We arrived at Santa Rosa Island yesterday after a long day of sailing in rough water. Every once in awhile I could hear something flying around in the cabin even though I’ve tried to carefully stow everything. I feel like a flight attendant before take off because I have to stow anything that is loose or can slide around and then batten down any open hatches.
Santa Rosa Island is 8 miles long and 4 miles wide. We were anxious to pull into Ford’s Point (pictured) to get out of the blustery winds that were 27+ knots. It was challenging to get through the entrance to the bay with such forceful winds comiing at our beam. Once anchored, the winds continued to blow. Our guidebook described it as a shelter but there was no shelter today. We decided we were swinging too much and it was uncomfortable so we pulled up the anchor and continued on to find a calmer anchorage. The extreme weather in these islands is what creates the interesting rock formations, beautiful beaches, towering cliffs and steep sand dunes.
We sailed another 14 miles and anchored at Culyer Harbor on San Miguel Island. This island is 19.6 miles long and has beautiful beaches with some new critters we hadn’t seen before, elephant seals. They are tan in color and blend in with the sandy beaches. They were happy just laying in the sun and were not bothered by our arrival. The wind is still blowing but we are out of options of places to anchor since the sun is starting to set. It may have been windy and we were stuck on the boat but the sunset and the huge waves crashing on the beach made up for it.
After rocking back and forth all night, we left this morning while the winds are calm. Did I mention I’m getting use to watching tv in the evenings on a rocking boat?We are sailing to Santa Cruz Island about 15 miles away. The winds come up strong in the afternoon so we will have to wait until tomorrow morning to cross back over to the mainland to Ventura.
The Channel Islands are managed by the California parks department. A company called, Island Packers, will bring you out here in a boat and drop you off with your camping gear and you can trek across the island of your choice. Hopefully, they will be able to pick you up (weather permitting) when you are ready. We saw two tents tucked back in the rocks for shelter from the sun and wind.
It’s a beautiful morning for sailing with fairly calm water and lots of California sunshine!
Leave a Reply