The Captain Cooks While Santa Monica Bay Slides Past
A thirty-seven-foot monohull out of Marina del Rey. The whole boat comes with the booking, and the USCG-licensed captain is also the one doing the cooking. The route runs past Venice and Santa Monica, then turns off Malibu.
The boat is a thirty-seven-foot monohull called Prima Stella, and for the length of your booking nobody else is aboard. That is the proposition. Old Plank sells this as a private charter, so the six-person figure describes the whole boat. Nobody sits down beside you who did not arrive with you.
Captain Matthew Mancini runs it. He holds a USCG licence, and he is also the one making the food. The company's own site describes him as a master mariner and a cook, which is an unusual pairing to find on one set of hands.
The quoted rate covers the boat, not each person aboard. Viator prices this product by the group, so a couple and a party of six are booking the same thing.
Four lengths are sold: two hours, three hours for one or two people, three hours for three to six, and four hours for up to six. The longer bookings are where the food gets more attention. The four-hour listing is the only one that names a wine pairing for adults, with lemonade or Italian soda for children.
Private Therapy Sailing AdventureOld Plank Adventures. A private charter on the 37-foot Prima Stella, two to four hours out of Marina del Rey. Up to six aboard. 4.8 from 48 reviews.www.viator.comOut Past Venice, Then the Turn at Malibu
The route runs northwest and comes back on itself. You leave Marina del Rey, pass the Venice boardwalk and its pier, carry on past Santa Monica Pier and its solar-powered Ferris wheel, then turn off Malibu and retrace the line home.
Every point on the itinerary is a pass-by. The boat does not tie up anywhere along the way, so nothing here involves stepping off and walking around. What you are buying is the coastline seen from the water.
The marina earns a minute on the way out. Old Plank's listing puts it at over 6,500 boats, and the channel to open water takes a while at harbour speed.
Hors d'Oeuvres, Rosé, and a Captain Who Cooks
Every booking includes a small plate of gourmet hors d'oeuvres and a bottle of rosé. Non-alcoholic options are aboard too: sparkling lemonade, Italian soda, water.
Mancini's cooking is what the company talks about most. Its site traces the food to Italian roots and to his grandmother's recipes, and mentions hand-rolled pasta on the longer dining charters. On this booking, expect the small plate. The full multi-course dinner is a separate product.
There is a restroom aboard, which matters more than it sounds on a four-hour sail.
Six Seats, and What the Listing Says About Getting Aboard
The boat takes six. Old Plank's own site gives the same number for Prima Stella, so six is what the hull holds.
The listing marks the trip wheelchair accessible, allows service animals, says infants can travel in a pram or stroller, and notes that specialised infant seats are available. It also calls the trip unsuitable for travellers with poor cardiovascular health while describing it as fine for all fitness levels.
The operator's own site repeats none of this. Boarding a sailing yacht is not the same as rolling into a restaurant, so if a wheelchair or an infant seat is part of your plan, put it in the booking notes. The confirmation email is your first direct contact with the captain anyway.
All Sales Are Final, and Something Is Owed on the Day
All sales on this booking are final, with no refund for cancelling. That policy stands year round, and it is worth reading twice before you commit to a date.
Separately, the operator can call off a sail for bad weather. The listing flags weather cancellation as something Old Plank may initiate. How that sits alongside the no-refund line is not published anywhere, so raise it when your booking is confirmed.
Los Angeles County docking fees and California state tax sit outside the ticket price and are collected on the day you sail. The listing says so twice and names no figure. The operator's own site refers to "any LA County docking fees" in the same open-ended way. Budget for an extra of unstated size rather than a round number.
The meeting point is the last thing you will learn. Old Plank works from two spots in Marina del Rey, Dock 55 and Bluewater Sailing, and the listing says the address arrives with your confirmation, a step after you book. Fiji Way is the street the harbour runs off, so that is the corner of the marina to aim for.
Morning, afternoon, sunset and moonlight departures are all sold. On the evening sails the underwater lighting comes on, which the company installed to draw marine life in close after dark. If you are only doing this once, take the sunset slot.