| West Wight Potter Owner's Home Port |
The Channel Islands
National Park
"Land of Everlasting Summers"
National Park
"Land of Everlasting Summers"
August finds the SoCal POTTERS sailing to one of our nation's great treasures
- The Channel Islands National Park. Not as easy to get to as Yosemite or the
Grand Canyon, this National Park can only be accessed by boat across the
Santa Barbara Channel. Twelve miles off California’s coast the three
volcanic islets of Anacapa form the closest of the five islands in the National
Park.
Our jumping off point for this annual adventure is the Channel Islands
Harbor located in Oxnard California. Just an hour’s drive North of Los
Angeles, Oxnard’s expansive sand beaches and occasional dunes were
described by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo as the "Land of
Everlasting Summers." In the 1920’s Rudolph Valentino filmed The Sheik on
Oxnard’s beach and later built a vacation home there. Clark Gable became
his neighbor and the lavish parties to follow on the expansive sand soon
earned the nickname it still retains, "Hollywood Beach."
Channel Islands Harbor includes nine marinas attracting working boats,
traditional yachts, and trailerable visitors alike. The Harbor, known as the
cleanest in California, is arguably the most hospitable small boat venue the
SoCal POTTERS sail from. Use of the modern launch ramp and finger docks
are free of charge and daily parking for car and trailer is only $5.00 or $10
for overnight use. Sleeping in your camper or RV is $25 a night, a real
accommodation in SoCal considering most ramps don’t allow overnight
occupancy at any price.
The Ventura County Harbor Patrol manages the assignment of guest slips on
a first come first serve basis for $1.25 a foot. And, that’s a “boat foot,” an
important distinction where some SoCal marinas charge by the length of the
slip regardless of the boat that occupies it. Another small boat
accommodation is the ability to put multiple boats in a single slip as long as
they fit and pay by the boat length. Guest slips are behind secured gates
with water, electricity and well-maintained guest showers and restroom's.
Cast-off for the annual “Anacapa Adventure” is 9:00 AM, and our destination
is Frenchy’s Cove located on the Middle islet of Anacapa island. Weather
permitting the fleet will raft up for lunch, explore the island's shoreline and
perhaps the more adventurous will do a bit of snorkeling.
Before making this trip, skippers are advised the Santa Barbara Channel can
quickly become a very in-hospitable place with strong winds and steep
following seas. Twelve miles out in a strong SoCal “Devil Wind” is not a
comfortable or safe place for a novice sailboat skipper - regardless the size
of the boat. And yes, I can tell you why from personal “inexperience,” but
that’s a story for another day.
The first way point on our adventure is oil platform Gina. Approximately 4.5
miles out Gina marks the point we set watch for the “Welcoming
Committees.” First on the scene are the resident seals who monopolize
Gina’s mooring buoy and always, the ever present pelican patrol. The only
breeding colonies for the endangered California Brown Pelican in the
western United States are on West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands.
On our way to Anacapa we never know exactly what wildlife we may see. At
least 28 species of whales and dolphins are known to frequent the Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The most abundant by far of the resident
marine species is the Common Dolphin. Gathering into schools of 100 to
2,000 these playful individuals surface, jump and splash their way across the
channel. Capable of reaching speeds of 25 mph they are among the world’s
fastest swimmers and love to surf in your bow's wake or dive under your hull
scratching their backs in the churning water. An intriguing theory suggests
that dolphins 'bow-riding' on very large whales was the origin of bow-riding
on boats.
Anacapa Island is actually a chain of three small islets linked together by
reefs which are appropriately named East, Middle and West islets. At two
miles long West islet is the largest of the three followed by one and a half
mile long Middle islet rising 325 feet, the highest point of the group. Just off
the end of the East islet is a forty-foot-high natural bridge, named Arch Rock,
which is a trademark for Anacapa and Channel Islands National Park.
Discovered by Cabrillo in 1542 the name Anacapa is derived from the
Chumash Indian word, "Eneeapha," which means island of deception or
mirage. Steep sea cliffs border the water for most of the island’s perimeter
with lava tubes and air pockets from the islands volcanic origin. Many of
these features are now sea caves, offering interesting points of exploration
for kayakers.
On a foggy December night in 1853 the side-wheel steamer Winfield Scott
ran aground on Middle Anacapa. Bound for Panama from San Francisco the
vessel’s passenger list included individuals who had struck it rich during the
California Gold Rush. In the frenzied night of the disaster men were forced to
abandon their gold dust in favor of their lives. The notoriety of the drama
prompted President Franklin Pierce to reserve the island for a lighthouse
however it wasn’t until the late 1920s that the last major light station to be
built on the west coast was completed on the East islet. Today the lighthouse
remains and visitors to the island can see the multifaceted crystal lenses that
once sent light sweeping through the mist to illuminate the SoCal sky.
As the adventure winds down the SoCal POTTERS return to the safety of
Channel Islands Harbor to share the evening sky from the docks with good
food, drink and the bonds formed in the "Land of Everlasting Summers."
