Newport Beach anchorage

I made good time sailing back to the mainland as the weather was building. I was looking forward to being in a calm protected bay and Newport beach is one of the best.

Tied up at the harbor patrol docks to get info on were to stay

There is a number of options at Newport Beach, you can pay an outrageous amount to stay in a marina, over 3x the price of the other ports I had visited or you can tie up to one of the many mooring balls around the bay or you can use the free anchorage area thats located right in the central spot near the beach and shops. You can stay there for 5 days in any one month so that seemed to suit me fine. Its so calm in here compared to being out in the open ocean, I slept well that nite.

The channel entrance to Newport Beach

Lots of bays and islands to explore

This has to be the sailing capitol of southern California. Every day I'm surrounded by big and small sailboats in races and just having fun passing just feet away from were I'm anchored. The shoreline is a continuous line of private properties, most with there own beach and docks for multiple yachts. There is a mixture of good and average shops and restaurants around. This area wasn't developed fully until recently and its still working out its issues, but for a boating family it has to be a great place to live.

Want a house with a beach and a dock? the one on the right is $35m. I'm anchored opposite for free.

Eel Cove (Catalina)

There is an area at the North-West end of Catalina called Emerald Bay that is renown for its clear water and great diving. I had been at Whites cove for a while and decided to try it out. It was about an hour North of were I was and there was no wind so I motored slowly up the coast. As I was going past the Isthmus at 2 harbors I decided to look around to see if there are in fact any places you can anchor there as it seems all the good places are taken with mooring balls. The wind was howling thro the Isthmus as it often does in the afternoons and all the places with no mooring balls were in 100ft+ of water making it a risky proposition. I continued up the coast towards Emerald Bay and noticed a great secluded bay big enough for one boat just after the Isthmus around the Eel Cove area.

Anchored in my own bay surrounded by a kelp forest.

Emerald bay was just around the corner so I took the dinghy to take a look. It has some unusual rock formations and very clear water.

Emerald bay rocks

good water visibility

Back at my private cove I was reveling in how perfect it was, I had the place to myself, the water was so clear I could see both anchors in the sand and it was reasonably calm. I snorkeled around a little, made dinner and got ready for a good nites rest.

Calm, clear water in my own cove, but it changed later that night!

Unfortunately the weather was changing and a new front was bring more wind and bigger swell to the area. Because of my location it got rolly quite quickly, then to make it much worse I found out my cove was the hot area for commercial fisherman during the night. About 1/2 mile offshore a dozen large trawlers with bright lights start churning up the water and firing cannons to scare off the birds from all the fish scraps. It was miserable with the boat rocking violently from side to side and all the lights flashing on and off. Anyway, by the morning I had had enough and sailed 30nm east over to Newport Beach on the mainland.

Whites Cove (Catalina)

I had a smooth sail across the channel in 15knots of wind and arrived in under 3 hrs. I was close hauled the whole way as I need to make as much windward progress as possible and got to really test the pointing ability of the new jib. I was headed for an area on the central east coast of Catalina called Long Point which was as far north as I could get in one tack. There is a recommended anchorage called Whites Cove in the lee of this point that looked just what I was looking for. Just like any good location on Catalina, all the best places are taken with mooring balls but there are a few spots left to anchor if you take the time to scope out the bay.

Whites Cove looking North, Sea42 on the right.

Most of the mooring balls are in the south of the bay

I set 2 anchors so the bow pointed out to sea and ended up being pretty comfortable being protected by the headlands and Long Point to the north. This is the most comfortable open water anchorage I have found so far. Its quite deep water at over 50ft, but the holding is good and the water visibility is great.

View of Catalina from the cockpit. I spent a lot of time sitting here!

I really like it here. The water is very clear and there is plenty of fish to see around the kelp forests near the rocks. Its quiet and if I need anything I can be in Avalon in 15 minutes assuming the waters flat and I can go full speed in the dinghy (25 knots). If its even slightly rough it takes a lot longer but the view on the way beneath the cliffs is pretty spectacular.

As I had the big outboard on the dinghy, I spent some time exploring the local coast and found a few camping spots on beaches that can only be reached by boat. Its very wild and untouched here. I had a big flying fish zoom by me one day while in the dinghy.

After a few days just sitting back and enjoying the view I decided to hike up the mountains to get a good view of the bay. Its been pretty warm so I set off early around 7am to avoid the heat. I didn't really know where I was going but I saw a few small trails in the distance and figured I cant be the first to try. I packed the radio and some supplies into my backpack in case I got into trouble...

view over the bay a few hundred feet up the mountain

A little higher, getting tired now .....

Top of the mountain, the boats are little dots now, and its getting hot.

This was about as far as I have hiked in a very long time. I looked around for some shade for a rest and tucked in behind some bushes to have lunch and some much needed water. There had not been much of a trail up to this point but I could see what looked like a dirt road in the distance and figured I could use that to get back. A few miles down the dirt road I was on a point over looking the bay near the boat but there the road ended, guarded by a huge bison!

The only other person I met all day. Quite friendly it turned out.

I just have to get down this small hill and I'm home!

I should have just gone back the way I came, but it seemed a very long way back and its wasn't an easy climb. Going up is always easier that going down and now I'm so close there must be some trails near the coast right???

I started down the cliff and soon realized if was just a mass of Cactus and dried out brambles. Anyway to make it short I spent hours retracing my tracks and ended up climbing down a creek bed and going over a steep cliff before I reached the shore. So I'm at the shore just a half mile from the boat, it should be easy from now I'm thinking. I clambered over the rocky beach and made it around a headland with the waves crashing all around me, just one more cove to go and I'm back. The only problem is that the last cove is surrounded by steep cliffs a hundred feet high and I cant get around the rocky point. I tried climbing out holding onto dried out roots and plants but had to give up before I started a rockslide,

I climb down this cliff and end up being stuck in this bay, No way out!

