Hawaii Five-O: Any Fans?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I haven't seen the Ina Balin(she was aces in The Comancheros)episode of Magnum in a very long time where she is a Uni professor but I recall that wasn't any great shakes either.

I'm not a big fan either of "Dead Man's Channel" (I actually prefer the season opener "Billy Joe Bob" but I guess I'm in the minority) but as I recall it's one of Pahonu's favorite episodes, in particular the subplot involving the kudu buck. I'll grant him that one - the kudu buck stuff is hilarious and probably the best subplot of the entire series. But the Hawaiian curse thing with some underwater treasure is kind of lame. I typically love treasure-hunting episodes but this one just wasn't exciting enough, plus what really kills it for me is the idea that an ex-Navy Seal like Magnum has a hard time disabling a middle-aged female uni professor (Ina Balin) underwater. Was she a Navy Seal too? It's a pretty serious underwater battle between him and her, which is even featured in the opening titles sequence. I really gotta roll my eyes at that one. Shouldn't she have had some muscle/henchman doing that kind of heavy lifting for her? Apparently she did earlier in the episode - some superstitious Hawaiian dude. But he gets killed earlier on. So she's left to do all the heavy and dangerous stuff herself? And she knows how to do all this? Explosives? Charges? Diving? Fighting a Navy Seal? Sheesh... that's one accomplished uni professor. Indiana Jones is she?

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I haven't seen the Ina Balin(she was aces in The Comancheros)episode of Magnum in a very long time where she is a Uni professor but I recall that wasn't any great shakes either.

I'm not a big fan either of "Dead Man's Channel" (I actually prefer the season opener "Billy Joe Bob" but I guess I'm in the minority) but as I recall it's one of Pahonu's favorite episodes, in particular the subplot involving the kudu buck. I'll grant him that one - the kudu buck stuff is hilarious and probably the best subplot of the entire series. But the Hawaiian curse thing with some underwater treasure is kind of lame. I typically love treasure-hunting episodes but this one just wasn't exciting enough, plus what really kills it for me is the idea that an ex-Navy Seal like Magnum has a hard time disabling a middle-aged female uni professor (Ina Balin) underwater. Was she a Navy Seal too? It's a pretty serious underwater battle between him and her, which is even featured in the opening titles sequence. I really gotta roll my eyes at that one. Shouldn't she have had some muscle/henchman doing that kind of heavy lifting for her? Apparently she did earlier in the episode - some superstitious Hawaiian dude. But he gets killed earlier on. So she's left to do all the heavy and dangerous stuff herself? And she knows how to do all this? Explosives? Charges? Diving? Fighting a Navy Seal? Sheesh... that's one accomplished uni professor. Indiana Jones is she?

It's been a long time since I have seen "Dead Man's Channel", as I have had Magnum on pause after becoming too familiar with all the episodes, but now I'll have to watch it this weekend if only for
the kudu buck. As for the Magnum/Ina Balin putative steel cage match, when writers do something like that I always wonder why the director or stars don't point out that it doesn't make sense.
Robert Culp was famous for doing that on I SPY or on any set, when challenged to do better he'd come in the next day having rewritten the scene, invariably it was much better.
After Ina Balin's memorable turn as a night school art instructor trying to seduce Rob Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke Show, I hopefully expected afterwards that my art teachers at school would look like
her only they never did. Arty Canoe yes, Ina no.

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Higgins: You're simply to be his "legman" as he describes it.
Luther Gillis: Yeah, yeah. The day I'm Tom Magnum's "legman" is the day I sit on the street corner selling pencils and drinking cheap pink out of a paper bag.

[Pahonu]

I haven't seen the Ina Balin(she was aces in The Comancheros)episode of Magnum in a very long time where she is a Uni professor but I recall that wasn't any great shakes either.

