Dana Point

For two centuries before it was sculpted into a modern marina, the curve of the Pacific coast that is now Dana Point Harbor was a natural anchorage within Capistrano Bay for winddependent trading ships. Boston sailor Richard Henry Dana arrived on one and later described the site as the only romantic spot in California in his 1840 classic, Two Years Before the Mast. Situated halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles, Dana Point's rugged coves attracted mainly fishermen and surfers. Then in t...