”

Amos and Rubin said they don’t know the reason for the violent outburst, but believe the man, which they later realized they know, was having a psychotic break.

“Once we found out who it was, we realized that we knew the guy,” Amos said. “We’ve seen him a million times before. He was nice, normal, quiet, didn’t think once that he was anyone to worry about.”

When additional units, including four Bearcat vehicles, arrived SWAT moved in with an arrest team and took the suspect into custody around 1 a.m., law enforcement officials confirmed.

A photograph of the scene released by LASD reportedly shows the weapons the man left behind, including what appears to be two rifles, a handgun and some tactical gear.

“If you tell me now that no one got hurt from all this, it’s hard to believe,” Rubin said.

Sheriff’s department officials confirmed they were canvassing the area for evidence, witnesses and potential victims, however no victims were found.

So far, authorities have not released the identity of the suspect.

In an instant, an overnight seaside blaze engulfed decades’ worth of boating trophies, historical artifacts and cherished memorabilia at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey on Monday.

Fire crews attempted to control the blaze as heavy smoke and flames consumed the two-story building. By the time they had subdued the fire two hours later, only the skeletal remnants of the clubhouse were left standing.

John Myers, senior vice president of the club, said the blaze had been reported by an employee working late in the clubhouse Monday night. The fire spared the remainder of the facilities on the ground, including the docks and the yachts moored there. But the clubhouse, and particularly its second floor, was all but wiped out.

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“We are working closely with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in their investigation of the cause of the incident and will share those findings when they become available to us,” Myers said.

Members are left mourning, comparing the loss to the death of a loved one.

Jennifer Dakoske Koslu awoke in Rancho Mirage at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, before the sun had risen, to find her phone inundated with text messages from club members.

The first message she read simply stated, “The CYC is gone.”

“As soon as I opened my phone, it went to a link on the Citizen app and saw a video of the club burning. I was shocked,” Dakoske Koslu said.

For the last 24 years, Dakoske Koslu and her family have been dedicated members of the CYC, whose clubhouse is a few miles away from their home in Playa del Rey. She said it is where her children have grown up, familiarizing themselves with every inch.

“I remember taking my son there on the Fourth of July when he was just 3 weeks old. It was the first place we went with him as a newborn,” Dakoske Koslu said.

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She and her husband biked to the club in the aftermath of the fire, greeted by the charred remains of the building on Wednesday afternoon.

“The destruction is unbelievable. It’s clear that the fire was burning intensely on the second floor,” Dakoske Koslu said. “There’s nothing left.”

The second floor once housed a collection of the club’s prestigious racing trophies, kept on display for members and visitors. The fire melted all but a single salvageable California Cup. Most notably, the priceless King of Spain Trophy, acquired in 1929 from King Alfonso XIII, was lost.

Additionally, the club lost cherished photographs of every past commodore, a significant position within a yacht club. Members said they didn’t know if anyone had digitized the images of the commodores or of the club’s founders.

“We would tell yachting stories at the bar around lots of memorabilia, and the yachting artifacts behind the bar are all gone now,” Tom Materna said. “The yacht club provided us a facility for the off-the-water celebrations after hard-fought competition on the water.”

The CYC dates to the early 1920s, started by boat owners from the Los Angeles Athletic Club and other yacht clubs. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the first clubhouse in 1922, designed by famed architect Edwin Bergstrom, co-designer of the Pentagon.

In 1965, the yacht club submitted a proposal for an all-encompassing $1-million, two-story, 10,000-square-foot clubhouse on four acres off Admiralty Way. Members envisioned a state-of-the-art facility with 170 boat slips, a guest dock, a small boat hoist and a dry land storage facility for boats. The clubhouse that resulted was dedicated on June 10, 1967.

Then-Commodore William A. DeGroot Jr. told The Times that the triangular parcel of land on which the clubhouse still sits is a “perfectly logical place for a club facility, and a commanding view down the main channel of the marina.”

Though the building has historical significance to its members, it does not have a historic designation, according to Linda Dishman, president of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and our members,” Myers said. “CYC has been a beacon for the nautical community for the past 101 years.”

Materna, 68, first found out about the fire through Facebook as friends posted videos and photos of the damage Tuesday morning. Then he began receiving calls and text messages from friends.

“Everybody woke up in the morning and realized we’d lost a significant part of the sailing community,” Materna said.

His connection to the club dates back nearly 52 years, to when he was just 16 years old. After spending 30 years sailing professionally with Hobie Cats, mainly racing catamarans — a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size — he recently served as a crew member on other club members’ racing yachts.

The CYC is pivotal in the boat racing community, organizing and hosting events such as the Optimist National Championship and Junior Olympic trials, Materna said. He fondly remembers the hundreds of people from across the globe converging on the marina for similar events.

The main topic among members now is what’s next for the club. Dakoske Koslu noted that the club’s ownership changed over the last few years, and many are unsure and concerned about the club’s continuation after the fire.

The club relocated to the marina in 1967, leasing the land it sits on from the county.

“I don’t think the county has really valued the contributions of the California Yacht Club as an important part of the Marina. They value Trader Joe’s because it’s more money for them,” Dakoske Koslu said.

Dakoske Koslu said she’s seen numerous small marine-oriented businesses displaced from the marina, making way for more commercialized developments such as Trader Joe’s and Recreational Equipment Inc.

