San Miguel is the most remote of all the Channel Islands and the cruising guides have heavy warnings about the many reefs and strong winds. The
Wikipedia entry describes the approach as "A Mariners Nightmare!". All these warnings mean San Miguel is virtually untouched and rarely visited (less than 200 people a year) making it very unique. Its a National Historic Place and a nature reserve, requiring a permit to explore. There are zero facilities and you can only get here by private boat making it a truly unique place. My sincere thanks to Chris for giving me the confidence to visit this island. I'm sure I wouldn't have done it by myself.
The first European Explorer Juan Rodriguez visited the Island in 1542 and reportedly died here, a monument to him is up a small trail from the beach.
Its only 40 miles offshore from Southern California and millions of people, making it strange to have such a wilderness so close to one of the busiest areas in the USA.
As soon as we got the anchor set securely, we dropped the dinghy off the davits and headed for the beach to see the Elephant seals. We could see and hear about 20 of them from the boat. We had no problem landing the dinghy on the pristine white sand beach. The Elephant Seals are huge, the males reaching up to 6500 lbs (think of 3 large cows or 2 cars) and make a sound like a roaring lion.
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| 2 Elephant Seals check out our boat anchored in Cuyler Harbor |
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| 2 males fighting |
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| Hauled out on the beach |
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| Not too bothered by me taking photos |
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| A few males played in the water off the beach |
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| A mix between a seal and an elephant? |
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| They are BIG ..... |
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| A pristine beach |
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| Don't get this fishbone caught in your throat. I think its from the spine of a blue whale. | | |
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| Joe and Chris at Cuyler harbor, Sea42 anchored in the background. |
The next morning we hauled anchor and set sail for Santa Barbara about 40nm east.
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