Catalina With Costa

You get invited for a two-day whirlwind trip on Catalina Island with the good folks from Costa Del Mar. Why? Because they had some important updates on their new Catalina sunglasses and their focus on protecting our oceans. It was an important briefing or whatever you want to call it… it was also coincidentally a very fun briefing.

Day one began with a bright and early boat ride from Balboa Yacht Club. We started with a round of introductions, a look at the Costa Del Mar sunglasses followed by a ~1hr idyllic journey across the channel. Pop a bottle of champagne, break out the platter of fruit, see the fruit fly over the stern of the boat and kick back and wait and see who’s getting sea sick. Just remember that it’s Catalina, so any chaos is wrapped in a scenic bow.

First on the agenda: fishing with the one and only Bob Hoose. Yes, that Bob Hoose, the world-record-holding legend who makes catching yellowfin tuna look easier than ordering takeout. We boarded Bob’s boat, aptly named “The Prospector,” and set off on a mission to catch something worthy of a tall tale.

Bob, with his grizzled wisdom and an endless supply of fishing yarns, had us in stitches with stories that made Moby Dick sound like a bedtime story. We had a flick, hoping to snag something impressive. Apparently Bob could catch a shark with a shoelace - he put us in all the right spots and everyone went home having caught some very legit fish - from Bonita, to Bass & Halibut. Costa Del Mar's Whitetip Pro’s were the stars of the show - the way these things protect your eyes while helping you see what’s under the surface is unreal. A must have for anyone that spends a lot of time on the water.

Back on shore we got changed and headed over to dinner. Costa were kind enough to line up a table for us next to Emmy nominated commedian Nathan Fielder on the water. Could think of far worse places. We drank buffalo milk (a treasured local cocktail) and stumbled over to the Marlin Club. The memory gets blurry from there.

Day two we got back to it with the important mission of getting some pancakes. Once that was achieved, we headed over to the oldest fishing club in the US - the Tuna Club. No photos are allowed in these clandestine rooms, but this place was amazing. Steeped in history and legacy, the 200 member club is truly something special. That’s all i’m saying on that front, it feels like an IYKYK situation and here at Monster Children we’re not too keen on blowing the lid on such situations.

*The crew outside the very legendary Tuna Club.*

After the tour of the club it was finally time to wash off the hangover with some salt water therapy. How’d we achieve that? Scuba diving in the kelp forests. Simple. If you’ve never done this, let me paint a picture for you. Imagine swimming through a giant salad. A salad that moves. And has fish. Lots of fish. It’s abundant. And it feels like the salad is an underwater forest like nothing you’ve ever seen before. And there’s giant sea bass hanging out between the huge kelp strands. And the cold water flushes the hangover out from you. And the kelp reaches out and pats you on the back… “there, there, those dance moves you did at the Marlin Club weren’t that bad” it says.

Post-salad swim, we dragged our pruney selves back to shore where the main event for the afternoon awaited. We walked over to the Descanso Beach Club where we ran through the amazing initiatives Costa have launched to help protect and conserve waterways. #seewhatsoutthere and then protect what’s out there. From plastic reduction to supporting partners such as Indifly, these guys really put their money where their mouth is. In fact - their untangled collection of sunglasses are all made from 100% recycled fishing nets. One man’s trash is another’s treasure hey?

All too soon, it was time to head back, our bellies full of seafood and our eyes working better than ever. Catalina had worked its magic, and Costa Del Mar had once again proven that nothing pairs better with a day out on the water than a great pair of shades. Of course the crew had one last surprise in store for us as on the way back over to LA we were greeted by a huge pod of Rizzos dolphins, followed by a colony of seals sunning on a buoy off Newport. The scenes just kept on coming!