Catalina Sail
In June of 2005 I accepted an open invitation to sail to Catalina with the Southern California Potters group. They have a nice website that explains what they're about. They are just really nice folks who have get togethers for day sails and overnighters. The website says they welcome trailer sailors of all types, so I thought I might venture. Instructions said show up at 6:00 am Wednesday at Alamitos Bay, Davies Launch Ramp. So I did. Actually arrived maybe 3:30 pm Tuesday so as not to be rushed. Took my 13 year old son. His turn for adventure sharing with Dad. We spent a quiet evening in Snow Canyon, southern Utah Monday night, on the way down. Nice place. Kind of hot in June. But we got there around 8:00 pm, and it wasn't too bad. Nobody around to pay for the campsite that night.
Left the campsite early enough. Just caught the volunteer on his way in, so we paid the camp fee to him. I always feel like I got my money's worth if I get a nice hot shower. The showers are even free. But you have to continually pull a chain to get hot water. Uneventful drive through Nevada and Utah. Gas prices are still pretty high. Made it through the maze of L.A. freeways OK. Took the 210, and the 22 across from the 57, and that 22 was pretty slow at 3:00 pm.
This ramp in Los Alamitos is a very nice place to head out from. There's a good restaurant, two supermarkets, and a gas station all in walking distance. There's also a West Marine and I think a Boater's World a couple miles south. And of course, my personal favorite, an In N Out right across the street.
We got the boats rigged up in the afternoon, had dinner, and spent the night at the dock. I guess that stretches the rules a bit, but it's a 24 hour self-serve ramp and we were very quiet. Next morning a few more folks arrive, and we're on our way by 06:40. And I have to say, for my first channel crossing we are about as excited as we could be. And we're off! (Here's a picture of the 13 year-old at the helm - he looks pretty comfortable to me)
It was a beautiful day. Not much wind. We ended up having to motor most of the way. The guys want to get there at a decent hour, so they'd prefer we keep up the pace on the motoring speed. My plan called for 3 gallons of mixed gas in my 4 hp 2 stroke to get there, and they told me no, that's not going to be enough. So I got a couple more gas cans (1 gallon each) and filled them. Good call. If we hadn't had good wind the last hour or two, the gas would've been gone. This is exactly why I chose to tag along with more experienced skippers.
Here we are passing ship rock just outside the bay at Two Harbors. The wind started to calm down here, But we were able to sail with a nice stiff breeze for a while before that. I still couldn't keep up with the folks motoring though. Here's a shot showing the wind blowing a little. I had a great time with the little Monty 15 in the breeze. Man I love this boat.
Well, we headed in and moored at the "stringline" just to the south of the pier. I was happy the other Monty passed me so I could follow him in. I was clueless on where to go. And I couldn't figure out how to work my handheld marine radio either. So I bumbled on in and the Harbor Patrol directed me.
Wednesday night we had a pot luck bar-b-que, and I mean to say the food was absolutely fantastic. I was completely outclassed with my sad little container of mashed potatoes. But what a feast.
By the time evening fell, I was pretty tired. Actually I was really tired. But what a good tired it was. We bungee corded a large tarp (too large, as it turned out) over the boom as a makeshift tent. That helped to keep the boat dry from the dewfall, and gave some shade in the heat of the day. I'm telling you, there is something just magic about bedding down on a warm summers evening with the rolling of the swells lulling you to sleep. Here's a shot of us settled in, and readying for the night.
Next morning (Thursday) we were to meet up and do a little "geocaching". Sounds like fun. Use your GPS to find little treasures hidden away. They decided my little guy would be point on this. So off we went. Here they are entering the waypoints into the units. I hadn't figured out how to do that technical stuff yet, so I just went along for the hike. And a nice hike it was.
And here's another shot over at Catalina harbor (below). That was pretty. It's a short hike of maybe a half mile or so. Some of the group sailed over there for the weekend. I may take that extra leg next time too. For one thing it's free to drop anchor in Catalina harbor. It's a very protected area to anchor in. Fine for a novice sailor like me. Well, sort of. I'm sure it can get very windy and rough around the west end of the island. I know my boat's up for it if I am.