I'm not a big fan either of "Dead Man's Channel" (I actually prefer the season opener "Billy Joe Bob" but I guess I'm in the minority) but as I recall it's one of Pahonu's favorite episodes, in particular the subplot involving the kudu buck. I'll grant him that one - the kudu buck stuff is hilarious and probably the best subplot of the entire series. But the Hawaiian curse thing with some underwater treasure is kind of lame. I typically love treasure-hunting episodes but this one just wasn't exciting enough, plus what really kills it for me is the idea that an ex-Navy Seal like Magnum has a hard time disabling a middle-aged female uni professor (Ina Balin) underwater. Was she a Navy Seal too? It's a pretty serious underwater battle between him and her, which is even featured in the opening titles sequence. I really gotta roll my eyes at that one. Shouldn't she have had some muscle/henchman doing that kind of heavy lifting for her? Apparently she did earlier in the episode - some superstitious Hawaiian dude. But he gets killed earlier on. So she's left to do all the heavy and dangerous stuff herself? And she knows how to do all this? Explosives? Charges? Diving? Fighting a Navy Seal? Sheesh... that's one accomplished uni professor. Indiana Jones is she?

I don’t have any problem with her being an experienced diver. She was a researcher in the islands and would likely have been very comfortable on and in the water. We had a dive trip with my marine bio professor in college. It was at the end of the course, off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. We used his research boat that could hold about two dozen people. He spent his summers diving and doing research in Mexico. He was a leading expert in several types of trigger fish species local to that area.

I would also point out as a very big guy with PADI certification, that while floating in the water mass is not as big of an advantage as you might think. Even strength can be less valuable because you have nothing to brace against. Pulling something much smaller toward you causes you to also move even with the larger mass. Magnum would certainly have the advantage, but I would argue it’s not as big an advantage as on land.

I have no clue about the underwater demolition component, but she’s clearly an intelligent woman as a college professor. I imagine she could figure some things out. Is it a pretty daring plan? Yes. Is it something impossible for her to try. I don’t think so at all.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I haven't seen the Ina Balin(she was aces in The Comancheros)episode of Magnum in a very long time where she is a Uni professor but I recall that wasn't any great shakes either.

I'm not a big fan either of "Dead Man's Channel" (I actually prefer the season opener "Billy Joe Bob" but I guess I'm in the minority) but as I recall it's one of Pahonu's favorite episodes, in particular the subplot involving the kudu buck. I'll grant him that one - the kudu buck stuff is hilarious and probably the best subplot of the entire series. But the Hawaiian curse thing with some underwater treasure is kind of lame. I typically love treasure-hunting episodes but this one just wasn't exciting enough, plus what really kills it for me is the idea that an ex-Navy Seal like Magnum has a hard time disabling a middle-aged female uni professor (Ina Balin) underwater. Was she a Navy Seal too? It's a pretty serious underwater battle between him and her, which is even featured in the opening titles sequence. I really gotta roll my eyes at that one. Shouldn't she have had some muscle/henchman doing that kind of heavy lifting for her? Apparently she did earlier in the episode - some superstitious Hawaiian dude. But he gets killed earlier on. So she's left to do all the heavy and dangerous stuff herself? And she knows how to do all this? Explosives? Charges? Diving? Fighting a Navy Seal? Sheesh... that's one accomplished uni professor. Indiana Jones is she?

I don’t have any problem with her being an experienced diver. She was a researcher in the islands and would likely have been very comfortable on and in the water. We had a dive trip with my marine bio professor in college. It was at the end of the course, off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. We used his research boat that could hold about two dozen people. He spent his summers diving and doing research in Mexico. He was a leading expert in several types of trigger fish species local to that area.

I would also point out as a very big guy with PADI certification, that while floating in the water mass is not as big of an advantage as you might think. Even strength can be less valuable because you have nothing to brace against. Pulling something much smaller toward you causes you to also move even with the larger mass. Magnum would certainly have the advantage, but I would argue it’s not as big an advantage as on land.

