We left at 5am for Oxnard and tied up at the guest dock of the PCYC where our friend Alison was there to meet us. Alison and her husband Allan had sailed their boat to Australia and had met my parents in the Baha HAHA. It was great to chat over a huge breakfast at Mrs. Olsens and hear some of her stories. We set up Kyber in her lovely house (with a dock out back and their Catalina 34 tied up) and headed out for the Santa Cruz Island around 1. By now the wind was going pretty good and we had a fairly intense sail and we tacked into the 25-knot winds. I was down below with Fynn, playing in the bed (ok let’s be clear here, the monkey is playing, I’m trying not to puke) when WHAM then an ‘Oh shit’ from the cockpit and Kolby’s voice ‘Well it’s all over.” I figured a genoa sheet had snapped. But when I poked my head out the door I was surprised to see the clew of the sail had completely blown out. We had a metal ring tied fast to two lines and a sail flying perpendicular to the boat. Oh shit is right. Both sails were furled in and we started motoring towards Smugglers, which was still and hour away. That’s when it got rough below and reminiscent of The Tribune Bay Incident back home.

Motoring into the chop with the blown out clew

As Asunto’s bow leaps out of the waves then crashes into the next one Kolby tries to explain to me how different shaped hauls behave differently in waves and our hull is particularly poor at going through short steep waves. His explanation was cut short by the littlest calling for MAMA and I still don’t really know what he was on about. Well the littlest had to pee, which is in the very bow of the boat. I get her up there, and on the toilet, no small feat and WHAM she is airborne – mid pee. She has been launched off the toilet and has peed all over the wall before landing sideways to the seat. ‘Uh oh’ she says ‘Pee Pee”. Uh oh is right I think as I look at the puddle of urine I am standing in.

Watching as waves of water wash over the bow and run down the windows I am pleased that the replacement hatch parts are working and we are not repeating the Tribune Bay Incident where everything was soaking wet inside. But then I notice the a portside portlight is leaking, so I try to tighten the latch and CRACK the 20 year old Lexan cracks in two. So we now have a cracked window and a lot of water. Great. I moved the settee cushions out of the splash zone and lined the area with towels. It was a great relief to anchor in the lee of the shore at Smugglers. It was still gusty and windy and heck but thankfully there were only smallish waves.

Off the point of Anacapa Islands

The next day it was still windy and we were unable to land the dinghy ashore or even move to another anchorage. So we waited it out and went for dinghy rides and watched movies. Sometime in the middle of the night the wind blew itself out and I awoke with a start What was the sound? Oh wait, that is the sound of silence. The wind has stopped. Happily we motored out of the bay and started on the Santa Cruz circumnavigation. As we now only had three days left before picking up Kyber it was time to move fast.

Beach time on Santa Cruz Island

We made our first day stop at the lovely beach of Coches Prietos and Fynn was thrilled to be off the boat and onto sand. It was also a good spot to practice our beach landings, which are starting to improve. We decided to put some more distance behind us so we continued up the island to Forney Cove, the most exposed anchorage I have ever seen. I actually asked Kolby if this was a real anchorage or a ‘here looks good.’ We were miles from shore tucked behind a shoaling reef that was breaking down the swell. The waves were smashing against the shoreline sending up clouds of spray. It was also the nosiest night yet as the boat rolled and the anchor chain protested.

The next day we continued around the tip of Santa Cruz and headed down the other side, looking for the Painted Cave. After visiting the Blue Grotto Cave in Greece I think most other sea caves will pale in comparison, but this cave did have a very unique feature. As we puttered towards the entrance the stench hit us in the face. Just inside the walls sea lions had hauled themselves up the steep rocks to warm. Further in as the light started to dim the entrance narrowed and the waves surged through. Then out of the gloom…. A mighty roar echoed out to us. Once inside the chamber it was completely dark. We shone the flashlight around the walls and the sea lions hollered in protest, their roars bouncing off the walls. Fynn was torn between thinking this was pretty cool (she loves roars) and kinda scary. Honestly I probably felt the same way.

We anchored in the early afternoon at Fry Harbor and had a great swim before we beached ourselves on the rocks to warm up. Fynn learnt how to ride on Kolby’s back and he swam around the bay, laughing and splashing from her perch. It looked a bit crazy to see her sitting on top of the water, like the fin of a dolphin. Fry Harbour was peacefully calm that night and we all slept well.

Fry’s Harbour

We had to return to Oxnard to pick up our four-legged crewmate so we weighed anchor first thing and started down the coast. Santa Cruz is a very lumpy land, with huge canyons cutting through it and cliffs that drop hundreds of feet into the sea. Most of the land we had seen so far had been very dry looking, with only small bushes and scrubs; this side was greener with some trees. We anchored first in Prisoners Harbour where we stretched our legs as we climbed up the hill. The land has some old cattle pens from the islands ranching days. We then headed for the lovely anchorage at Scorpion Bay where the waves have carved out fantastical shapes into the rocks, caves, tunnels, jagged bits. It made for great snorkeling and paddle boarding. Too bad we couldn’t stay, but Kyber awaits and it was time to head to Oxnard.

Prisoners Bay

Fly Away

Run Daddy Run!

SUP?

It was so great to see our pup again and we really can’t thank our friends Alison and Allan enough for taking such good care of him while we explored their cruising grounds. We were pleasantly surprised by the Channel Islands and wished we could stay longer in their waters. We loved the unique combination of tropical and temperate under water climates (ie kelp forests and reef fish). Very cool.

Grocery shopping with car! UH OH!

This trip was much nicer as we could sail most of the way. With the goal of maintaining a minimum of 4 knots we didn’t have to turn on the engine until about 4 am. It was strange sailing that coast at night with the oil platforms lit up light floating castles. I find it somewhat contrary that California has such strict pollution and emissions laws, but then has dozens of these platforms right off their coast. We learnt from locals at Santa Barbara that some beaches get so tarred up that you can’t use them. During my morning shift I watched as we drove through a huge oil slick. Later, as Fynn and I enjoyed one of those lifetime moments watching dolphins together in the morning light, I could help but wonder how those creatures fared when they came across the oil they were headed straight for. Maybe they can sense it at the surface and dive down, hoping to swim under it. Fynn loves to watch the dolphins. “Mama” “Papa” “Dada” “Baby” she labels each dolphin as they come out of the water in the only way that she can relate to the world, through family.

Santa Barbara was a hopping harbor town. As we fueled up I took Kyber for a quick walk only to discover we had arrived during the Santa Barbara Harbor and Seafood days. The places was packed with people buying fresh seafood, and eating fresh seafood, including raw sea urchins straight from the tank.

We anchored off of the pier and headed back into the marina to find a place to leave the dinghy. From Google satellite images we could see that there there heaps of dinghys tied to the dock and tucked right into shore. After tieing up we checked in with the harbor master who informed us that the dock was permit use only for the liveaboard boats anchored out (which we thought was a cool system). We crossed our fingers behind our backs and promised to move the dinghy, but realistically figures with all the hubba baloo going on no one would notice our unpermitted dinghy. Santa Barbara is hot. After finding the required playground we headed back towards the pier but the extreme tourismness of it all got to us and it was time to head back to Asunto for a swim and some rest. There is a West Marine directly above the fuel dock and a Trader Joes 2 miles into town, so another decent spot to get what you need. From Santa Barbara a lot of people head into the Channel Islands, but first we had to stop by Oxnard where we had family friends who could take care of Kyber while we visited the park (no dogs allowed).