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It was another great Catalina Island trip this year. Accompanying me were Jon Brindle, Steve Wilson, Dave O’Connor, and George Miller. On Sunday, June 6, 2004, Jon, Steve, and I launched at Cabrillo Beach on the mainland to paddle the 19 NM crossing to Two Harbors at Catalina Island. Dave and George had crossed over the day before, because Dave wanted to visit family camping at the island that weekend. George joined Dave so he wouldn't have to cross solo.
The entire crossing over, Jon, Steve and I had a 10 knot wind from the east, which was caused by a Catalina eddy that was circulating. There were also mixed south and west swells. Because Steve loaded his kayak bow heavy and didn’t have a skeg or rudder, his kayak was weather cocking and broaching terribly. Two hours into the crossing, he was becoming fatigued from the problem. His hatches were too stuffed to shift gear around, so a tow line was used, not to tow him, but rather to help keep his kayak pointed in the right direction. I took a one-hour shift wearing the tow belt, and then 45 minutes into Jon’s shift, the conditions changed enough for Steve to not need the tow line anymore. He was still weather cocking and broaching some, but he did a great job of toughing it out the rest of the way. His shoulder was killing him afterwards.
Monday was a rest day. Steve rested his shoulder, and the rest of us went for a relaxing paddle to Empire Landing and back, which was a total distance of 6 NM. We hugged the shore, looking at the rocks, fish and plants under the clear water. We also went through the large sea cave at Blue Cavern Point. Along the way, we saw a deer on a ridge. On Tuesday, all of us paddled 16 NM to Little Harbor on the back side of the island, via the West End. The West End has a reputation for rough seas. As we approached it, we had a strong localized headwind for about a mile. Just before the West End, I had us pull in behind a small point that sheltered us from the wind, and we fueled and hydrated there to be ready for whatever awaited us at the West End and back side.
The swells were larger at the West End, but we had no problem. On the back side, the wind was calm, but we did have mixed south and west swells, as well as waves reflecting off the cliffs, which made for a fun bump to ride all the way to Little Harbor, where we camped. The front side of Catalina (the side facing the mainland) is nice, but by far the back side is much more spectacular, with huge cliffs, rocks, and direct ocean exposure.
A herd of buffalo (really Bison) visited the campground at Little Harbor twice on our first day there. Wednesday was a rest day, which was a good thing, because the wind was blowing strong the whole day and covered the ocean with breaking waves. We ended up having the campground all to ourselves this day. On Thursday we paddled 27 NM back to Two Harbors, via the East End, to complete a circumnavigation of the island. Some of the most beautiful coast on Catalina is between Little Harbor and the East End.
With everyone paddling well and the weather being so nice, we split up to do our own things. George raced ahead, Jon, Steve and Dave paddled point to point, and I hugged the coast, enjoying the scenery and scouting potential bail out locations for future trips. Along the way we stopped for lunch at Avalon. Between Avalon and Two Harbors are a bunch of primitive boat-in campsites. Using a map, I followed the cove names along the way, found all of the campsites, and scouted and photographed them for future trips. Along the way, I saw a bald eagle. Friday was a rest day in Two Harbors.
On Saturday, we had a calm and uneventful crossing back to the mainland,
with only about a 5 knot breeze coming from the east and some swell
from the west. This crossing was a milestone for me, because it was
my 10th time across the channel between Catalina and the mainland by
kayak. |