I have no clue about the underwater demolition component, but she’s clearly an intelligent woman as a college professor. I imagine she could figure some things out. Is it a pretty daring plan? Yes. Is it something impossible for her to try. I don’t think so at all.

Pahonu,
I for one bow to your expertise. I enjoy when people like yourself share their experiences, especially the colorful stuff like the above, of which I am also envious.

I apologize for going off topic but I have a question.
I have seen films from (1935)Edna May Oliver's "Murder on a Honeymoon" to some 60's comedies on to recent productions, plus TV series such as Route 66, Name of the Game,
Cannon, Mannix, Quincy, Baywatch etc, and in all of them Catalina's Casino, harbor and town never seem to have changed a whit from the 1935 movie, like they were dipped in amber.
I would have thought by now that developers would have lined the waterfront with wall to wall condos and Burger Kings.
I am quite taken with Catalina, as Bogie and Lou Costello and John Ford etc were, and wonder if you and the Mrs. have been there since your college days, and how is it it has stayed so pristine?
If you have previously answered this as a result of me already asking somewhere in a previous post, mea culpa, as (not whining or belaboring the point) at times I am still foggy from the COVID.

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What an embezzle! What an ultra-maroon! - Bugs Bunny

[Pahonu]

I haven't seen the Ina Balin(she was aces in The Comancheros)episode of Magnum in a very long time where she is a Uni professor but I recall that wasn't any great shakes either.

I'm not a big fan either of "Dead Man's Channel" (I actually prefer the season opener "Billy Joe Bob" but I guess I'm in the minority) but as I recall it's one of Pahonu's favorite episodes, in particular the subplot involving the kudu buck. I'll grant him that one - the kudu buck stuff is hilarious and probably the best subplot of the entire series. But the Hawaiian curse thing with some underwater treasure is kind of lame. I typically love treasure-hunting episodes but this one just wasn't exciting enough, plus what really kills it for me is the idea that an ex-Navy Seal like Magnum has a hard time disabling a middle-aged female uni professor (Ina Balin) underwater. Was she a Navy Seal too? It's a pretty serious underwater battle between him and her, which is even featured in the opening titles sequence. I really gotta roll my eyes at that one. Shouldn't she have had some muscle/henchman doing that kind of heavy lifting for her? Apparently she did earlier in the episode - some superstitious Hawaiian dude. But he gets killed earlier on. So she's left to do all the heavy and dangerous stuff herself? And she knows how to do all this? Explosives? Charges? Diving? Fighting a Navy Seal? Sheesh... that's one accomplished uni professor. Indiana Jones is she?

I don’t have any problem with her being an experienced diver. She was a researcher in the islands and would likely have been very comfortable on and in the water. We had a dive trip with my marine bio professor in college. It was at the end of the course, off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. We used his research boat that could hold about two dozen people. He spent his summers diving and doing research in Mexico. He was a leading expert in several types of trigger fish species local to that area.

I would also point out as a very big guy with PADI certification, that while floating in the water mass is not as big of an advantage as you might think. Even strength can be less valuable because you have nothing to brace against. Pulling something much smaller toward you causes you to also move even with the larger mass. Magnum would certainly have the advantage, but I would argue it’s not as big an advantage as on land.

I have no clue about the underwater demolition component, but she’s clearly an intelligent woman as a college professor. I imagine she could figure some things out. Is it a pretty daring plan? Yes. Is it something impossible for her to try. I don’t think so at all.

Pahonu,
I for one bow to your expertise. I enjoy when people like yourself share their experiences, especially the colorful stuff like the above, of which I am also envious.

