Catalina Island

Santa Catalina
22 September 2008

I cannot imagine a more beautiful island exists than Catalina. (Oh, I’m sure there is one, I just can’t imagine it ;-) I have only wonderful memories of this island – the many times I brought my 20’ sailboat here, fun with my stepsons when they were small aboard our old ketch, taking mom to Avalon on the ferry, a rendezvous we hosted here…. As I write I’m enjoying a warm Autumn day (today is the Autumnal Equinox) with a lovely breeze, birds singing, a little boy playing “pirate” in the sand, dozens of boats on the moorings…. This is the absolute perfect month to be here. The crowds are gone, the weather is warm and the breezes are fair. We sailed 58nm to Catalina from Channel Islands Harbor (in Oxnard, about an hour or so North of Los Angeles) and spent a few days on the “back” side at our favorite cove, Catalina Harbor. Cat Harbor is designated by the U.S. Coast Guard as one of 3 natural “Year-round Safe Harbors” in Southern California, meaning they are safe to put in to 365 days a year. Two yacht clubs have facilities (I’m using that word liberally) at Cat Harbor but basically it is a large, natural harbor protected from swell and fetch. At one time bison were seen roaming nearby hills (we saw one) but they are now confined to grazing areas in the center of the island. They were brought to the island in 1924 for the filming of The Vanishing American. At present there are about 400 remaining on the island. I wish I could show you how lovely the evenings are when the moon comes up from behind the 2,000+’ hills, the breeze subsides, and we’re at peace in the calmness.
A note about Channel Islands Harbor. While there we recognized a cruising boat formerly owned by a friend of ours. After meeting the new owners, we discovered that they, too, retired and departed from Alameda (as did we) and are heading to Mexico. Cindy and Gary Ladd are avid water people and are both very accomplished – she as a National winner in rowing as well as a synchronized swimming coach and he, among other things, a winner of the swim from Alcatraz to the City (San Francisco). Quite something. And did I mention that Cindy plays the banjer? (banjo) We’ve enjoyed their company as we met up with them at various islands and harbors. They left today for San Diego, then on to Mexico, the Galapagos, and off to the South Pacific. A large part of the cruising lifestyle consists of meeting nice, interesting people in addition to the beauty of sailing and sea life. As always our stay at Catalina will be much too brief. The plan is to depart for Dana Point on the 24th or so, visit with long-time friends, then head on to San Diego. Once there we’ll be seeking a permanent slip as we’ve postponed our continued cruising for now.

The Channel Islands, Sea Life and Gales!

Hi all,
We had a lovely sail to Santa Cruz Island from the harbor at Santa Barbara on September 10th. Your "three hour tour." So after four hours, we dropped the hook (actually, hooks, as it is a bow-and-stern anchorage) in Pelican Bay on the North side of the island. Pelican Bay has great holding, about 5 fathoms of water. We were the sole boat for a few days, then enjoyed watching the "working folk" arrive by boat from Santa Barbara over the weekend. By Saturday I'd say there were about 15 boats in the anchorage. The fragrance of the island is unique. The terrain is rugged - and dry this time of year - with a few windblown trees and lots of brush. The Chumash Indians are said to have lived on this island many years ago, building their tomols (redwood canoes) and hunting game and fish for survival. Though Santa Cruz is quite close to Santa Barbara/Ventura/Oxnard, one is wise to remember that this Island is rugged and remote - and the weather can change from fair to force 6+ in a blink. Weather patterns are dominated by strong, almost daily, northwesterly winds that often reach gale force as they accelerate at Point Conception and impinge on the islands.
After several days at Pelican we scooted around to the East end of the island and anchored in calm waters at Smugglers' Cove (I can't help but wonder what one would smuggle to or from the island...). This was a different kind of beautiful, with olive trees planted in smart rows, and somewhat barren hills. The water was emerald and calm. Except for the 250' Navy ship (non nuclear) that pulled in and anchored next to us (!), we had the anchorage to ourselves!
Intentions for the following day (Monday, Sept. 15th) were a 12 hour motor/sail to Santa Catalina Island. After a double-check of the forecast, we elected to abandon that plan and proceed to Channel Islands Harbor (Oxnard), which would allow us to avoid the predicted gale force winds. Oh, btw, my upper back began acting up again which effectively means that Steve is single-handing the boat. I provide the brains and he provides the brawn. Rest is the only "thing" that helps my back heal, so helming in a forty knot breeze is not an option (heck, I wouldn't want to do that if my back was as strong as Arnold's!). We arrived after sailing thru lumpy, gusty seas and winds in the Channel Islands Harbor after a 3 hour passage from Smugglers. What a blesssing. This is a lovely Harbor and I'm so thankful we didn't miss it! And, btw, we had another hitchhiker. A homing pigeon, banded on both legs, arrived while we were at Smugglers, stayed the night on deck, and came with us (most of the way) to Channel Islands Harbor. To say this bird had personality is an understatement! But why s/he pecked at all our portholes, climbed up and down the ropes and lines, trotted around the deck counterclockwise, and refused to eat or drink is beyond me. Guess you need to be smarter than the bird to understand it all....
Tomorrow we once again intend to trot along to Catalina Island. About 58nm. We flight plan for about 5+ knots (and, with wind, we can make about 6 knots speed made good) so if you do the math it's apparent we'll be underway ALL day. Ahhh, the (almost) full moon will come in handy!
More from Providence and her crew soon.
Blessings,
Jill

Greetings from Santa Barbara!

I'm not sure I've seen a more lovely area than Santa Barbara. The mountains glow pink at night, the northern Channel Islands are visible during the day, the winds are steady at 15 knots, the sun is shining, the aroma from the SB Yacht Club galley is wonderful....
We are visiting with Matthew, now a senior at UCSB and a Communication major, and enjoying the time immensely. The immediate plan is to have no plan (!). Likely (if we feel like it) we'll depart on Monday (Sept. 8th) for the Channel Islands which include Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel (a sea lion rookery), as well as the more well known Santa Catalina Island (about 75nm South of Santa Cruz island). Our trip into Southern California waters was mostly uneventful, for which we are grateful. We did have a hitchhiker - a little Plover who landed his/her weary body on our boat and rode along with us for 10 minutes. At last glance we saw him/her fly away toward shore (2+ miles away). We believe this is an endangered species, so we're glad to do our minor part. We aren't certain of the success of the return flight to shore (about a mile away) as the flightpath seemed to take a nosedive into the Ocean. Let's assume the little bird did make it to shore, thus providing a happy ending to this brief blog. BTW, we saw one of our former boats in the Santa Barbara harbor. Nice guy, Jim, is the owner now. Not only do we have the boat in common, but Jim (who studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and is a musician/composer) is a double bass player. I just happen to have one on the boat (an electric upright "double" bass) so he dropped by to play it a bit. Very cool!

More soon.
Have a blessed day!
Jill