We left Albert’s Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island at 10:30PM last night. With a large swell crashing into the cliffs surrounding us we pulled up both the bow and stern anchors and headed to deeper water. After 30 minutes of motoring we were out of the lee of the island and the breeze filled in so we hoisted all sails and killed the engine.
We sailed on a beam reach for hours upon hours with the bright moon and occasional pod of porpoises as our companions. With the boat on autopilot and the sails trimmed for a beam reach we moved along at over 6 knots with wind varying from 8-10 knots. It was a very comfortable sail. Erin and I took turns standing watch three hours each, alternating between sleeping in our sea berth and keeping watch. We feel like we’re really getting the hang of these overnight passages and enjoying them more and more. The sailing was really great!
Catalina Island first came into view just after sunrise at 6:30AM (still over 20 miles away) and we were safely anchored by noon. I think we’re going to stay here for a little over a week to enjoy the hiking, scuba diving, and kayaking the island is known for.
We have lots of great pictures to share but can’t upload them with our slow email connection. As soon as we have wi-fi again we’ll put them up.