Sailors in Southern California have their own archipelago just off shore extending from Point Conception, South, to the Mexican Border. Only one of the islands is populated; Catalina. The rest are wild outposts protected in one way or another.

This is a beautiful pic of Bodacious, nestled in at Forney’s on Santa Cruz, taken by SailTime Member, Randy Chapman

Except for day sails to Anacapa island from Oxnard and Ventura harbors, the rest of the islands require at least an overnight for sailors wishing to visit them. They are just far enough away to make them more than a day sail away. From our harbor here in Oxnard, Santa Cruz Island is as close as about 23nm with Santa Rosa and San Miguel further Northwest and Santa Barbara to the South.

A good friend and the instructor in our SailTime Sailing School, Captain Dan Ryder, has been putting together a comprehensive online Cruising Guide to the Channel Islands National Park. He is looking for it to be a collaborative effort, so if you have information to add about places of interest and anchorages, he is hoping you will take the time to do so. Brian Fagan has a good book that you should have but the online concept will allow the collaboration of others.

SailTime members here are fortunate in that they have Santa Cruz within a day’s sail for weekend cruising adventures. It’s easy to spend 3 or 4 days or more gunkholing around the island. It is a world away from the city to be sure. Once a member has achieved ASA 105 certification, they can take the boats overnight to Santa Cruz

Trackback URI | Comments RSS