Summer Cruise 2022-Part 3

August 9th – 31st

Santa Barbara was a great stop. We picked up a guest slip from the city marina and explored the town which is an easy walk from the marina. We were able to top off our fuel and water and wash Tasi. We met a fellow Island Packet owner on his IP 440, S/V Liberty Rose. We departed the next day for Smuggler’s Cove on Santa Cruz Island where we met up with Liberty Rose and explored the anchorage together then spent a calm night on anchor. We departed the following evening, sailing into a full moon, headed overnight to Catalina Island.

The next 12 days were spent in Catalina catching up with friends. We met our close friends Adam and Jackie on S/V Aiya in Two Harbors and had a great time showing them around the small town and some of the incredible hikes in the area. We then buddy boated with them down to Avalon and introduced them to the “big city” on Catalina including some great hiking and delicious tacos at the golf course restaurant. After that we went back up to Two Harbors where we met up again with the crew of StarrE and One Life and had a great time hanging out, hiking, and scuba diving.

On the 22nd of August, we left Catalina for one of our favorite anchorages, Pelican Bay on Santa Cruz. We stopped over for a night in Smuggler’s Cove once again, arriving in Pelican on the 23rd. We again enjoyed some hiking and met the crew of S/V Full Circle who convinced us to finally bite the bullet and get Starlink, which we love. Thanks guys.

The following day we headed over to a unique anchorage named Potato Harbor. This is a very small anchorage, surrounded on three sides by high cliffs with room for a only a few boats. It is exposed to the prevailing northwest winds so usually untenable. We got lucky with very calm conditions and enjoyed the anchorage all to ourselves.

On the 25th of August, we departed Potato Harbor for the short sail to Little Scorpion Anchorage. This anchorage is the main site for the Channel Islands National Park with several ferries per day, lots of snorkelers and kayakers, and great hiking. We enjoyed several days of hiking and enjoyed sundowners with the crew of S/V Triton.

We had a nice broad reach sail to Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard on August 28th where we stayed at the Channel Islands Yacht Club guest slip. Great hosts and we were able to meet up for dinner with our friend Scott who Shelly had raced with on his boat, S/V Sea Esta.

After departing Oxnard on the 30th, we made a quick overnight stop in Avalon, continuing on to San Diego the next day.

We arrived back at Silver Gate Yacht Club in San Diego on August 31st in time for the Labor Day festivities. Our summer cruise was a great success. We learned a lot about ourselves and cruising and Tasi kept us safe. We are looking forward to more sailing adventures in the near future.