Anyone sailed their AI to Catalina from Los Angeles?

DWEST, it would be great to get your input on a trip from the mainland to Catalina and back on an AI. Just reading your posts it is clear you are an experienced and very well researched Kayaker and your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your other informative posts and links.

or those interested in doing the trip to Catalina I am planning on doing it last week of July, weather permitting and depending on what you all can schedule (let me know). It is important that we all have the right gear. Some gear we can share (especially the camping gear) but for the safety gear each one of us must have the following should we get separated.

1. PFD
2. Navigation lights or at minimum a white light.
3. compass
4. GPS
5. 4 ariel flares minimum and additional 2 hand held flares and one smoke flare.
6. EPERB. They are expensive but keep in mind that even with a detailed float plan and a mayday alert with no GPS position given the average rescue takes over 10 hours whist with EPERB it takes about 2 hours. I will have a unit so it might be enough for the group and will be better than nothing but if you can afford it I would recommend getting one.
7. VHS hand held waterproof radio. Once again I will have one but if you don't want to spring for a EPERB you must have a radio. It'll give weather updates too.
8. whistle
9. basic medical kit, sunscreen, hydration solution, survival blanket.
10. spare parts (rudder pin, sheet line, rip ties, hull patch, other bits and bobs).
11. bailing sponge.
12. strobe light

Beyond this you'll need normal gear you probably have for everyday harbor sailing like spray jacket and extra layers for warmth. I'll be wearing a "farmer John" 2 mil wet suite during the trip. Most of the safety equipment will be attached to my PFD and I'll be tied off to the boat.
I'll be doing a fully loaded test run early July along the coast to make sure the AI can take the load in sea swells and to see what effect on speed it will have and adjust the float plan accordingly. I highly recommend everyone tries a fully loaded test run using peddle power and sail and keep in mind you will be out there for anything from 7 to 10 hours so really test yourselves too. Also be prepared to be exposed to the elements as exposure will be one of the highest risks we will face - Bring a spare hat - loosing one will put you at much greater risk.
If the weather is typical then it will be calm early on so that means a good few hours of peddling the mirage drive in the morning so training is important. I tried to see how long I could last the other day, I'm relatively fit as I run allot and thought this wouldn't be too hard but after 1.5 hours was running out of steam and that was without a load! It also inspired me to get the turbo fins!

A good note from one of the other forums for carrying extra water is to use 6 ft of 2.75 inch I.D. PVC piping with screw caps at each end in which water bottles can be stored. I'll have two of these attached to the windward side outriggers. A plumbing store can hook you up for not allot of $. I'm hoping to keep the sum total of kit, water, food to about 75 lb + my weight 175 lb is well with in the max capacity of the boat at 350lb. However the lighter we are the more buoyant and less wet we'll be. I will also add a couple of swimming "noodles" to the inside of the kayak for extra float should the hull take on water.

I would also recommend taking your boat into the local Kayak / hobie dealer to give it a look over (especially the mirage drive) to make sure it is ship shape. failure of any part of the AI could take hours to repair at sea!

I know this is all serious stuff but the more prepared we are the safer and more enjoyable it will be. This is a trip that an AI can easily do and I just want to make sure we can too.

IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD PLEASE DO - THANKS.

A few suggestion to your great list:

1. a hand bilge pump (a long trip w/ wind/waves will leak more than what a sponge will handle)

2. a spare Mirage drive, at least 1 per group (if little wind, the most relied on boat part)

3. Family/GMRS Radios for all (hard to talk in any good wind/waves, good for local chatter, and saves the Marine radio power)

4. Throw rope bags for each boat. (tow, rescue, anchor)

5. leash everything, even inside the hull (Mirage drive, paddle, even each "Captain", surfboard leashes work well). Anything carried, is worth keeping where you can get to it.

I also I would recommend testing the hull for any leaks (vacuum exhaust & soapy water) a couple of days before the trip and tighten/seal everything found.

We sail each week about 25 miles, up to 5 miles from shore and have found we need these items, besides most of your list.

I await following your trip, good luck and be safe.

Kayaking Bob

I would recommend bringing MREs (Meal Ready to Eat); I may be able to grab a box or two which would be more than enough for the entire group. Is this a Friday-Sunday event? Do you have a tentative date?

