For what it's worth, after reading rossma's (a pax on BA268) first post, I replayed BA268's departure from LAX on the PASSUR Airport Monitor site, a dependable source of entertainment for the aviation aficionados among us SLF.
BA268 first appears on the screen after takeoff at 21:24 local and heads out over the ocean climbing rather sluggishly. It turns SW and completes an anticlockwise loop over the ocean mostly at 5000 ft W of LAX at 21:33. It completes a second, tighter loop off Palos Verdes Point at 21:42, then starts climbing as it turns southward towards the coast, which it crosses at 14000 ft at Seal Beach (E of Long Beach) at 21:48. It heads NE and passes Victorville at 22700 ft at 21:57, before disappearing off the screen.
So it looks like the crew spent just 18 min (not 30-45 min as was rossma's impression) circling over the Pacific before deciding to head for home.
Rockhound