Rediscover Redondo

For many South Bay residents, the Redondo Beach harbor has long been a familiar backdrop rather than an active destination—a place people pass by, admire from a restaurant window, or possibly visit occasionally with out-of-town guests. However, beyond the docks and breakwall exists an entire waterfront community built around one simple idea: getting people out on the water.

Whether it’s sailing, sailboat racing, kayaking, paddleboarding, volunteering with marine life programs, or spotting bright orange Garibaldi beneath the surface, Redondo’s waterfront provides endless opportunities for individuals and families.

While the City of Redondo Beach offers a popular adult sailing program with a waitlist, additional opportunities exist through organizations including South Bay Sailing, Marina Sailing, and the King Harbor Yacht Club (KHYC). Marina Sailing members can charter boats from a fleet pool, and both members and non-members can enroll in sailing lessons.

“People don’t have time to mess with owning a boat,” KHYC Staff Commodore Mark Hansen said. “More and more yacht clubs are buying boats for their members to use.”

For those curious about sailing and interested in racing, KHYC’s racing programs welcome the public to join a crew. The club’s Sunday “Club Races” are intended to accommodate sailors with little or no experience. Crews and skippers gather before the race, spend about an hour on the water, then return to the clubhouse for pizza or a barbecue afterward. During the warmer months, Thursday Twilight Races bring sailors together for evening competition, followed by burgers and relaxed socializing.

Importantly, participants do not need to be yacht club members to join a racing crew or a fleet. Julie Coll, Founder and Director of Waterfront Education, says KHYC’s various fleets give newcomers a chance to experience the harbor community without committing to full membership. The Women’s Sailing Fleet, for example, welcomes beginners and non-members alike for sailing outings on the fourth Monday during summer months, along with other programs throughout the year.

That same spirit of access extends into Julie’s work with Waterfront Education, where she has long focused on creating hands-on, ocean-centered learning and boating experiences for youth. Now, she says, adults are asking for more. “Adults are saying, ‘Kids can’t have all the fun,’” Julie laughed.

Julie is currently developing adult programs including Full Moon Kayaking, Kayak Fit, and pilates on paddleboards. “The game plan is to layer in more adult type things,” she explained.

Waterfront Education has evolved far beyond traditional youth sailing instruction. Long known for hands-on science programming for homeschool students, the nonprofit is now broadening its mission to emphasize ocean access, environmental stewardship, and community connection.

“The whole point for us is giving people access and teaching them about the environment and trying to do it in a family-friendly way,” Julie said.

Programs include eco tours, tide pool exploration, and monthly Ocean Warriors cleanup outings where participants paddle kayaks through the harbor collecting trash. “We make our kayaks available for almost free,” Julie explained, noting a $15 deposit is required to discourage no-shows. “To go out for 2½ hours and pick up trash on kayaks, that’s pretty inexpensive.”

She believes the key to building confidence on the water is giving people opportunities to continue getting out there. “Even if they get a [sailing] certification, it’s just a piece of paper,” she said. “If you can get on the water with really skilled people, then you just learn that much faster.”

That same spirit of mentorship fuels the King Harbor Youth Foundation, affiliated with the King Harbor Yacht Club, which supports summer camps, year-round sailing instruction, and competitive youth racing teams. Young sailors begin in small 8-foot boats before advancing into larger vessels and the opportunity to join high school racing teams that compete up and down the California coast.

Beyond recreation, the harbor also serves as an outdoor classroom for marine science and conservation. One of the harbor’s most unique volunteer opportunities is the White Sea Bass Grow Out Program, a collaborative effort involving the Department of Fish & Game and the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. Young sea bass are raised in local tanks until they are large enough to survive in the wild before being released into the ocean.

“We need volunteers,” Mark Hansen emphasized. Volunteers help clean tanks, monitor fish health, observe feeding habits, and assist with data collection. Tiny microchips implanted into the fish allow researchers to track survival patterns after release.

“It was so great when my granddaughter was cleaning tanks,” Mark said. “What a great way for kids to say, ‘We’re going to hands-on fix our planet.’”

For families seeking a more relaxed way to explore the harbor, opportunities on the water continue to expand through rentals, marine life tours, and offshore excursions. Whale watching tours through Redondo Beach Whale Watch offer encounters with dolphins, sea lions, and migrating whales just beyond the harbor.

For many visitors, one of the biggest surprises is how much wildlife exists just beneath the surface.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to see how much life is here,” explained Jake Mark, Owner of Redondo Glass Bottom Boat and Redondo Boat Rentals. “A lot of people think they have to go to Catalina. We’re seeing the same exact fish right here in our backyard.”

Jake has spent the past several years expanding experiences throughout the harbor. In addition to glass-bottom tours—of which Redondo Beach is the only seaside city in Los Angeles County to offer—he now operates Duffy boat, kayak, paddleboard, and pedal boat rentals.

“We’ve tried to build up the [glass-bottom boat] experience with a lot of information,” Jake said. “I love when locals come on the trip and learn something they didn’t know.”

Guests are often stunned by underwater visibility near the breakwall, where bright orange Garibaldi dart through schools of marine life.

“You’ll easily see over 100 fish,” he said.

Children are invited to steer the glass-bottom boat while wearing a captain’s hat—small experiences Jake hopes create lasting memories on the water.

“That just makes some really good memories,” he said, “and hopefully it instills that love to be on the water.”

Some of the harbor’s most memorable encounters happen unexpectedly.

“There was a day a sea lion jumped onto the back of the boat and stayed there through every single trip,” Jake recalled.

Jake and his team work closely with the Marine Mammal Care Center and host weekly harbor cleanup excursions to help protect local wildlife and waterways.

For Jake, the harbor’s magic lies in the way it reconnects people with nature—especially locals who thought they already knew the area.

In many ways, that may be the harbor’s hidden beauty. Beyond the restaurants and marina views exists an entire waterfront culture waiting to be rediscovered—one that invites residents not just to admire the ocean from shore, but to get out on the water and experience it firsthand.

“We need volunteers … It was so great when my granddaughter was cleaning tanks.” —Mark Hansen

“I love when locals come on the trip and learn something they didn’t know.” —Jake Mark

Your Harbor Guide: Ways to Get Out on the Water

The Redondo Beach harbor offers something for anyone wanting to explore the ocean. Here’s a quick guide to just some of the many local opportunities.

Boat Rentals & Harbor Cruising

Freedom Boat Club, freedomboatclub.com

Marina Saling, marinasailing.com

Paddle House, paddlehouserb.com

Redondo Boat Rentals, redondoboatrentals.com

The Boaters Program, redondo.org

Fishing Trips

King Harbor Yacht Club Fishing Fleet, khyc.org