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Score this video.
The Ropers – Wayne and Bill – joined the Boatswain and me when we set sail on 15 Feb. As everyone knows, you can’t sail in winter. That is unless you buy some beer, a couple of pounds of steak and then throw off the lines. Remarkably, the boat floats just fine in February and the sails seem to work, too.
Bill Roper caught this Gray Well as he sounded between Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island
We headed for Santa Cruz thinking we’d overnight in Pelican anchorage on the north shore. However, we were distracted by whale spouts and sailed south for a closer look. We got within a quarter mile of a pod of three, but were unable to close the distance under sail. It was getting a little late in the day and we wanted to be in anchorage with a couple of hours of daylight left so that we could perfect our bow & stern anchoring technique.
The night was warm and the New Moon made it perfect for stargazing. Then day #2 rewarded us with a spectacular sunrise. It was warm enough by 0700 to kayak in shirtsleeves.
We had anchored in Coches Prietas, which is a very popular anchorage. I rarely go there because it is so popular, some times attracting 20 boats or more. But this night only one joined us and they did not actually get into the anchorage with us, preferring to ride to a single hook a bit outside. Though it’s easier by far to set one hook, we had a much more comfortable ride inside the reef. We watched other boat’s anchor light traverse an arc of ± 20 degrees. That couldn’t have been fun for long.
Winter Morning Coches Prietas Santa Cruz Island
In the morning, we set out in kayaks to explore the beach. This is the site of a Chumash village and we think we spotted the midden where their ancient garbage dump is located. The island is greener than we’d ever seen with water flowing in all the creeks and trees and flowers, including lupine in full bloom.
We got underway about 1100. Wind was still calm and seas absolutely flat: a perfect day for whale spotting. Once we were in the Anacapa Passage, we found several pods. As we were only making 5 knots, the whales had to come to us, which they did. There are a couple of excellent seconds of video and several great stills that Bill caught with his Canon.
We had to motor all the way home. We hate that, but if it was the price for hanging out with the Grays, it was well worth it.
The weather is lousy today and forecast lousy through the weekend. Winter sailing is great in SoCal, you’ve just got to pick your days.
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Karla and I sailed ‘Bodacious’ out to Coches last year. It is my current favorite anchorage on Santa Cruz. As you, we also had the entire anchorage to ourselves.
Great video clip! The best part of sailing the Channel Islands is all of the wild life you get to see. Beautiful anchorage having the Coches Prietas to yourself. I was suprised to see all the green on what is normally extremely dry. Amazing pictures of clear sky, sunshine, sunset, sun shadows, sunrise over the water around the point, Gray Wale Flukes with video clip tie in’s. Topped off with the Boatswain’s/Galley of delicious food and wine, I would call that a winner of a trip.
What a great video, Dan…and beautiful stills too! What a wonderful way to spend a day or two. Thanks for shaing it!