I went back down to the shore line and sat on a big rock on the waters edge (see arrow on picture above). I could leave all my gear here and try and swim for the boat, but then how could I land the dinghy in this rocky surf to pick my gear up? I thought about calling the coast guard when a kayaker came around the point. I called out and explained my strange situation. I ended up jumping off the rock onto the kayak and getting a ride back to the beach. Next time I get a trail map!

I dragged myself back to the boat and drank more that one beer after that.

A few days later I decided to take the dinghy ride 3 miles down the coast to Avalon, It was a little bit choppy so I couldn't go full speed but its a beautiful trip skirting the kelp forests at the bottom of huge cliffs. About 20 mins later I pull into Avalon and tie up the dinghy at the pier. Culture shock! Millions of tourists everywhere. It was overwhelming at first seeing so many people after being alone for a while, but I soon got used to it and sought out a coffee shop.

The beach area at Avalon

Avalon is a pretty town on the southern end of Catalina. Its the only real town on Catalina and has a good mix of shops and restaurants.

View of Avalon Harbor from the coffee shop. Electric golf carts to get around town

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View over Avalon Harbor

The Casino Building is the big landmark of Avalon.

I spent some time exploring the small town. The island has an unusual history as its privately owned by the Wrigley family (of chewing gum fame) who lease parts of the island to various organizations. Read about it here. I ended up going to Avalon a few times to get access to the internet and get supplies.

Alamitos Bay (Long Beach)

It was time for the family to get home so before we left Catalina I called around looking for a slip in the Long Beach area and found a slip at Alamitos Harbor. Its in a great location with Long Beach airport (LGB) just a few miles away with direct access to San Fran via Jet Blue which I could use next week to go home and help Sophie start High School. Ali and the kids stayed one more night and then started their trip back to the car parked at Santa Barbara Marina using the local train system.

One of the many parks around the bay

Over the next few days I got a chance to explore the local area on the bike and found all my favorite stores, get some laundry done and even located a Trader Joe's to stock up on chocolate. There is a nice downtown area that runs parallel to the beach on 2nd St, plenty to do and see.

I flew home for 5 days and then was back on the boat Tuesday. Its was quite depressing flying home in 50 minutes over the distance it had taken me 6 weeks to sail, the plane even starting braking over Monterey bay for landing at SFO, it took me 2 weeks to get that far ... Arghh....

Flying over Alamitos Bay, I can see the boat down there!

Everything was looking good when I got back to the boat, so I planned a trip back to Catalina. I wanted to find a quiet anchorage where I could fish, swim and do a little exploring of the island. The next day I stocked up on food and fuel and left Alamitos.

Two Harbors, Catalina Island

We reached Catalina just before sunset and tied up to a mooring ball just 3 rows back from the beach. Two Harbors is a great vacation destination for boaters, one pier, one restaurant, one bar and a general store. It reminds me of some of the places you can visit in the BVI's, but its on the west coast. Next to Avalon, its the most popular yacht destination on the west coast and for good reasons.

The water around Catalina is very clear and there are plenty of fish to catch, you start with bread bait, catch a few mackerel, chop them up for bait and then start reeling in lunch. Within a few hours we had enough sea bass to feed all of us. We hoped to catch some halibut, but no luck this time.

View from the hammock....

You can only get ashore by dinghy (or swim). By the end of the week, the kids mastered starting the outboard and could get ashore by themselves to get ice-cream etc.

Two harbors bay

I intended to scuba dive and windsurf here, but I never managed to muster the energy. Its really a pathetic
excuse but you can really unwind here and its hard to get anything done. I did go snorkeling on the last day and later that day Sophie tried it for the first time, after a initial hesitation she really got into it and I literally had to fish her out of the water.

Cat Harbor on the west side of the Isthmus

Ventura

The family drove down to Santa Barbara Saturday and we spent two more nights to explore the town and some time Sunday to drive around Montecito while we had the car. We visited 3 open houses and found Montecito to be very much like Hillsborough in its style and feel with the exception of Cacti everywhere  instead of Oak and Eucalyptus trees. Sophie found 3 Yoghurt shops in Downtown Santa Barbara and found one that allowed you to take any amount of yoghurt and toppings and then just pay by weight, even Dad liked the taste.
Tuesday morning we got an early lunch and cast off for Ventura harbor about 25nm to the south. We wanted to make our way to Catalina Island and decided to do it in a few steps until Ali and the kids got their sea legs.
We pulled into Ventura about 6pm but not until we caught our first fish! We had put out a second trolling line on the stern pulpit that had a purple cedar plug I had bought on Sterns Wharf. I didn't expect to catch anything after zero luck with my squid lure, but within an hour of putting out the cedar plug we pulled in a 3ft long Pacific Barracuda! It was the biggest we had ever caught. After consultiung the fishing book and finding it edible, we quickly filleted it on the dock at Ventura and pan fried it for dinner.

Our first trolling fish, a Barracuda!

I was hoping to spend some more time at Ventura as its a nice looking port with some great restaurants, but we decided the next morning to push onto Catalina as the kids only have a week before they need to be back home. We left shortly after breakfast the next morning initially thinking to stop at Marina Del Ray, but after consulting the charts and the distances, we decided to do one long passage and make it to Catalina by nightfall. I had decided to do all our trips during daylight with the kids as they are not up to doing watches yet and also the winds in SoCal drop away to nothing overnight and make for a very rolly passage. Luckily there are plenty of ports in this area allowing us to make port by nightfall.