Your Custom Text Here
Learn about ALL the skills needed for sailing and seamanship. We have knot tying videos, guidance on anchoring at Catalina Island, fun sailing videos and more.
Here's a little taste of Cruising Santa Cruz Island, the largest of CA's Northern Channel Islands. Chrissie, a veteran of numerous offshore trips via sailing schools, as well as private trips I have put together, created this video to share the magic of the Northern Channel Islands, and Santa Cruz Island in particular.
Click here to learn more about sailing adventure trips in the Northern Channel Islands.
It's gonna be good!
In October of 2015, Cam Sanford and friends took the Northern Channel Islands cruise through the OCC School of Sailing and Seamanship, where they got their Bareboat Cruising Certification. I have been leading these trips for OCC since 2004, and a few things made this one special. First, these guys all had GoPros and other cameras, and were always taking pictures. Second, they just really wanted to be there on this trip, doing what we were doing. The shared enthusiasm made for great days on the water, and good conversation in the evenings. Plus, there's that whole thing about our first 22 hours being underway continuously, overnight, and the bond that such an activity creates.
Cam created an epic video that captures the best moments of the trip, and gives you a feel for what it's like to be in the Northern Channel Islands. I really love the GoPro videos of the dolphins on our bow, starting on the video at about position 9:30, and I've never seen Risso's Dolphins swim at such speed (you'll notice the Risso's as the dolphins with the blunt noses, and scars all over their bodies). The video is about 20 minutes, and I hope you'll stay for the whole thing. Well done, Cam!
"Knowing little of what was to come, we were four apprentice-explorers on a Wednesday morning with our new friend Moose, instructor Marc, and first-mate Stolle, eager for escape and ready to set sail on The Betty - a beautiful forty-two foot sloop rigged Catalina."
This is one of my favorite trips. The Anchoring at Catalina trip originated in 2007 with a comment from my friend Gabi, who told me she was going to Catalina in July. When I asked her what she was going to do if there weren’t any moorings available, she said she might have to head back to Newport! Ooooh noooo! I realized that there are many weekend cruisers who have just never gotten comfortable with anchoring bow and stern, or even with just a single anchor off the bow, and haven’t had the time to figure it out on their own.
We’ve gotten Anchoring at Catalina figured out, and on this 3-day cruise you’ll learn how to enjoy Catalina without having to depend on the availability of moorings. You’ll learn how to size up the cove and pick your spot, use the appropriate scope, and deploy and set bow and stern anchors without having to get in the dinghy. Along the way we usually stop for a swim in one the coves when the weather is suitable. The goal, at the end of the second day, is to have you be able to anchor bow and stern in a new cove, and lead the process yourself. And on the passages to and from Catalina, we teach navigation, aspects of passage making, and sail trim.
We run this trip multiple times a year so click here to see upcoming dates. And of course you can buy the cruising guide, Anchoring at Catalina, to find detailed diagrams and directions for every possible scenario when you’re out on your own.
Enjoy the video, and I hope to see you on the water!
Marc Hughston
