Back in Southern California Waters
We are now back in the familiar waters of Southern California and nearing the end of our sailing for 2008. After the fantastic adventure we had sailing around Vancouver Island and the great ocean sailing passage from Victoria to San Francisco, the final leg of the year from Santa Barbara to San Diego seems somewhat tame. The direct route is only about 175nm, but we want to do a little exploring in the Channel Islands on the way
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Thursday, September 25th– At noon, we motor out of Santa Barbara Harbor and into fog. It is supposed to burn off but has not yet done so. We are heading to the Channel Islands and crossing the Santa Barbara Channel which is a major shipping route. Because visibility is less than 1/2 mile and sometimes worse, we motor slowly, watch the radar and keep a good lookout.
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After 4 hours, we break out of a fog patch and Santa Cruz Island is finally in sight. Mountains can be seen rising above the fog bank ahead of us.
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Visibility improves as we motor toward Pelican Bay, and the skies are blue by late afternoon when we anchor. It is a picturesque anchorage but open to the swell which we know means an uncomfortable rolling night. With water temperature up to 70 degrees, we go for our first swim off the boat in some time.
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The next morning, we head west along the north coast of Santa Cruz Island. We stop at Cueva Valdez anchorage, then continue on to Painted Cave.
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At Painted Cave, we anchor in 90 feet and launch The Dingbat to explore. We find the false cave first, then head west and locate Painted Cave.
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We take The Dingbat into the cave. There is a small swell outside which gets magnified inside the cave, limiting how for we can safely go before getting smashed between a rising wave and the cave roof.
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It is easy to see how the Painted Cave gets its name.
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In early afternoon, we raise anchor and motor west to go around the northwestern tip of Santa Cruz Island. Wind picks up to 8 knots from NW at West Point, so we raise sails and sail south in the Santa Cruz Channel. By the time we pass Gull Island, wind is 14 – 17 knots from behind giving us a great sail. It’s Friday evening, and we pass up the first anchorage because it already has 6 boats in it and continue on to Albert Anchorage which only has 2 boats. We spend the night in Albert Anchorage on the south side of Santa Cruz Island.
Saturday, September 27th – Our route today heads southeast to Santa Catalina. Unfortunately, we have to detour due to a US Navy missile firing exercise along our direct route. The day is overcast with limited visibility until late afternoon with not enough wind to sail. With a two hour detour, it is 1745 before we motor by Ship Rock and into Isthmus Cove.
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Our weary mood is not helped by having to hold for a while at the harbor entrance waiting for Harbor Patrol to assign us a mooring. It’s a weekend night in the crowded mooring field at Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors, Catalina. We cannot imagine what this Southern California boaters “paradise” must look like in the summer!
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Sunday, September 28th – By now, we are focused on getting to San Diego. Today is another marine layer day with 100 foot ceilings and little wind. We decide to pass up Avalon and continue on to Oceanside. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, and we want to get closer to San Diego before stopping for the night. We set a course directly for Oceanside and motor across the path of numerous boats heading from Avalon to marinas in the Los Angeles/Orange County area at the end of the weekend. At 1730, after a day of motoring, we tie up to the dock by the Harbormaster’s Office in Oceanside to get a slip assignment.
Monday, September 29th – We depart Oceanside in rain which increases as we motor out of the harbor. It is not typical Southern California rain but more like tropical thunderstorms with thunder and lightning. We head south along the coast in wind too light for motorsailing, except when we are near a rain cell.
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At 1320, we round the buoy and head up the channel into San Diego Harbor passing a Navy submarine along the way. Weather finally becomes sunny as we enter the harbor.
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We dock in America’s Cup Basin behind a boatyard. Our friend and boat broker, Jeff Brown, is on the dock to greet us. Avante will spend the next three months here while Jeff and his associate, Eric Rogers, oversee a little maintenance work to get her ready for the planned trip to Mexico in January. San Diego is where we started, and Avante has sailed over 9000nm since we left here three years ago. Her engine, generator, watermaker and SSB radio should be professionally serviced. Her batteries are getting old, and now is a good time to replace them. She could use new bottom paint. Also, we have been sailing her for several years and want to make some minor modifications to suit our needs and get her ready for warmer climates. Next year, we will be heading to places where it is not always easy to get good boat maintenance. Avante has been a great boat, and we want to keep her in top shape. We are planning on sailing her for many more years and many more miles.