Captain Howie
howieman@howies.net
- The Channel Islands National Park. Not as easy to get to as Yosemite or the
Grand Canyon, this National Park can only be accessed by boat across the
Santa Barbara Channel. Twelve miles off California’s coast the three
volcanic islets of Anacapa form the closest of the five islands in the National
Park.
Our jumping off point for this annual adventure is the Channel Islands
Harbor located in Oxnard California. Just an hour’s drive North of Los
Angeles, Oxnard’s expansive sand beaches and occasional dunes were
described by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo as the "Land of
Everlasting Summers." In the 1920’s Rudolph Valentino filmed The Sheik on
Oxnard’s beach and later built a vacation home there. Clark Gable became
his neighbor and the lavish parties to follow on the expansive sand soon
earned the nickname it still retains, "Hollywood Beach."
Channel Islands Harbor includes nine marinas attracting working boats,
traditional yachts, and trailerable visitors alike. The Harbor, known as the
cleanest in California, is arguably the most hospitable small boat venue the
SoCal POTTERS sail from. Use of the modern launch ramp and finger docks
are free of charge and daily parking for car and trailer is only $5.00 or $10
for overnight use. Sleeping in your camper or RV is $25 a night, a real
accommodation in SoCal considering most ramps don’t allow overnight
occupancy at any price.
The Ventura County Harbor Patrol manages the assignment of guest slips on
a first come first serve basis for $1.25 a foot. And, that’s a “boat foot,” an
important distinction where some SoCal marinas charge by the length of the
slip regardless of the boat that occupies it. Another small boat
accommodation is the ability to put multiple boats in a single slip as long as
they fit and pay by the boat length. Guest slips are behind secured gates
with water, electricity and well-maintained guest showers and restroom's.
Cast-off for the annual “Anacapa Adventure” is 9:00 AM, and our destination
is Frenchy’s Cove located on the Middle islet of Anacapa island. Weather
permitting the fleet will raft up for lunch, explore the island's shoreline and
perhaps the more adventurous will do a bit of snorkeling.
Before making this trip, skippers are advised the Santa Barbara Channel can
quickly become a very in-hospitable place with strong winds and steep
following seas. Twelve miles out in a strong SoCal “Devil Wind” is not a
comfortable or safe place for a novice sailboat skipper - regardless the size
of the boat. And yes, I can tell you why from personal “inexperience,” but
that’s a story for another day.
The first way point on our adventure is oil platform Gina. Approximately 4.5
miles out Gina marks the point we set watch for the “Welcoming
Committees.” First on the scene are the resident seals who monopolize
Gina’s mooring buoy and always, the ever present pelican patrol. The only
breeding colonies for the endangered California Brown Pelican in the
western United States are on West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands.
On our way to Anacapa we never know exactly what wildlife we may see. At
least 28 species of whales and dolphins are known to frequent the Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The most abundant by far of the resident
marine species is the Common Dolphin. Gathering into schools of 100 to
2,000 these playful individuals surface, jump and splash their way across the
channel. Capable of reaching speeds of 25 mph they are among the world’s
fastest swimmers and love to surf in your bow's wake or dive under your hull
scratching their backs in the churning water. An intriguing theory suggests
that dolphins 'bow-riding' on very large whales was the origin of bow-riding
on boats.
Anacapa Island is actually a chain of three small islets linked together by
reefs which are appropriately named East, Middle and West islets. At two
miles long West islet is the largest of the three followed by one and a half
mile long Middle islet rising 325 feet, the highest point of the group. Just off
the end of the East islet is a forty-foot-high natural bridge, named Arch Rock,
which is a trademark for Anacapa and Channel Islands National Park.
Discovered by Cabrillo in 1542 the name Anacapa is derived from the
Chumash Indian word, "Eneeapha," which means island of deception or
mirage. Steep sea cliffs border the water for most of the island’s perimeter
with lava tubes and air pockets from the islands volcanic origin. Many of
these features are now sea caves, offering interesting points of exploration
for kayakers.
On a foggy December night in 1853 the side-wheel steamer Winfield Scott
ran aground on Middle Anacapa. Bound for Panama from San Francisco the
vessel’s passenger list included individuals who had struck it rich during the
California Gold Rush. In the frenzied night of the disaster men were forced to
abandon their gold dust in favor of their lives. The notoriety of the drama
prompted President Franklin Pierce to reserve the island for a lighthouse
however it wasn’t until the late 1920s that the last major light station to be
built on the west coast was completed on the East islet. Today the lighthouse
remains and visitors to the island can see the multifaceted crystal lenses that
once sent light sweeping through the mist to illuminate the SoCal sky.
As the adventure winds down the SoCal POTTERS return to the safety of
Channel Islands Harbor to share the evening sky from the docks with good
food, drink and the bonds formed in the "Land of Everlasting Summers."
Captain Howie
howieman@howies.net
