Dana Point

The cove this bronze looks down on is gone. Engineers enclosed it with breakwaters from 1966, pumped it dry, dug a marina into the old sea floor and dedicated Dana Point Harbor in July 1971; surfers lost the wave they called Killer Dana. The bronze's last sentence belongs to Hipólito Bouchard, French-born and sailing on an Argentine letter of marque against Spain. He anchored two ships here on December 16, 1818, after taking Monterey. Refused food and powder by the mission guard, he sent his men up the valley to loot, and they burned part of the mission.

What the plaque says

Dana Point Named for Richard Henry Dana, author of "Two Years Before the Mast," who was here in 1835. El Embarcadero, the cove below, was used by hide vessels trading with Mission San Juan Capistrano. This trade reached its peak in 1830 - 1840. Here in 1818 Hipolito Bouchard, flying an Argentine flag, anchored his fleet while raiding the mission. Historical Landmark No. 189 California State Park Commission

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Puvungna — 33 mi
  The Acjachemen and Tongva place of creation: twenty-two acres of open ground on a university campus, still not in the hands of its people.

More markers nearby

• Mission San Juan Capistrano — 3.7 mi
• La Cristianita — 8.2 mi
• Crystal Cove Historic District — 11 mi
• The Serrano Adobe — 13 mi