Has anyone ever sailed to the Channel Islands?

I am thinking of sailing to Anacapa Island since it is only 12 miles from the shore of California. Has anyone done this? What was this trip like?

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Wherever you go . . . There you are.

I believe their is a race around anacapa and back. The ride is totaly dependent on the day. You got to chose wisely

Zephyr...
Having sailed to Santa Cruz Island and the 'Round Anacapa Race, here are a few pointers about making the crossing. First...DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO IT ALONE. It's always best to have a couple of other boats go with you for safety reasons. Be sure your boat is in good working order...pay close attention to the condition of your standing and working rigging. Demasting in the middle of the channel is not fun. We launched from Ventura Marina and proceeded to the west end of Anacapa. The crossing was fairly quick...less than an hour...one tack, double trap all the way. Note that you will be traversing the east end of the Santa Barbara Channel through the "windy lane". They do not call it that for nothing. So be sure you have your big air game on. Once at the west end you'll need to make a decision whether to bear off and hug the lee side of the island (very slow going in the island's wind shadow...but gives you time to re-group) or go past the west end a few miles to stay in the wind line on the backside. Give the east end at Arch Rock a wide berth due to the heavy kelp beds and be prepared for the wind machine to turn back on once you've emerged from the lee side. Then it's a double wire reach back to Ventura. The round trip distance is about 40 miles. We did it in under 3 hours on a Hobie 18. The crossing is true blue water, open ocean sailing. Lots of wind and big swells. Dress accordingly - drysuits are best and don't forget your PFD's and harnesses. Be sure to take a compass with you because of possible fog and low clouds. We were lucky. It was a clear day and we sailed line of sight.

Good luck in your quest and be safe.

For gear Add GPS, VHF Radio Flares food, water and dress to spend the night at sea. Also a leash to keep you and the crew attached to the boat. Getting seperate mid channel is a big deal

Yes.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=9660

Zephyr - I've sailed to Catalina twice with an organized group of Hobie sailors about twenty years ago, but never to the Channel Islands.
Check out this web site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/so_ca_beachcats_sailors/
Maybe they can help you. It would be safer if you could go over with an organized group or experienced beachcat sailors.
Good luck!

That last web site didn't work. Let's try the same address with some capitalized letters.........
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/So_CA_Beachcat_Sailors/

I would be up for a sail out and around the Channel Islands. I have a WAVE, hopefully, I wouldn't slow y'all down too much.

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"HOBIE....
Say it LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story

Corey, that Gilligan's Island song keeps going through my head after I read your post. ".......three hour tour........"

xanderwess:

Funny you should say that

I just watched a "I shouldn't be alive" show where (2) guys on a sailing catamaran ship wrecked on a deserted island. They missed dying "by that much" (Maxwell Smart).

I say "We're men. Bring it on."

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"HOBIE....
Say it LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story

Yea, down in Baja, I saw that too........pretty scary. I think the one guy should have killed and eaten the other guy.