I apologize for going off topic but I have a question.
I have seen films from (1935)Edna May Oliver's "Murder on a Honeymoon" to some 60's comedies on to recent productions, plus TV series such as Route 66, Name of the Game,
Cannon, Mannix, Quincy, Baywatch etc, and in all of them Catalina's Casino, harbor and town never seem to have changed a whit from the 1935 movie, like they were dipped in amber.
I would have thought by now that developers would have lined the waterfront with wall to wall condos and Burger Kings.
I am quite taken with Catalina, as Bogie and Lou Costello and John Ford etc were, and wonder if you and the Mrs. have been there since your college days, and how is it it has stayed so pristine?
If you have previously answered this as a result of me already asking somewhere in a previous post, mea culpa, as (not whining or belaboring the point) at times I am still foggy from the COVID.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
What an embezzle! What an ultra-maroon! - Bugs Bunny

Hey Dobie,

Catalina is indeed a special place. I’ve been many times over the years, maybe a dozen or more times. The way most people arrive is on the Flyer, a really fast power catamaran that gets you there from Long Beach, San Pedro, or Newport Beach in under an hour. I’ve done that with the family a few times. I’ve actually sailed there many more times, both on my boat a couple of times, and with a friend with a really nice 43 foot ketch many times. That takes several hours. We usually stay on a can in Avalon, but if it’s crowded, there are a few nearby coves and we drop the hook. The shore boat only operates in Avalon and the next cove at Descanso, so you need an inflatable to get ashore otherwise. I have to pull mine which slows me down even more. My buddy has his on davits.

There is also a small town on the west end of the Island where it narrows to an isthmus, aptly named Isthmus Cove. It’s tiny, like 100+ people. It and Avalon are on the north side, protected from big seas. There is also Cat Harbor on the southern side, across the isthmus. It’s never full and you’re pretty isolated, but it’s beautiful. It’s about a twenty minute walk to the town’s one market and restaurant. However, in the fall, they hold a festival there called Buccaneer Days which brings in huge numbers of tourists in a rowdy bacchanal to say the least. I’ve only done that twice.

As far as development, you hit the nail on the head. It’s severely limited. About 90% of the land is owned by the Catalina Coservancy and can’t be developed at all. That leaves Avalon, the Isthmus, and the airport at the peak of the island. That’s it. There’s only a dirt road to the Isthmus. Most people on the island actually go by boat to get there. The last new housing was in the 80’s, I believe. There’s even a fixed number of cars on the island. Almost everyone drives around in golf carts because the waiting list to bring a car over is many years.

I’ll shut up now, but it has a fascinating history and great diving as well. Also, my wife’s friend taught at the one school on the island for several years. She took the flyer there each day. Quite a unique commute. It’s actually part of Long Beach Unified School District. Really shutting up now. LOL

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

[Pahonu]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Sounds like a really unique place, for sure!

I imagined it wouldn't be very visible from the mainland if you say it takes a few hours to get there by boat. Unless by boat you mean kayak.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Pahonu,
Thank you so much for the Catalina information, I have already shared it with multiple people. As for the free range bison, I have never seen one in any zoo, I wonder if for some reason they can't be kept in one.
And you kayak in sea caves as well as the ocean diving, probably surfed and - boy am I dumb, it just occurred to met that with this sort of background is why you scored the Baywatch gig.
You really did grow up in a wonderful place to be a kid what with everything the area had to offer.
One last question, and I'm not being a wiseguy, when you were a teen up did any of the people hanging on the beaches actually get called The Big Kahuna or Moon Doggie as in all the Beach flicks?
I kind of hope they were, it's part of the whole mystique.

[Pahonu]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Sounds like a really unique place, for sure!

I imagined it wouldn't be very visible from the mainland if you say it takes a few hours to get there by boat. Unless by boat you mean kayak.

People actually do kayak there, usually in groups, and camp in some of the coves. I’ve never done it, though I have camped off a kayak once, with a college buddy back in the early 90’s.

There’s also an annual paddle board race from the island to the mainland, and a water ski race from Long Beach to Avalon and back. They don’t even stop. They just turn around the buoy marking the entrance to the harbor and race back.

