MORE CATALINA STORIES — W
between vessels. Everyone had watched how this was done on a YouTube video, and we moored without a hitch. After that, officials came aboard and dropped dye tablets into the heads — they were then flushed to see if there was any discharge into the water. We saw two boats leave when the water turned green during the test. The water in Avalon Harbor was quite clear, and I was told that this practice had helped to lower the harbor's bacterial pollution level. You'll even see
AARON LOGAN / WIKIPEDIA
e're delighted to bring you the second installment of "Catalina Stories." Given its easy accessibility from the greater Los Angeles coast, Santa Catalina has seen generations of sailors come and go. In this installment, we hear about some of the idiosyncrasies of mooring in Avalon, where and what to drink, where to bike, and more. "Catalina may be an island paradise, but she is not easy to get to from San Diego," wrote Jim McMullen. "Seventy-five miles away, Catalina is usually straight upwind, and with the current running
Above: You can see just how tightly packed boats are in Avalon Harbor. Spread: As we mentioned before, Santa Ana winds do occasionally engulf the island and make things a bit interesting.
down the coast, it makes for a tough beat to windward. A good time to make this trip is July or August as the weather is warm and the winds are usually light at night. "And that was our plan. We went aboard my boat Dolphin, a large, gaffrigged staysail ketch designed after Joshua Slocum's Spray. "Dolphin Dolphin would comfortably sleep eight, but for this trip we were 16 persons. As Dolphin is 14 feet of beam and built like a square box, she went to windward like molasses pours in winter. We left on Friday night (technically at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, so as not to chance superstition), and motored straight to our island escape. We hoped to gain some miles to windward before the wind started to pick up in the morning, and our trip through the night was uneventful. When the sun rose, we had made 50 miles to windward, and the wind was light all the way to Catalina. "Avalon is a quaint little town, and the harbor is densely packed with fore-and -aft-moored boats. This makes mooring a little tricky, as there is not much space Page 74 •
Latitude 38
• January, 2019
people jumping in to cool off. "Ashore, there were lots of restaurants, gift shops and watering holes. We felt Luau Larry's — a tiki-themed bar — would be a great place to exemplify the island-themed festivities. When the 16 of us walked into the pub, I swore that the bartender's eyes lighted up with dollar signs — but maybe it was a little bit of fear. From Luau Larry's, we enjoyed a great view of the harbor as the lights started to sparkle in the twilight. "After a couple of rounds of mai tai's it was time for our next stop, the Marlin Club, a small hangout (especially when our group walked in) where we played darts in a relaxed atmosphere. As the bar was also a locals hangout, we chatted with a few townies. They suggested we move up-island to Two Harbors, aka the Isthmus, saying it was a beautiful spot where you could walk across the island. Not being sure if this was true or they just wanted us out of their bar, we decided to give it a chance. After a calm night of being rocked to sleep and an early breakfast, we sailed the few miles up the coast.
"Two Harbors is a very laid-back part of the island, and most activities are centered around just being in the beautiful water. You can kayak, scuba dive, snorkel, or just relax on the beach or at one of the beach bars. We all went for a swim, and, even though it was August, the water was still chilly. Looking like some of the local lizards sunning on the rocks, we sat in the warm afternoon sun and enjoyed a few of the local beverages called buffalo milk, a delicious concoction of creme de cocoa, Kahlua, creme de banana, vodka and half and half. "Monday arrived all too soon, and we had to head back to San Diego and the real world. I don't know if it was the blowing of the wind on the sails, the fresh salt air, the gentle lap of the waves or the rocking of the boat, but at home all we can talk about is work and our job, and for these four days, no one had mentioned or thought about work once. "San Diego lies at 32.71° N latitude, while Catalina is at 33.38°. That's less then a one-degree change in latitude, but it's a big change in attitude!
