The Adventures of a Southern California Sailor
What to do for a socially distanced Thanksgiving? Cruise Catalina Island on a sailboat of course! I love Thanksgiving. It brings to mind memories of sitting around the dinner table with family. At my grandmother’s house there would be 100 different little plates of things arranged around the table. Most of us love having a … Read more Sailing Catalina Island Thanksgiving 2020
With the Coronavirus pandemic still going strong, we didn’t know what to expect sailing to Catalina Island for the Independence Day holiday. The fireworks and parade had been cancelled. Last year we had so much fun sailing to Avalon for the 4th of July, we just had to do it again. This year since we … Read more Fourth of July Sail to Catalina – Our Trip During the COVID-19 Pandemic
For sailors in Southern California, Beautiful Catalina Island is a favorite destination. With it’s sparkling clear water and abundance of great fishing, it’s the kind of place that we love to read about when we can’t visit. There are plenty of tourist guides for Catalina Island, but this book Between Two Harbors: Reflections of a … Read more Book Review: Between Two Harbors – Reflections of a Catalina Island Harbormaster
Just 22 miles off the California coast, Santa Cruz Island lies waiting. Seemingly frozen in time, it’s undeveloped, offering plenty of natural beauty and coastline to explore by boat. This book Santa Cruz Island A History of Conflict and Diversity by John Gherini, a descendant of Santa Cruz Island’s Caire family, is a wonderfully detailed … Read more Book Review: Santa Cruz Island A History of Conflict and Diversity
A friend once said he’d never met anyone on a boat he didn’t like. With our Fall sail to Catalina Island completed, I have to say I agree with him. Sailing seems to bring out the best in people. On this trip some of us were old friends and some were new. We all brought … Read more Fall Sailing Adventure to Catalina Island
Every year it seems like during the last week of September, the light suddenly changes. The shadows get longer, the daylight a bit more red and then fall is upon us. I’ve never lived anywhere else, so I can say for sure this is definitely a pattern. For sailing, fall means the end of the … Read more Fall Sailing – Shadows, Wind and Smoke
This year it was a fantastic 4th of July sailing weekend! We sailed to Catalina Island from Long Beach with a group of eight people and had an incredible time. It was one of those trips where things work out unexpectedly well. A fun reminder that sometimes luck is on your side. Here’s why. A … Read more 4th of July Weekend at Catalina Island
Finally, it’s Summer! For the first sail of the season we wanted to do something different. With our usual northwest winds in Santa Monica Bay, we often wind up sailing in the same directions. From Marina Del Rey you can sail north towards Pacific Palisades, or you can sail south past the ES2 buoy towards … Read more Sailing to Paradise Cove Malibu
This my friends, is my idea of a party boat. A party boat with a capital “P”. A vacation vessel that will make me want to wear my funny grass sun hat and invite eight of my closest friends on an adventure to the nearest island. And I just might cry when it’s time to … Read more Lagoon 450S Catamaran Checkout
Last Saturday we were six people sailing out of Channel Islands Harbor. From the weather forecast I could see that we’d need to make the most of very little wind. As it turned out, no wind was going to blow at all. Good thing we had Anacapa Island nearby as a destination. Cruising out to … Read more June 1st 2019 Channel Islands Daysail