It takes a few hours to get there by sailing. If you want to get somewhere fast… don’t sail! My 28’ sloop has a hull speed of about 6 knots and my buddy’s 41’ ketch is about 7.5 knots. For displacement hulls, not planing hulls, max speed is determined by waterline length. That’s why the largest navy ships are faster than smaller ones. Aircraft carriers vs. destroyers, for example. The task force is only as fast as its shortest hulled ship. This doesn’t apply to planing hulls like a PT boat.

The Catalina Flyer is a massive power catamaran with two decks and holds maybe 150-200 people. It gets there from Long Beach in less than an hour at about 50+ knots. It would be even faster, but it’s not allowed to exceed 5 knots in the marina and 10 knots in the harbor so it motors the first mile or so to the breakwater quite slowly. Then it starts moving, but has to slow again quite a way from Avalon so as not to cause large waves from its wake that would wreck havoc on all the boats moored and anchored there.

[Pahonu]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Pahonu,
Thank you so much for the Catalina information, I have already shared it with multiple people. As for the free range bison, I have never seen one in any zoo, I wonder if for some reason they can't be kept in one.
And you kayak in sea caves as well as the ocean diving, probably surfed and - boy am I dumb, it just occurred to met that with this sort of background is why you scored the Baywatch gig.
You really did grow up in a wonderful place to be a kid what with everything the area had to offer.
One last question, and I'm not being a wiseguy, when you were a teen up did any of the people hanging on the beaches actually get called The Big Kahuna or Moon Doggie as in all the Beach flicks?
I kind of hope they were, it's part of the whole mystique.

Southern California does have a lot to offer. I feel fortunate to have grown up here and still make it my home at the coast. If my father hadn’t made the move from Canada, my life would be very different, to say the least! Yes, I surf, as do my wife and children. My wife also open water swims and kayaks, and my son loves beach volleyball and kayaking too. He was the crew on my boat a lot once he learned to sail around age 10. We would just day sail around the harbor with some drinks and snacks. He’s at university now and really busy unfortunately.

A lot of people like to badmouth California today, and it is expensive, but there’s a reason so many people WANT to live here. My dad wanted the lifestyle and took the chance back in the 60’s. It’s unfortunate that today, many who want to, can’t make it work. Our longtime assistant in the academy I teach in left for Arizona about three years ago. They were priced out of the housing market and couldn’t own a home any other way. They both grew up here and would have stayed otherwise.

As far as Moondoggie and the Bug Kahuna, that was a very particular time and place here. Gidget was a real girl and her father wrote a book about her experiences at Surfrider Beach in Malibu in the late 50’s/early 60’s I think it was. When I was a kid, in the late 70’s and 80’s, the Jeff Spicoli-type from Fast Times at Ridgemont High was a very real thing, particularly in the early 80’s. Amazingly, some of the language from that early era, specific to surfing has survived, like describing a left-hander as a goofy-footer, or a new surfer as a grommet or grommie. LOL

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Sounds like a really unique place, for sure!

I imagined it wouldn't be very visible from the mainland if you say it takes a few hours to get there by boat. Unless by boat you mean kayak.

People actually do kayak there, usually in groups, and camp in some of the coves. I’ve never done it, though I have camped off a kayak once, with a college buddy back in the early 90’s.

There’s also an annual paddle board race from the island to the mainland, and a water ski race from Long Beach to Avalon and back. They don’t even stop. They just turn around the buoy marking the entrance to the harbor and race back.

It takes a few hours to get there by sailing. If you want to get somewhere fast… don’t sail! My 28’ sloop has a hull speed of about 6 knots and my buddy’s 41’ ketch is about 7.5 knots. For displacement hulls, not planing hulls, max speed is determined by waterline length. That’s why the largest navy ships are faster than smaller ones. Aircraft carriers vs. destroyers, for example. The task force is only as fast as its shortest hulled ship. This doesn’t apply to planing hulls like a PT boat.

