Channel Islands Adventure

San Miguel

The fake grave of Cabrillo

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On August 7 Solla Sollew finally departed Morro Bay, where she had spent 3 months and 7 days! Morro Bay is very much a hidden gem of the California coast, but not a 3-month gem, so we were quite ready to move on to the Channel Islands and our first real taste of “cruising life”.

We waited a few extra days at anchor in Morro for a favorable weather window on the western-most island San Miguel (least often visited because of its weather), but knowingly left in more challenging winds and seas for the passage there which included the rounding of Points Arguello and Conception. Both points are notorious for big winds and confused seas, and they did not disappoint. Around Conception, a strong warm southerly wind actually stopped the boat for a bit! The electronics all started going haywire, in the pitch black it seemed like the boat was going in circles (it wasn’t, just going backwards), and steering felt off (turned out a steering cable was loose). It was an exciting couple of hours, followed by blanket fog for the dawn, but San Miguel finally emerged in a clearing like Wonder Woman’s island Themyscira.

San Miguel is still owned by the Navy who used it as target practice for guided missiles and bombs starting in 1948. The National Park Service now maintains the island, but visitors must be accompanied by a guide so as to avoid stumbling into unexploded ordinances. This initially annoying requirement turned out to be a very pleasant day for us as we met one of the regular resident volunteers, Sabine, who gave us and 2 other boaters an awesome walking tour, complete with history, flora & fauna and elephant seal spying. Another treat stemming from the remoteness of San Miguel was the fishing – fish were practically jumping into the cockpit, including the most psychedelic fish ever, the green lingcod (made for very tasty fish tacos too).

Santa Rosa Island was our next stop, where we enjoyed a self-guided walking tour and a bit of kayaking. The fishing was so-so but we still had the anchorage practically to ourselves which we later learned to appreciate.

The islands start to get “crowded” once you hit Santa Cruz, as it’s easily accessible from the Santa Barbara/Ventura/Oxnard cruising communities. We were advised to stake our claim in various anchorages during the week as they fill up on weekends. En route to our first anchorage, we paused at the Painted Cave, the longest sea cave in N. America and one of the longest in the world. It goes ¼ mile into the side of the island. WOW. The sea was a bit too rough to anchor so we had to go in individually. Harry went in the dinghy, then I went in the kayak. It was gorgeous! And spooky! You are quickly enveloped in the pitch-black hearing barking sea lions and echoes from all directions. Make sure you check out the pics above and my goofy video.

We continued on to Fry’s Anchorage where we practiced our first double-anchor (bow & stern) and immediately jumped into the clear warm(er) water for snorkeling (jen) and hunting (har). Fresh scallops anyone? This turned out to be our favorite anchorage, and I wished we’d stayed a bit longer. Pelican Bay, while roomier, had a lot of boats who seemed hellbent on anchoring as close to us as possible. We did spend several nights there though as shore access led to an awesome hiking trail and the fishing was decent.

Next up was a stop on the south side of Anacapa, where Harry wanted to do a scuba dive (which again meant a tasty dinner). While waiting for him I got to witness the end of a relay swim around the island (apparently never been done before!) accomplished by 3 women (San Fran Ma’ams) and assisted by a female skipper from her sailboat. (Video Here). It took them 7 hours and 23 minutes. It took me about the same time to disagree with the south swell rolling us at anchor, and deposit my fresh seafood dinner over the side. As such we pulled up the anchor around 10pm instead of staying the night, and struck out for Catalina Island and my worst passage to date.

The only times I’ve gotten seasick in the past have been when I’ve had alcohol the night before, so this was a very unwelcome surprise. I managed to take a few 1-hour watches to give Harry a break, but that was all I could muster. Once I was finally feeling a bit better, Tuxie (who had largely been doing really well for the trip) puked all over me, my shirt, my pillow, and the sheets beneath it. I estimated about half a liter – that’s 2/3 of a bottle of wine – of puke. OMG. Thank goodness I was physically able to clean/contain the mess, and that our next stop had a laundromat.

Pulling into Catalina after 11 days in the other Channel Islands was like hitting Los Angeles after an extended hike in the wilderness. It was dizzying, but the wifi was nice. It’s no wonder Catalina is so popular – crystal clear warm water and perfect weather. We avoided exorbitant mooring ball fees by anchoring in deep water, and except for the requisite beers at the bar kept costs down by eating freshly caught seafood on board.

After exactly 2 weeks “out”, we headed back to the mainland. The trip was an excellent test of the boat, all her systems, us, our skills, and sometimes our patience. With only a few exceptions, all performed well and gives me hope that this life we are embarking on is doable and might even be fun. 😊

(Big shout-out to Katie & Kurt on s/v Interlude for the immeasurably helpful tips on cruising in the Channel Islands.)