Sailing Out to Catalina Island for 10 Days! 1

It’s been a while, seem like a LONG while, since we sailed out to Catalina Island. In fact, it’s been about nine months! We can’t believe that it’s been that long. In the past, we’ve sailed to Catalina about every two or three months, but since we’ve been refitting our beloved Morgan Out Island we have been besieged with repairs, projects, and upgrades. So, it is time! We really NEED to get out there and sail, and we really want to go to Catalina. Best of all? We planned for 10 days of sailing and fishing!

The plan is that we will sail out this Saturday and anchor in Cat Harbor on the backside. We really prefer the backside because it is more remote, and Cat Harbor has to be one of the calmest harbors on the California coast. Although Cat Harbor is littered with mooring balls, there is still plenty of room to anchor. We have seen around 15 boats anchored there and, although tight, we were able to anchor in about 50 feet of water without a problem. This time of year will be busier than in the Winter, but being that we will be staying all week we should have most of the anchorages where we will stay, to ourselves. After a night in Cat Harbor, we will sail over to Little Harbor to fish. Technically Cat Harbor is a protected area, so although we’ve seen people fish there, you are not supposed to.

At Little Harbor, First Mate wants to do some snorkeling. She is still training for her scuba certificate and wants to get as much snorkeling in as possible before her next class. She also wants to fish, and Little Harbor is a great place to fish!

Another bonus to being on the boat for 10 days, is that we will be testing systems. I installed the solenoid and footswitch for windlass to deploy the anchor and I’m glad I did. I always cringed when First Mate would go forward to drop the anchor by loosening the clutch and letting it drop. I worried that she would catch something in the chain and hurt herself. Now a footswitch will run the windlass in reverse and allow for a controlled deployment, as it should be. More tests for how much power we draw, practice deploying a stern anchor, conserving water, and generally testing everything. It’s also really good to see what is lacking in equipment, although we think we have most everything covered.

I’m going to take some time sorting out the bimini that we are going to install. We have the frame and just need to settle on a design. Most likely we will install it a bit aft of the dodger and have a removable piece that connects it during poor weather. First Mate has finished two of the cockpit cushions that she is making, so that should make it more comfortable for sitting in the cockpit in the evenings. We will have our deck chairs for sitting at the bow, too.

Will be fun times! Full tank of diesel, refill one propane tank, fill the three water tanks, wash her down and away we go!