Catalina Island’s Anchoring Adventure Is Underway

The water temperature at Santa Catalina Island is about 80 degrees, perfect for swimming, but the storms off Baja California that seem to come one after another this time of year have been kicking up surge in the White’s Cove area.

The lines of moorings were a bit lumpy last weekend and may be about the same this weekend. But with a bit of luck, for surge is a mysterious and unreliable phenomenon, the coves in the area--Moonstone, White’s, Hen Rock and Buttonshell--may be calm behind the protecting headland of Long Point.

Because of the surge, my wife and I decided to set down an anchor last Friday afternoon at about nine fathoms beyond where the bottom shoals enough to cause the larger waves. By late afternoon, most all of the offshore moorings were either occupied or reserved. By noon Saturday, none was available.

Thus the great anchoring drama commenced. Vessels from Marina del Rey and Long Beach, which usually moor in Isthmus coves, came nosing in like dogs making ready to lie down. Presumably, the Isthmus was filled. Avalon Harbor was packed, and boats could be seen anchored thickly off St. Catherine’s Point. Summer’s cruising season had arrived.

By midday Saturday, the White’s area was uncomfortably packed with anchored vessels. Swinging area was woefully restricted. A three-to-one scope at most on anchor rodes was about all one could pay out safely to avoid being bumped in the night by a neighboring boat.

I had five-to-one out at first but had to haul in at 3 a.m. Sunday when seaman’s intuition awakened me suddenly to danger. Our Herald Bird had swung on the light offshore wind not more than three feet from the stern of a boat that had come in that night late and had anchored much too close to us. It was pretty much that way all over the area. If a good wind had blown up, it would have been pretty exciting.

In the crowded summer months, there are two major things anybody contemplating a weekend cruise to Catalina should keep in mind. Chances are slim there will be moorings available by Saturdays, unless one is reserved at least several days in advance through a yacht club. No moorings available means having to anchor in potentially crowded conditions.

So get out your Chapman and brush up on anchoring techniques. Stop your vessel dead into the wind, if there is any, drop the anchor carefully, pay out rode slowly, set it firmly, pay out a little more and you’re set for a good night’s sleep. Maybe. The maybe is the most likely condition. Program yourself to wake up several times during the night to check your bearings.

And, also important, judge you and your neighbor’s swinging radius shrewdly. The rule of marine courtesy is that the boat whose hook is down first stays put, while the next boat in must reanchor in case the first boat’s swinging area is violated.

Sailing Notes

- Robert Allan, Jr., veteran sailor and a former commodore of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, relates a harrowing experience of the skipper and crew of the 70-foot yacht Saga out of Long Beach on the recent Trans Pacific race to Hawaii. Skip Allan, Robert Allan’s son, was aboard as navigator and watch captain.

Saga was doing about 20 knots around 1,000 miles out from Newport Beach when the vessel struck something violently. Investigation showed it was a large sea turtle about three times the size of a dining room table. The turtle, which had its shell cleft by the force of the impact with Saga’s 13-foot keel, was stuck fast.

An attempt was made to dislodge the turtle by sailing Saga backwards, pushing the boom backwards. It didn’t work. Then a crewman went over the side on a line and attempted to kick the big creature loose while the boat backed up. The turtle was bleeding profusely, a magnet to sharks. A big swell was rolling. The turtle was frantically snapping.

“It’s a miracle the man wasn’t brained by the keel, bitten by the turtle or prey for sharks,” Allan said.

The crewman’s effort finally dislodged the turtle. Saga sailed on, only to strike a semi-submerged log head about a day later. Miraculously, she wasn’t holed. Surviving these mishaps, Saga, owned by Don Baker of Long Beach, finished third in the race.

- In order to concentrate on his administrative duties, Dave Grant will take a a year’s leave of absence from his duties as Orange Coast College’s crew coach. OCC crew members Pat Gleason and Lee Miller will fill in for him until Grant’s chief assistant, Jim Jorgenson, returns from his sabbatical leave in January.

- Thirty yacht clubs have become affiliated with Dennis Conner’s Sail America campaign to win back America’s Cup from Australia.

“The Sail America campaign is dedicated to bringing back the Cup for all America, not a particular club or region of the country,” said Conner of San Diego. “The affiliate yacht club program was established to provide a way for sailors throughout the country to become a part of the campaign.”

Conner’s organization widens the opportunity for fund-raising efforts, as well as keeping affiliate clubs informed of the San Diego challenger’s activities. The San Diego Yacht Club is the sponsoring club for this challenger. The Huntington Harbour Yacht Club has become one of the affiliates.