Island Time

Santa Catalina Island is approximately 30 nautical miles from Marina del Rey, our previous port of call. Catalina Island is one of the Channel Islands off Los Angeles and is about 18 miles long, and five or so miles wide with the highest elevation near 2100 ft.  We anchored at the north west end of the island at Two Harbors, staying both in the southern anchorage, Catalina Harbor and the northern anchorage, Isthmus Cove.

A half mile walk separates the two harbors.

Salty and I set out for a hike on the third day there in search of a better view. This may have been his first experience with cactus...careful lifting your leg there!

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the top, sharing a PB&J sandwich.

Afterward, we both went for a swim....my first dunk in the ocean since hitting Southern CA. The water is still a bit chilly; I mean "refreshing". The shore is of soft gravel with interesting rocks and shells.

Coincidentally, there was a Latitudes and Attitudes sailing party planned for the weekend as a bon voyage to those heading to Mexico. We participated in the morning yoga, seminars, evening potluck and live music and dancing. The next day we set sail for one final anchorage on the island, Buttonshell Beach, where Bob cleaned the bottom of the hull and Shari repaired the mizzen sail. Thank goodness for the ol' hand-cranked Pfaff!

All is well on s/v Pearl.

Pump You Up!

S/v Pearl is in Santa Monica Bay at Marina del Rey, walking distance to Venice Beach....and muscle beach. I don't think I've seen such an active boardwalk. Bodybuilders, gymnasts, roller skating, skateboarding, running, walking, surfing, boogie boarding, sailing, street performers, the list goes on and on. We'll be here another day, then off to Catalina Islands. 

Latitude: 34.43 N, Longitude: 119.71 W, Santa Barbara

S/v Pearl is officially in Southern California!  We left Monterey Bay on Friday, September 23rd with the intention of a 21 hour sail down to Morro Bay. Plans were to wait there for a weather window around Point Arguello and Point Conception, two capes known for "spirited" sailing.

Oil platform off the coast of CA. There are many of them with names like Gilda, Henry, etc. 

 As we progressed down the coast, we realized our weather window was closing, so we decided not to stop and continued on around the two points, adding another 24 hours to our sail. The anchorage after Point Conception is not to be entered at night, and since we were there at 2am, we kept heading south and set anchor in the Northern Channel Islands outside of Santa Barbara at 8:30 am on Sept. 25th. We stayed on the hook for four nights at Santa Cruz Island. We had an absolutely beautiful anchorage and sandy beach all to ourselves.

Santa Cruz Island, Willows Anchorage. 

 The waters here are an amazing color and clear--we could see our anchor 35 feet below!  Extremely limited internet and cell range allowed ample time for sketching, painting, journaling, napping, and beach combing.

Six or more friendly dolphins accompanied us from the Channel Islands, and we were greeted by 50+ more when approaching Santa Barbara Harbor.

Salty is always the first to spot our water-loving friends.

Auto pilot is steering as we all peer over the bow.

We arrived in Santa Barbara Harbor on Thursday, Sept. 29th and will be here for several days.

I visited Old Santa Barbara Mission (circa 1786) yesterday.

Downtown is beautiful with tile work, fountains and Spanish architecture.

This is their court house!

This AM I went to the Farmers Market. I ate fresh figs while buying avocados, lemons, limes, grapefruit....ahh, Southern California!

All is well on s/v Pearl.

Charming Fog?

Funny how cool, foggy weather grows tiresome when living in the Pacific northwest, but somehow adds to the charm of Carmel.  I was here 15 years ago and forgot how quaint (and wealthy) this little sea-side town is. Had a great time studying local watercolor artists, meandering in and out of cafes and coffee shops and walking along the white sand beaches the consistency of flour.  Pebble Beach is in the background.

Banjo Spotting in Santa Cruz

How excited was I to hear the twang of a banjo in downtown Santa Cruz?!!  Here's a bluegrass family--bare feet represent authenticity.

We took in sandy beaches, complete with lighthouses, boardwalks and volleyball--you can play while taking in the views of boats sailing in Monterey Bay.

 I rented a baby blue cruiser and toured Santa Cruz in style! Wonderfully fun to explore side streets, neighborhoods, and art studios.  Definitely an artful, sensory rich city.

We later anchored off of Capitola, a small village along the bay, for a night and then headed to Monterey on a perfect beam reach. All is well on s/v Pearl.  

Full Moon in Half Moon Bay

After a perfect sail down the coast from San Francisco Bay into Half Moon Bay, we were rewarded with a full moon! Here is the female crew of s/v Pearl: Annie, my bunk mate, Sydney and Shari, and our canine first mate, Salty.

Half Moon Bay residents like to funk out their front yard with murals and recycled art.

And best of all, the town has a microbrewery that allows dogs to partake!