The Catalina Flyer is a massive power catamaran with two decks and holds maybe 150-200 people. It gets there from Long Beach in less than an hour at about 50+ knots. It would be even faster, but it’s not allowed to exceed 5 knots in the marina and 10 knots in the harbor so it motors the first mile or so to the breakwater quite slowly. Then it starts moving, but has to slow again quite a way from Avalon so as not to cause large waves from its wake that would wreck havoc on all the boats moored and anchored there.

Ok, thanks for the explanation. Except I have no clue how fast a "knot" is. LOL! I'm guessing it's very slow. I do know that sailboats don't go very fast.

[Pahonu]

So where does a Californian go if he/she wants a quick Hawaiian vacation?? Catalina Island seems to be the answer. It's far enough from the mainland (I'm guessing you can't see the mainland in the distance) and is an island in the middle of the Pacific. Bingo!

I did a quick google of Catalina and noticed that circular casino (I guess?) and immediately recalled that I saw it in an AIRWOLF episode "Sins of the Past". It really was a casino in the episode. A casino owned by the baddie. Airwolf shot out all its windows and laid some major damage to it. I'm guessing they didn't really do it for real. Miniatures?

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Sounds like a really unique place, for sure!

I imagined it wouldn't be very visible from the mainland if you say it takes a few hours to get there by boat. Unless by boat you mean kayak.

People actually do kayak there, usually in groups, and camp in some of the coves. I’ve never done it, though I have camped off a kayak once, with a college buddy back in the early 90’s.

There’s also an annual paddle board race from the island to the mainland, and a water ski race from Long Beach to Avalon and back. They don’t even stop. They just turn around the buoy marking the entrance to the harbor and race back.

It takes a few hours to get there by sailing. If you want to get somewhere fast… don’t sail! My 28’ sloop has a hull speed of about 6 knots and my buddy’s 41’ ketch is about 7.5 knots. For displacement hulls, not planing hulls, max speed is determined by waterline length. That’s why the largest navy ships are faster than smaller ones. Aircraft carriers vs. destroyers, for example. The task force is only as fast as its shortest hulled ship. This doesn’t apply to planing hulls like a PT boat.

The Catalina Flyer is a massive power catamaran with two decks and holds maybe 150-200 people. It gets there from Long Beach in less than an hour at about 50+ knots. It would be even faster, but it’s not allowed to exceed 5 knots in the marina and 10 knots in the harbor so it motors the first mile or so to the breakwater quite slowly. Then it starts moving, but has to slow again quite a way from Avalon so as not to cause large waves from its wake that would wreck havoc on all the boats moored and anchored there.

Ok, thanks for the explanation. Except I have no clue how fast a "knot" is. LOL! I'm guessing it's very slow. I do know that sailboats don't go very fast.

Sorry! It’s referring to a nautical mile, which is slightly longer than a statute mile. The conversion is about 1.15 from mph. So my sloop’s hull speed of 6 knots is just shy of 7mph, and that’s top speed. If the wind is light or coming on the nose then you will sail slower, or lay off the wind to travel faster, but will have to travel farther in a zigzag course (called tacking) into the wind. Sailboats cannot sail directly into the wind, obviously, but they can sail within 30-45 degrees of it depending on sail and rigging design. Most people are surprised to learn that the fastest point of sail is with the wind on the beam, or 90 degrees to the direction of sail. In fact, if the wind is straight astern, you will sail faster and arrive sooner also in a zig zag pattern (called gybing).

Sailboat racing is all about balancing the angle of sail, the max speed possible at that angle, and minimizing maneuvers, which slow you down. I competed in a couple of days racing in the Cal 20 Championships when they were here in Long Beach several years ago. I was part of a crew of three on a friends boat. I learned a lot about racing around a course. I also was part of a crew on the Newport to Ensenada ocean race twice. That’s very different than racing a course.

By the way, there are newer sailboats that plane or ride on an underwater wing called a foil that can sail faster than the wind. The fastest on foils can reach 50+ knots in winds half that speed, but I have an old fashioned sailboat like your probably picturing.