We checked out a couple other geocache spots out on the headland on the south side of Cat Harbor. I was too lazy to walk up the steep path from the beach, that's why the shot shows these guys all down by the shore. By now it was lunch time and I needed some food, so we headed back.
After the geocaching hike we had some lunch on the boat and just relaxed. If you've never been inside one of these 15 foot sailboats, you should know that it's kind of cramped. They call it "backpacking on the water". And that's about it for room. Comfortable enough to sleep in, but don't sit up too fast or you'll bonk your head. Like I did. Repeatedly.
Friday, we just relaxed some more. Had a very nice breakfast at the grill at Two Harbors. I was very pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent, and even reasonably priced for a remote location like they had. I think $4.95 for my toast & eggs & potatoes, and $6.95 for my sons 2 eggs 2 bacon and 2 pancakes. Yummy. Then we took a hike over to Fourth of July Cove. It's no more than a mile or two north west of Two Harbors.
I also spent some time on how to use my little Garmin eTrex GPS from REI. Finally figured out how to enter waypoints by coordinates. I had to change the setting from degrees minutes seconds to degrees in decimal. It had some strange designation or name. But after that it was easy. Enter the waypoint, press "go to", and the compass shows direction to the point, distance to the point, and distance travelled. That was a pretty cool discovery for me. On the way back to Alamitos Bay I was able track exactly how far we'd gone and see the ETA.
We went the frugal route for dinner Friday night and boiled up some "gourmet" hot dogs at a picnic table on shore. Not bad at all. There were a lot of groups there, looked like wine & cheese type parties. But there was lots of room, lots of tables. We bought the final gallon of gas for the trip home (we then had the full 5 gallons, although we didn't pre-mix it all). The fuel dock there doesn't sell pre-mix, but just having gas for sale at all is fine with me.
As Friday night approached, the little hamlet of Two Harbors really started to get busy. The Catalina Express boat brought in lots of passengers. The weekend crowd boaters arrived en masse. So the flavor changed from sleepy to kind of partying. It wasn't too rowdy. Just a little music. At least they played some country and oldies. And it didn't last that late. I don't think so anyways. We conked out pretty early again.
We woke up early Saturday for a 7:00 am departure time, and we were actually almost on time. Too bad my digital camera started acting up and I couldn't hardly get any final pictures. They were all just looking washed out. One final shot of the departure, and that'll have to be it.
Had an enjoyable motor back to the ramp. Didn't get to sail, although some of the guys did.
I was just a little nervous about finding my way back home, so I stuck close to the experienced sailors.
My motor pooped out on me as it sometimes does, just as I'm positioning to load onto the trailer.
It's an older Johnson, and it runs good, unless it's been really hot and has cooled a little. Got some timely help from another sailor while I moved my tow vehicle. Then loaded up just fine.
The drive home was pleasant until I tried to put a little air in the trailer tires - and blew one up. Boy was that loud. Had to get a spare tire and wheel at Walmart in Barstow since it was 8:30 pm and all the tire shops were closed. We were on our way in an hour or two. Just didn't feel confident enough to continue the drive with no spare. Made it home in time for dinner Sunday. And so nice to see the wife had continued the re-landscaping project without me.
Final notes are: a most wonderful and enjoyable trip. Met some very hospitable and friendly people. Can't say enough about the great company and help from more seasoned mariners. It's sure nice to make my first channel crossing with experienced sailors.
What I learned: re-fueling on open ocean is a pain. Not worth it. I will plan on getting a large (3 - 6 gallon) external fuel tank for my next crossing. Each time I re-fueled I got gas on my hands. Not dangerous I don't think (I hope), but an annoyance for sure. And the gas can overflow got some stains on the fiberglass cockpit floor too. Sure hope that comes out. But man, what a great trip.
So long, Catalina. We'll be back.
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