Not everyone who attended the meeting was able to make the cruise but there were several more boats that did make the trip -we ended up with eleven boats!
Our plan was for everyone to meet at Coches on Santa Cruz Island on Saturday. John & I decided to sneak out a day early and had a beautiful ride out to Smugglers on Friday morning. It was a warm, sunny day - perfect for a Poseidon Fruity Drink:
For dinner that night - Grilled Wahoo (thanks to a stop at Ocean Pride Seafood before leaving Ventura) with garlic & butter, grilled Mexican zucchini and Mexican rice:
Leaving Smugglers on Saturday morning headed to Coches:
At anchor at Coches:
For lunch - turkey sandwiches - but kicked up a bit with avocado, cilantro & Sirracha:
And for dinner, the perfect summer dinner, grilled tri-tip, corn and heirloom tomatoes. Nothing could be simpler, but when the ingredients are fresh and in the height of their season, there is nothing better.
Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day, the air temperature was 80 degrees and the water 72!! We spent hours in the water and joined the group on the beach for Happy Hour:
We were up early Monday morning anxious for our new adventure.
Chata nearing Gull Island on our way to Santa Rosa Island:
We had great weather for the 23 mile crossing - flat seas and except for about 15 minutes of 15 knot winds, much to the chagrin of the sailors, no wind to speak of.
Chata, Osprey, Tenacious, Significant Other and Following Sea:
We celebrated our crossing with Cheeseburgers in Paradise and Champagne:
We spent the next two days at anchor, swimming, kayaking and visiting with the other boaters. One of the highlights for me was paddling my kayak through the surf so I could say I had planted my feet ashore Santa Rosa Island:
Lots of VERY loud Elephant Seals on the island:
The two nights we spent at Johnson's Lee were flat calm and we hated to leave, but we were ready for another adventure and the next morning headed off for San Miguel Island:
Because it was our first visit and the visibility was almost zero,
we followed Tom & Judy aboard Following Sea into the anchorage:
As soon as we navigated around Prince Island the reef the fog lifted and there was Significant Other already at anchor:
San Miguel is amazing, so different than the other islands
we have visited. The anchorage is large and while it is very windy the cliffs
protect the cove from the ocean swell.
There is one small tropical-looking beach with palm trees
where parts of the 1935 version of the the movie Mutiny on the Bounty starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable was filmed:
Both the air and sea temperatures were 20 degrees cooler
than at Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz so I didn’t get into the water. But I did go ashore with Jeff and Suzanne to
do a little exploring:
John hung out with some of our group in the dinghy. You know it's cold if John is wearing a sweatshirt!
Some believe that Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo is buried here:
It was a great trip, so fun to explore new places. We're looking forward to returning and discovering more about these unique islands.
This is the route we took:
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