54 Candles Expedition

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Santa Catalina Island to San Diego

With a picture of the extreme west end of Santa Catalina Island, it only seems fair to include a picture of its extreme east end.

With light winds all day, we were forced to set our spinnaker. At least we had some color.

As we approached San Diego, we starting seeing more and more signs of civilization such as BIG freighters.

The southern end of Point Loma guards San Diego Bay and the official end of our month-long sea trek.

Santa Catalina Island

This little island guards the entrance to Two Harbors. It seems to be the First Bank of Two Harbors (it's where all the seagulls make their deposits).

The seagulls have also decorated this old abandoned dock at Cat Harbor.

The south side of Santa Catalina has some beautiful little inlets.

Liz pauses after climbing about a thousand feet of vertical in the scorching 73° heat.

The infamous "buffalo milk" keeps sailors coming back to the Isthmus.

The famed casino of Avalon from our boat.

Transportation to shore is via dinghy and finding a spot at the dock can be a challenge.

The town of Avalon is a quaint mix of cultures.

Here's the other half of town.

Keeping the flowers happy with scores of tourists call for a sense of humor.

Santa Cruz Island to Santa Barbara Island

Here's the absolute west end of Santa Catalina Island. It doesn't get a lot of visitors.

Here's another shot of Liz with the suicidal fish. As you can see, it is clearly at least 10 feet long and weighs more than 500 pounds.

Everywhere we go, the porpoises love to ride with the boat. Here they appear to be playing with one jumping over the other.

This is the southeastern corner of Santa Barbara Island. Beautiful, but rugged coastline.

Arch Point greats us as we approach the northeastern corner of Santa Barbara Island.

The night before leaving Oxnard for Santa Barbara Island, we were pleased that the county held their weekly concert right by our boat. Liz says they do this every week, but I'm sure it was just for us personally.

The body of Howard's Big Johnson lies in state in one of the guest cabins. Services are pending upon return to San Diego.

The view of the westernmost point of Anacapa Island as we pass through the Anacapa Passage into the Santa Barbara Channel.

We had 15 knots winds sailing from Anacapa to Oxnard. The seas were pretty lumpy, but not nearly as tough as they were the day before.

The easternmost point of the Anacapa Islands is known as Arch Rock. The Anacapas have more than 150 caves carved into their walls.

We violated the rule of never picking up hitchhikers when these two guys begged for a tow when were out testing the new wee Nissan in the harbor.

Every harbor seems to have its unsavory characters. Here are some of the boys of E-Dock.

Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz Island

A bit put-out not being allowed to share the boat with us.

Well, you don't mind if I just rest on your dingy line do you?

Ah pleeeaaassee. I'll be good.

Starfish party in Pelican Bay.

Tempest at anchor after running from the gale. Here, she's few miles west of Smuggler's Cove.

At anchor in Pelican Bay on the north side of Santa Cruz Island.

The walls around Pelican Bay.

Ventura to Santa Barbara

No town is a great town without some good Celtic fiddle music.

Every Sunday, a group of veterans places a cross on the beach for each American soldier who has died in Iraq. The group tries to take a non-political stand, but its apparent they believe the weeping mothers, wives and children didn't have to do so had our policy been wiser. Each cross has the name of the soldier that has died in Iraq. The job of putting them in the sand is becoming extremely large.