[Paddlewise] Successful Catalina Crossings

Fellow Kayakers,

Jim Gabriel, Jake Jacobs, Dave Murray and I had a great time at Santa 
Catalina Island Thursday through Sunday, June 17th through 20th, 1999.  We 
arrived at Cabrillo Beach Park in San Pedro just before the park opened at 
5:00am and launched through small two foot surf just as it became daylight at 
5:45am.  Due to a heavy marine layer of clouds, the island wasn't in sight, 
so we headed to Two Harbors at the island by following a bearing of 200 
degrees magnetic.

The weather was perfect for the twenty nautical mile crossing.  We had glassy 
conditions the whole way.  We lost sight of San Pedro at 8:30am, and we 
gained sight of the Isthmus at Two Harbors at 9:00am.  About five miles out 
from Catalina, a large school of Dolphins crossed in front of us and 
repeatedly jumped high out of the water.  Once they were out of sight, we 
stopped for one of our breaks that we took every 45 to 50 minutes.  As we 
rested, there was almost complete silence.  All we could hear were the 
Dolphins splashing into the water.  Yet, they were too far away to see.

The four of us arrived at Two Harbors at 11:45am, just six hours after 
launching.  We set up camp at Two Harbors Campground, which is about a 
quarter mile from the town, if you can call it that.  In town there is a bar, 
restaurant and grocery store.  The campsite runs from just above the beach 
and up a hill.  The best sites are numbers one through three, and we stayed 
at number three.  These sites are on top of a 20 foot bluff overlooking the 
harbor.  Reservations for the campground can be made by calling 
1-800-322-3434.

After setting up camp, Jake and Dave went into town, and Jim and I paddled 
two miles west to Howland's Landing.  Along the way, we trolled lures for 
fishing, and I caught and released a 14 inch calico bass just outside a kelp 
bed.  After getting back to Two Harbors, we drank cold beer in town.

On Friday, Jake and Dave paddled west three miles to Arrow Point.  Jim and I 
kayak fished at Bird Rock and Ship Rock, which are just outside Two Harbors.  
In a ten minute period on the edge of the kelp bed on the south side of Ship 
Rock, I caught and released three large calico bass on a swim bait lure.  
They were about 18, 16 and 15 inches long.  I never caught so many quality 
calicos in so short a time.  We left the rocks and paddled seven miles to the 
west end of the island.  Along the way we trolled lures.  I didn't catch any 
more fish, but Jim caught and released a 14 inch calico bass and a mackerel.  
We also stopped on a beach along the way to eat delicious MRE's for lunch.  
The two of us peaked around the West End and saw Eagle Rock.  While we were 
there, another large school of jumping dolphins entertained us.  On the 
paddle back, we had following seas, and we had fun surfing many of the 
steeper waves.  Back in town that evening, we ate hot pizza from the 
restaurant and drank cold beer.

The four of us decided to take it easy on Saturday in preparation for the 
crossing back on Sunday.  Jake and Dave headed east a ways and found a cave 
at Blue Cavern Point.  The cave can be paddled through, but only at high 
tide.  They were there at low tide.  Jim and I fished at the rocks.  Jim 
caught and released two calico bass between the rocks.  They were 18 and 17 
inches long.  I caught and released a small rock fish in about 100 feet of 
water just off the southwest side of Ship Rock.  I left there when my peace 
and quiet was interrupted by the arrival of two sport diving boats.  For 
lunch we ate juicy hamburgers and hot french fries at the restaurant.  We 
washed them down with cold soda.

After lunch, Jim did some more fishing.  Jake and I headed back to the cave 
at high tide.  Along the way, we hugged the coast, paddling in water as 
shallow as possible to enjoy viewing the rocks and plants just under the 
clear water.  The cave was about 50 yards long and had an entrance and an 
exit.  Passing through it was fun, and after a couple of times we headed 
back. 

Coming back from the cave, I saw three children being blown out to sea in the 
type of inflatable raft you can buy at a discount store.  They had paddles 
but weren't able to make any headway against the wind.  No PFD's were on 
board the raft.  I ended up towing them a quarter mile back to the beach.  
The children and their parents thanked me, but I don't think they appreciated 
the danger they were in.  I didn't bother to lecture them.

On Sunday the four of us woke up at 4:30am.  We ate, broke camp and were on 
the water by 5:45am.  Without land in site, we followed a bearing of 20 
degrees magnetic.  During the first half of the crossing back, we had mostly 
glassy conditions, and a moderate swell was quartering us from our left rear. 
 During the second half, wind started to blow in the opposite direction of 
the swell, which created choppy conditions.  It was actually nice to have 
rougher conditions, because I felt guilty having such an easy crossing over 
to the island.  We lost site of Catalina at 8:30am, and we gained site of the 
mainland at 9:30am.

The mistake I made on this trip was not looking back at the mainland as we 
left Thursday.  I should have done it to memorize the landmarks for the 
crossing back.  For both crossings, my navigational strategy was to follow a 
straight bearing without bothering to ferry unless we had something obvious 
pushing us off course, such as a strong wind.  I figured that with a forecast 
of ten miles of visibility, being a little off course a while wouldn't hurt, 
because when we sited land, we could correct.  It worked fine going to 
Catalina, because the Isthmus is a huge notch that can be seen easily from a 
long distance.  Once we saw it, we changed our bearing from 200 degrees to 
210 to head straight for it.

However, when we saw the mainland on Sunday, we could see the Palos Verdes 
Peninsula, but because of the distance we were from it, we weren't sure where 
Cabrillo Beach was at on it.  The other three weren't sure but thought that a 
particular bump on the horizon was Cabrillo Beach.  That bump was 
significantly to the right of our bearing.  They wanted to head for it.  I 
had been the one navigating with the compass, and I had been working hard to 
keep us following the 20 degree bearing.  I told them that since we didn't 
know if the bump was Cabrillo, we should trust the compass and stay on the 
bearing, until we were closer to shore and could recognize some landmarks.  I 
felt it was more conservative to follow the compass rather than chase 
landmarks we weren't sure about.

I had a GPS on deck that I could have easily turned on and used to resolved 
the whole thing, but I would rather make a recoverable mistake with a compass 
than use a GPS.  To me the GPS is only a back up for safety.

Jim decided to follow the navigator.  Jake and Dave headed for the bump.  I 
was angry the group divided, and it was the low point in the trip.

As Jim and I followed the compass, landmarks began to appear.  We recognized 
the light tower at the harbor entrance, which confirmed that the bump was 
Cabrillo.  Jim and I changed course towards Cabrillo, and the two groups met 
up again on the water.

The other three had been right about the bump.  I was two and a half miles 
off course, but I still think it was best to trust the compass rather than to 
chase landmarks that we weren't sure about.  Again, my mistake was not 
checking landmarks as we paddled away from Cabrillo on Thursday.

A few miles off the mainland coast, Dave raced ahead of the group.  During 
the crossing, Jake was having to be careful with his injured forearm and 
wrist.  He didn't know how, but sometime during the trip he strained himself, 
and his forearm was swollen.  Remarkably, he was able to maintain a good 
touring pace the whole twenty miles back, and he didn't slow us down one bit.

Jim, Jake and I landed at 11:45am, making for a six hour crossing both ways.  
While we unpacked our kayaks, Dave gave us a hard time about landing so long 
after him.  As Dave went up the hill to get his truck, Jake found Dave's hat 
washing up in the small two foot surf.  We didn't ask.

Duane Strosaker
Irvine, California

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