Ramshackle Sea Unit: Santa Cruz Island

With summer on the wane, the entire family set sail for Santa Cruz Island. Sailing on the way out was great with sightings of common dolphins, Risso's dolphins, sunfish with a seal in hot pursuit of one.

We anchored at Prisoner's Harbor which was incredibly rough. The boat pitched all evening throwing our youngest out of his berth. Eric was worried he might have been knocked out because his eyes were still closed. My son said as Eric scooped him up, "It was only a slight fall" and promptly fell back asleep.

I was queasy the entire time, so Captain Eric really did some heroic work taking care of the feeding and nurturing. The following morning, Eric pumped up the dingy and rowed us to the shore.

I am always amazed how an area so close to the density of coastal southern California can feel so untouched and remote. The scenery is classic California with coastal chaparral, Oak trees, buckwheat, and the smell: spicy sages heated by the sun, the smell of earth. I can never get enough of it.

After an onshore breakfast, we set course for Channel Islands Harbor. I will do this again. The good news is the boys weren't affected by sea sickness. They seem to have stomachs of steel, able to move above and below deck with ease. I hope to reverse inherit their heartiness.

Previously:
Ramshackle Sea Unit
Sailing Update: ASA 104 at Santa Cruz Island

Sailing update - ASA 104 at Santa Cruz Island

Dolphins off Santa Cruz from eric thomason on Vimeo.

Last weekend I did my ASA 104 class: Bareboat chartering. This certification will allow me to charter sailboat overnight which I am really looking forward to. The class was great. There were 3 other guys, Tim, Ryan and Kevin - all really nice and interesting people and the instructor Bill, who was awesome.

Here's the boat we took out - the Sun Soleil anchored at Prisoner's Harbor

Bill told first-hand stories of the pig culling and golden eagle relocation efforts that helped the native island fox rebound from near extinction recently. This was particularly interesting because Julia had just finished reading When the Killing's Done by T.C. Boyle (one of Julia's favorite authors) which is set in the Channel Islands and fictionally depicts the conflict between animal rights activists who want to prevent any animals from being killed and environmentalists who want to restore and preserve the original ecosystem. Here's a link to an interview with the author if you are interested.