Santa Ana tales – what to do when the “Devil Wind” kicks in here in Southern California

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Randy ChapmanThough Randy Chapman is a newly minted captain, he’s got more experience sailing the Channel Islands than anyone other than Brian Fagan, Mike Pyzel and a few of the crustiest urchin fishermen.

Randy recently posted a comment to my Santa Ana tale from last week. He’s given us some excellent pointers, which I think need a better position than simply being appended to my article. So here is his sage advice -

Last Fall, Mick and I were on Sailtime’s Varekai, double anchored in Alberts on Santa Cruz Island.

We arose to a beautiful warm morning without a hint of breeze. I always listen to VHF Channel 3 first thing in the morning and there was no mention of any serious weather moving into the area. While cooking breakfast, I noticed white caps driven by an east wind developing about a mile east of the anchorage. Within 15 minutes a small SE swell started rolling into the anchorage followed by an increase in wind speed from the east. Mick & I immediately began getting the stern anchor up, but halfway into the process the winds picked up to 20 to 30 kts. It was touch and go for awhile, but we were able to get both anchors up without hitting the rocks and motored west into Coaches.

Lessons I’ve Learned:
1. Do everything Dan said to do.
2. Just like reefing, if you think you need to move the boat – it’s probably too late. At the first sign of changing wind or swell conditions – LEAVE – you can always come back.
3. Trust your instincts and don’t depend on accurate weather forecasts – they are wrong at least 50% of the time.
4. Have a “bail-out” anchorage planned – especially in the fall months. There are very few suitable anchorages for Santa Ana wind conditions out at the islands. The best choices on SCI are:
– Chinese Hbr: Get as close as you can against the cliffs located at the NE end of the bay.
– Potato Anch: Very protected spot in a Santa Ana.
– Coches Anch: OK but not great – get as close as you can against the high cliffs on the east side of the anchorage.
– Fraser Pt. : Anchor in the small inlet on the north side of the point as close as you can get to the cliffs.
– Christy Valley Anch: Anchor north of the canyon for the best protection.
Remember, these anchorages are good spots in a NE blow, but are lousy under the normal NW conditions. Be prepared to up-anchor as soon as the NE stops blowing.
5. Always carry an extra days worth of rations. I’ve been stuck out there more than once due to weather and it always good to have something to eat while you are waiting for the wind to stop.
6. Hunker down – In my opinion, it’s always better to find a safe anchorage and hunker down rather than to trying to get back to the harbor. Besides, there will be less wind out at the islands than on the mainland.
7. Head west young man- Like Tom said, you can always head west up to San Miguel. It’s a great way to get away from the wind.

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