Nothing quite gives one a feeling of detachment from daily life like being on the water. We were reminded of this once again  when we went aboard Hornblower Cruises good ship "Zumbrota" at Marina Del Rey yesterday.
We mentioned the detachment and we certainly needed that after yet another harrowing day of triple digit temperatures in the San Fernando Valley
We were aboard Hornblower's Summer Sunset Cocktail Cruise, well named since for the next two hours we languishingly glided over the waters of the Marina while enjoying cocktails from the adjacent bar and imbibing in the Chef's  wonderful selection of hot and cold appetizers smartly presented to us on trays by Waitress Cortena. We were much taken with Cortena's lovely smile and her wonderful personality. In fact we were pleased with the smiles and friendly approach of the whole staff of Zumbrota.
The appetizers included a whole selection of cold veggies with sauces and crackers on a buffet table and then  tasties like salmon cakes and   skewers of cheeses and tomatoes.
Zumbrota is a roomy ship, at 103 feet in length, with a great history. It was built in 1918 by the Charles Ringling of Ringling Bros. circus fame as his personal yacht and named for the Circus's famed elephant Zumbrota. Later it was owned by Mae West and then during World War 11 passed into U.S. Navy service. There are two comfortable decks for passengers, the top deck open with seating for the best views.
The deck below is enclosed with chairs and tables for enjoying the cocktails, refreshments and the appetizers which kept coming and coming. There is plenty of room for passengers to move about. 
The Sunset cruise at Marina Del Rey takes place each Wednesday evening through September, leaving Fisherman's Village at 6:15 p.m. and returning at 8:15 p.m.
During the summer there are Sunset Yacht races with the Zumbrota offering a perfect place to view them and they were out in force the day of our cruise.
From Newport Beach the cruise takes place each Thursday evening with same hours. For more information call 310 301-9900, on the web, hornblower.com.