Here’s a very short primer to what I was explaining above.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Au4vEg-Aw

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

It’s actually not far from the mainland at all. We can see it most days from the Long Beach coastline. It’s less than 25 miles. On very clear days we can even see San Clemente Island over twice as far away. It’s not inhabited regularly like all the other Channel Islands, just scientists, researchers, and the occasional tourist with their own boat to get there. There are some sea caves at the islands nearer Santa Barbara that I have kayaked in.

The Casino at Avalon is a beautiful movie theater on the first floor like the Golden Age theaters from the 20’s and 30’s. Upstairs is a giant ballroom with wraparound balcony. That’s where the high schoolers on the island have their prom. Decades ago, Lawrence Welk and his big band were regulars there before his TV show. There are no really big sandy beaches on the island, mostly rocky coves with little strips of sand and many are submerged at high tide. It’s not a place to sunbathe and surf really. Those beaches are on the mainland, like Malibu, Santa Monica, and Huntington. It’s all about boating and diving and hiking around the natural environment of the island’s interior.

Speaking of natural, it has one very big non-native species there that has become a much loved icon of the island. There are American bison on the island, first brought for a movie shoot about a century ago. I’ve seen them many times at Isthmus Cove, a few times relatively close as they lounged near the trail across the isthmus. There’s a very popular drink there, that my wife loves, called Buffalo milk. To sweet for me, but they serve them at all the restaurants and bars.

Sounds like a really unique place, for sure!

I imagined it wouldn't be very visible from the mainland if you say it takes a few hours to get there by boat. Unless by boat you mean kayak.

People actually do kayak there, usually in groups, and camp in some of the coves. I’ve never done it, though I have camped off a kayak once, with a college buddy back in the early 90’s.

There’s also an annual paddle board race from the island to the mainland, and a water ski race from Long Beach to Avalon and back. They don’t even stop. They just turn around the buoy marking the entrance to the harbor and race back.

It takes a few hours to get there by sailing. If you want to get somewhere fast… don’t sail! My 28’ sloop has a hull speed of about 6 knots and my buddy’s 41’ ketch is about 7.5 knots. For displacement hulls, not planing hulls, max speed is determined by waterline length. That’s why the largest navy ships are faster than smaller ones. Aircraft carriers vs. destroyers, for example. The task force is only as fast as its shortest hulled ship. This doesn’t apply to planing hulls like a PT boat.

The Catalina Flyer is a massive power catamaran with two decks and holds maybe 150-200 people. It gets there from Long Beach in less than an hour at about 50+ knots. It would be even faster, but it’s not allowed to exceed 5 knots in the marina and 10 knots in the harbor so it motors the first mile or so to the breakwater quite slowly. Then it starts moving, but has to slow again quite a way from Avalon so as not to cause large waves from its wake that would wreck havoc on all the boats moored and anchored there.

Ok, thanks for the explanation. Except I have no clue how fast a "knot" is. LOL! I'm guessing it's very slow. I do know that sailboats don't go very fast.

Sorry! It’s referring to a nautical mile, which is slightly longer than a statute mile. The conversion is about 1.15 from mph. So my sloop’s hull speed of 6 knots is just shy of 7mph, and that’s top speed. If the wind is light or coming on the nose then you will sail slower, or lay off the wind to travel faster, but will have to travel farther in a zigzag course (called tacking) into the wind. Sailboats cannot sail directly into the wind, obviously, but they can sail within 30-45 degrees of it depending on sail and rigging design. Most people are surprised to learn that the fastest point of sail is with the wind on the beam, or 90 degrees to the direction of sail. In fact, if the wind is straight astern, you will sail faster and arrive sooner also in a zig zag pattern (called gybing).

