Tuesday 13 November 2007

October 28th to 30th, 2007 ISTHMUS COVE, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND



We are very happy to leave Frenchy's Cove in the predawn light, passing the famous Arch Rock, at the end of Anacapa Island, as the sun rose through the still smokey sky.



The hamlet of Two Harbors is, at this time of year, a quiet peaceful place, great for re-charging your batteries. There is a general store and a cafe/restaurant/bar and kayak/bike rental shop and that's about it. It lies between Isthmus Cove and Catalina (Cat) Harbor. Cat is supposed to be the more sheltered, but the weather when we were there favored Isthmus. After our experience in Frenchy's Cove we were ready for a quiet spell.



I am sure that one of the reasons California has a high divorce rate is the mooring ball systems they have devised. This was our first exposure to the fore and aft tie moorings and it is tricky for the uninitiated. The Douglas's "Cruising the Pacific Coast" has a good description of the system. Unfortunately I did not discover it until after my "first encounter of the bouey kind".

We shared the cove with two tall ships one night, one of which is pictured above.



I went for coffee early one morning and was greeted by a yell of welcome from Brian & Cathy our Bluewater Cruising Association friends off SV Tarun. We had missed them in SF, but had caught up with them. They introduced us to Jim & Julie off SV Worldwind. They were both anchored out in Cat Harbor, as pictured above. (SV Tarun is the dark hulled vessel in the picture on the left.)

No comments: