Some Wild Californian Coasts

We left Morro Bay on another foggy California morning. We waved to so many rafts of sea otters, and then made our way out into the big gray sea. So far the Californian coast has been way more gray than we ever expected, and it’s been wearing on us all a little in different ways. We’re all still really excited to get towards Mexico, but it seems about 1,000,000 miles away through all of this fog. 

Our next big stop was going to be the Channel Islands, and we’ve heard that they’re very very beautiful and shouldn’t be missed. In our minds, we thought they would be very similar to British Columbia‘s Gulf islands, but maybe our expectations were off a little. The Channel Islands are in fact a very desolate group of islands and not very much like the West Coast at all. After a rocky and rolly passage, passing point Conception, which is famous for being a little wild (they often call it the Fake Cape for that reason) but we made it and were eager to get a shore. 

There lies the problem. There are no docks or peers to help make landing as safe aspossible, nearly anywhere in any of the Channel Islands. Apparently this is part of its beauty…? #notconvinced 

On San Miguel Island, we managed to beach the dinghy after a little bit of a wild journey to get the dinghy there. Nothing flipped over, but it sure felt like it was gonna, and Digory did have some very wet shorts after we got there. It was nice to explore San Miguel Island with beautiful sand dunes, and new bits of flora here and there, especially after being at sea for a while. The anchorage was really rolly as none of the anchorages in the Channel Islands are very protected at all. Another misconception on our part.

We did hear some really great reviews about the painted caves on Santa Cruz Island, and felt like it was worth a trip. After leaving San Miguel after a night, we headed over to Santa Cruz Island, and tried to find a place to anchor so we could get into the caves with the dinghy. This is easily easier said than done And it was quite an adventure trying to find somewhere to anchor the boat safely so we could go find the caves. We ended up anchoring in a spot over 80 feet deep and letting out almost 250 feet of chain just so we felt safe. The water was really rough that day so it was a splashy adventure to the caves. 

The painted caves themselves were actually quite beautiful, but it was a little outside of our comfort zone getting in and out of them with the dinghy and with the surge of the waves so we just had a good look around with flashlights and then we’re back on our merry way before any accidents happened. And then to another rolly anchorage on the east side of Santa Cruz Island, where it was impossible for us to get to shore safely. So we looked at the beautiful Sandy Beach from our boat and rolled around all night in the unprotected anchorage. (If I sound disgruntled - it’s because I am - ha!)

The one highlight of the Channel Islands for us was a little cove that ended up having some protection called Pelican Cove. This was the first time in a long time where we could pump up the paddleboard and jump in the water and do some snorkeling. It felt like we finally made it south! We could see beautiful orange Garibaldi fish straight away and beautiful purple urchins. It was like a breath of fresh air to be in clear blue water again, and swimming around the boat. But before we knew it, it was time to head back to civilization, and we made our way towards Redondo Beach and Newport, on then our way towards Dana Point to meet some family.

It was in Redondo Beach that Canadian Thanksgiving fell and we wanted to make it happen. So we cobbled together a few Thanksgiving things and ended up having a really nice family dinner on the boat. We made some fresh buns and found some cranberry sauce and some stuffing and veggies and even gravy. All the smells in the flavours are right, the only thing missing was family and friends, but we know we will cherish this memory all the same.

We walked around places like Redondo Beach and Newport Beach and were entertained by the enormity of that beach lifestyle. Newport especially is such a rich looking city. I can’t imagine the wealth that goes back-and-forth - it was pretty good watching but not really are kind of tourism. Though we have to say all of the harbour patrols in these areas have been exceptional: really friendly and helpful and going above and beyond for transient sailboats like us.

Soon after we tucked into Dana Point as a stop over to visit Matt’s cousin. It was so nice to be around people we knew and get a few errands done. Having a family onshore with a vehicle was so helpful! It was also just nice to catch up with cousins and see their kiddo and share memories since the last time we were there which was 11 years ago.

We left Dana Point with full hearts, and with our emotional batteries recharged, and ready to get closer and closer to Mexico. But first, San Diego! 

We have never in our entire life seen so many planes, helicopters, fighter jets and aircraft carriers all in one spot all moving amongst each other. It was truly next level. I’m not sure what we were expecting, but it was quite a sight to see all those things moving in the air, but also a ton of boats in the water. San Diego is a vast city and though it is kind of surrounded by water, access to land isn’t all that easy. Thankful it’s easier than the Channel Islands, but finding a safe dinghy dock that you can tie your dinghy up to for longer than two hours was actually pretty tricky. Luckily, having made a few friends, we could tie our dinghy up and ask folks to keep an eye on it just in case. One day we went full-tourist and went to the San Diego zoo and had a really full day exploring that hundred acre zoo. It was really top-notch and the animals were really visible and we got to see so many favourites and actually learned a ton of new things.

The last few weeks we’ve been trying to stay ahead of a very popular sailing rally called the Baja ha-ha, and we’ve made some friends who are currently partaking. But the boats are starting to amass in places like San Diego, getting ready to make the jump to Mexico and onward. We’ve decided it’s in our best interest to stay ahead of them for now as they are a pretty big crew, some say 150 boats this year. So we left San Diego for an overnight passage to Ensenada Mexico, knowing that we would have a busy day, checking into that country and organizing our travel documents to be there.