My two brothers were in my area and asked if I wanted to grab food so, we opted for Kalaveras in Marina Del Rey, CA as it had great reviews on OpenTable. We made reservations for 6:15pm and upon arrival, we were immediately greeted and taken to our booth. The vibrant colors in the restaurant, paired with Bad Bunny music, made for a lively happy hour environment. The food was delicious and everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection. Kalaveras is a great happy hour spot on a Thursday night and we’ll have to go back.

From the happy hour menu, I ordered three tacos (pollo, chicharron, and carne asada) and they were surprisingly filling. The meat in all three tacos was tender and flavorful. The marinated chicken taco was topped with salsa taquera, jalapeño cabbage mix, chile de arbor dip, and cotija cheese. The chicharron taco consisted of marinated pork belly, marinated red onions, queso fresco, and cilantro. (This taco was my favorite). The carne asada taco had marinated red onions and radish strips. All three tacos cost $8.

I also ordered 3 quesa birria tacos for $8, which came with a consume dipping sauce. The meat was so tender, juicy, and the cheese was crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. 10/10, would get it again!

My brother Sean ordered the Klassic wet burrito with carnitas for $16. The burrito consisted of Peruvian beans, rice, jack cheese, pico de gallo, mocajete sauce, source cream, guacamolito, and a green sauce on top.

My other brother Steven ordered the Kala burrito ($18), consisting of marinated steak, shoestring fries, guacamole, Monterrey jack cheese, pico de gallo wrapped in a flour tortilla. Clearly my brothers loved their food as there were no leftovers to take home.

Dessert offerings sounded delicious consisting of berries cheesecake, apple chimichanga, churro sandwich, and flan de casa, but we were too full to even share a single dessert. I’ll need to return to try the flan and churro sandwich.

Multiple big screen TVs were on the outskirts of the restaurant. There was also a separate bar area and the interior design of the dining area reminded me of Dìa de los Muertos.

Here I am in front of the Kalaveras wings photo area. I love that this place felt hip, lively with everyone laughing at various tables, and did I mention the restaurant is family-friendly? The table next to us had kids with two iPads on the table.

Overall, Kalaveras did not disappoint and we were so full that we had to go for a walk. My happy hour items were delicious and filling. We’ll definitely be back as I can see this restaurant turning into our regular spot.

Address: 13181 Mindanao Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

For more information, visit: https://kalaveras.com

Just three months after a devastating fire all but destroyed their exquisite clubhouse building, the California Yacht Club celebrated the opening day of sailing season in style over the weekend. Blessed with a beautiful sunny day, members and guests were treated to a mardi-gras-inspired party, with a bountiful banquet, activities and entertainment on Saturday evening.

However, on the night of December 11 last year, at least five fire trucks and a substantial number of firefighters were dispatched to the location of the clubhouse at Marina Del Rey. The blaze was so intense that two firefighters were injured as they tried for two hours to bring it under control.

According to John Myers, Senior Vice President of the California Yacht Club, arson was soon ruled out and the cause was traced back to an electrical issue in the building’s kitchen. Originally built in 1967, most of the interior has been gutted and tragically many paintings and antique memorabilia was lost.

“Since then we’ve been slowly and painstakingly picking up the pieces, working through insurance, but also really starting to get on with what we have to do,” says Myers adding, “Fortunately, nothing besides the clubhouse was damaged, so we still have our outdoor paddle tennis and pickleball courts and we’re actively encouraging the outdoor activities this summer.”

Those who are keen sailors in Santa Monica might already know that a couple of sizable regattas have already taken place. However, this weekend is regarded as the “official” start to the season as the date marks a traditional time when the sea ice had melted sufficiently on the East Coast to allow sailing to once again take place. It is often accompanied by the use of large, loud canons at yacht clubs around the country to signify the “breaking of the ice.” Thankfully though, the only ice you’ll find here is in your gin and tonic.

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Myers explains that a temporary clubhouse will be erected on the west side of the site, where part of the parking lot is currently. The asphalt surface will have some serious wooden decking laid over the top to level everything out. “This way, we’re going to be able to enjoy stunning sunsets every single evening,” he says.

Myers himself had only been in his role at the Yacht Club for a couple of weeks when the tragic incident happened, but he firmly believes the community, along with every member, will be galvanized by the efforts to repair and replace everything.

“If I was a betting man, I think this thing will be finished in about three and a half year’s time. There’s still a long way to go, working with the county and coastal commission, plus long-term lease extension discussions,” he says. But Myers is optimistic, saying that great efforts are being made during this time to rescue and restore as much of the old building as possible before demolition begins, plus the addition of new features. “That old building didn’t even have an elevator, so that’s going to change,” he laughs.

The massive, makeshift marquee will feature a similarly-sized dining area and bar and will be used for functions and private events in much the same way as the old venue was. In addition, Myers plans to have smaller, satellite-style events as well, “On busy weekends, I’m hoping to have barbecues and taco stands and other attractions both here [in front of the clubhouse] and in the parking lot.”

The weekend’s festivities attracted a very large crowd, many of whom enjoyed the event from the comfort of their own luxury watercraft. Standing on the impressively manicured grass lawn, the burnt shell of the clubhouse is both a spectacular and sad sight, but it’s clear that the Southern California sailing community remains determined and dedicated to rebuilding, bigger and better.

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