Sailboat racing is all about balancing the angle of sail, the max speed possible at that angle, and minimizing maneuvers, which slow you down. I competed in a couple of days racing in the Cal 20 Championships when they were here in Long Beach several years ago. I was part of a crew of three on a friends boat. I learned a lot about racing around a course. I also was part of a crew on the Newport to Ensenada ocean race twice. That’s very different than racing a course.

By the way, there are newer sailboats that plane or ride on an underwater wing called a foil that can sail faster than the wind. The fastest on foils can reach 50+ knots in winds half that speed, but I have an old fashioned sailboat like your probably picturing.

Here’s a very short primer to what I was explaining above.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Au4vEg-Aw

Thanks for the wealth of info, Pahonu. I've heard of "knots" and know it refers to nautical speed. I'm just used to mph so knots speed is not as clear to me. But that's why I'm not a seafarer.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Some random thoughts after getting to see all of season ten for the first time since it originally ran. No doubt it was covered earlier in this long thread but
still, it was new to me.

I am regret to say after finishing off the balance of season 10 that Ivan's summation of the season is pretty much spot on.
There are a couple of decent episodes like Chin's send off, but mostly one is just as forgettable as the next.
At first I welcomed seeing more scenes in suburban/small town/rural areas with native Hawaiians. Then I realized it was a cost saving move and not in service to the story or the viewers.
The non-urban settings were mostly banal, though some rose to nondescript.
Some scenes looked as if they were filmed behind somebody's rundown tractor shed, as at the end of the one starring Anne Francis, "When Does a War End?", an episode that should be rated PU.
The protagonist turns in the WORST acting performance in the history of the series. A palm tree has more range.

"Angel in Blue" featured a pet peeve of mine, as when undercover cop Carol Lynley and one Kimo overpower the hitman "Surfer" who was holding a pistol on them, the gun flying away as all 3 hit the floor.
Immediately I began praying to the Hawaiian God Lono, "Brah, please please don't let this once kine series do what I know they are going to do".
But Lono wasn't listening to this haolie's prayers.
Sure enough, Carol and Kimo blindly run off into the cane fields leaving the gun!!! for Surfer to pick up as he pursues them.
This incomprehensible move repeated untold times in Hollywood is the hallmark of shoddy 'action school' writing, but it got worse.
McGarret then chasing Surfer thru the cane fields while standing defenseless outside on a copters runners - a perfect target - before dropping on him as both the machine and Surfer are in full
flight has to be seen to be believed.

Episode 20 "Frozen Assets" features Mildred Natwick as a writer of mystery books, a role clearly inspired by Agatha Christie.
You could make a pretty good argument that this episode inspired the creators of "Murder She Wrote".
In a wink to "The Fugitive”, McGarrett at one point reads off a list of employees, one being a cook named Phillip Gerald, same name as the cop who pursued Richard Kimble.
I recall in another episode Gerald's name was mentioned, perhaps part of an ongoing nod to "The Fugitive" over the series length.
In the credits it says "Kwan Hi Lim as himself." He of course later played Lt. Tanaka on Magnum PI.
Darned if I can figure out when and where he appeared in this episode, especially as 'himself', an actor.
Maybe a buddy added him to the credits to score some SAG money?

Episode 23 "A Stranger in His Grave".
Robins Nest features prominently in the episode.
Jonathan Hillerman plays a bad guy, at one point he gets a massage by a striking Hawaiian woman on the grounds by the water.
It's fun to see 'Higgins' in that situation. Not a bad episode, worth checking out for Hillerman and the lovely Lorraine Stevens.

Episode 24 "A Death in the Family"
Chin Ho Kelly is murdered by gangsters. I didn't enjoy seeing Kam Fong relegated to embarrassing 4 second sound bites so it's good he got what was, in actors terms, a nice dramatic send off.

Episode 13's title "The Big Aloha" is a nod to Raymond Chandler's book - and movie with Bogie - "The Big Sleep".
Hawaii Five-O's and Magnum PI's writers would of course have grown up on such books and movies.