RECONLON thanks for the great advice.
SWEETDUDE Yah, those dry packs are great -OR do you mean the military issue meals? we'll have to see what kit we each have (including BOLTER) so we don't double up on stuff like stoves and pans.
I was aiming at about a 4 day trip - 1 day there, two days R&R on the island and 1 day back. How much time can you spare? It can include a weekend. Maybe leave on the 25th and return on the 28th of July.
My only issue is my job is not flexible and i do have time off so far but if a job comes up it normally isn't flexible.
I was thinking that if I live near MDR and you live in Long Beach maybe we should split the difference and leave from Redondo if I can get permission from the club to use their ramp to launch from - is that cool with you? It will make the journey about 27 miles.

Yeah I was referring to the military meals as it is small and compact yet one of those meals have enough calories for an adult for an entire day. So I figure it would save space on our limited AI storage. Those dates are actually not the best for me as i have a function on the 27th but I'll see what I can do about that. I think the closest point between the mainland and Catalina Island is Palos Verdes at 20 miles, maybe launching there is a better location? How many people are actually going on this 'regatta'? Going to be a lot of fun, can't wait!

I have had many of the British MRE's and few of the US ones many years ago and I remember the US meals were allot better tasting. Also the UK ones needed prep (back then) so wouldn't be good on a kayak trip. Besides a free meal always tastes good to a Scotsman so I'll take you up on the offer.
I'm flexible on the dates so let's go after the 27th if that suits you.
So far it is 3 boats tentative (Bolter, yours and mine) but I am hoping to get another couple. I might be able to get a friend to escort us with a sail boat but that is a remote chance at present.
PV is the closest but I don't know of any sheltered launch points and easy spots to load up and get in the water (I'm sure they're there , I just don't know them). The other spot would be from Cabillo Beach down your way - I have not been there but it looks good from the charts.
I guess I lean toward the Redondo spot because it is more of a challenge being a distance of 28 miles (famous last words)! but Long Beach would be fine with me too.

Hi AJ, I am going to email you my phone # and email address so we can work out the details. I am pumped up for this! YEE HAAAWW!

Hey

Sorry been busy for a bit. I have a quick question, do you both have the turbo fins or standard ones. THat will make a differance. I have the standard ones. Also not sure I have the required clothing. What would you recomen I have.

Hi Bolter, I just got the turbo fins and they make a noticeable difference especially in torque power. I also notice that when the wind picks up providing propulsion beyond the speed of what the fins can provide it is best to pull them out and put in the plug to reduce drag. However, the majority of the time I needed to peddle to assist the sailing when I have a full load. I did a 20 mile run yesterday with a full load (of what I will take to Catalina) down the coast and it is a wet trip as one is sitting lower and buoyancy is reduced so can't lift over the smaller waves = getting wet, so you will definitely need about a 2-mm wet suite (probably a "farmer John" style), neoprene boots, and even gloves - It was all marine layer yesterday and though it was 73 deg. out by the end of 6 hours was pretty chilled so my gloves were on and all the kit. I also have a sun protection swim shirt and a Kayak splash jacket. I take with me a thermal top to wear under the splash jacket but have not got that cold yet! I think we need to be prepared that there will be allot of peddling to and from Catalina (the good news is that it is quite a leisurely paddle with the turbo fins).

As a side note, I am meeting more and more people that have Kayaked over to the island from Long Beach. I sailed down to Redondo to check out the harbor as a possible leaving point (previously discussed with Sweetdude) and chatted with a Sheriff who hailed me as he was interested in the AI and he said he Kayaked out to Catalina a few years back but by himself!!

I also have the Turbo Fins and I think they are a worth-while investment. My buddy has the regular fins and it seems he has to peddle twice as hard to keep up with me when I am just going 'cruising speed' with mine. I have tried that method of taking the fins out when out sailing, it does seem that I go a little quicker since there is no drag, not sure if its a mental thing but if the winds are good between Redando and Catalina, I'll probably take the fins out and just sail. Do you guys want to meetup sometime next week and discuss some of the logistics? How many people are coming? So far I just see Bolter, myself and Andrew?

Checkout Bob Hess's Catalina trip article at:

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/Dest ... aIsle.html

BTW I disagree on his not carrying a GPS. Too many chances of fog coming up, and not dissipating. And in the event he did have an emergency he could be way off on his dead reconing, unnecessarily frustrating him and any potential rescuer.

_________________

Great read- thanks for sending that on ALOHADAN. I love gadgets so a GPS is something I rarely go without. It has been a great help planning this trip by tracking my speeds under load and angles to the wind.

My trip is on for this weekend as it was the only opening in a serviced campsite on the east coast of Catalina where I could pull my boat up to the site. By that I mean they provide firewood at the camp site which will be very much enjoyed after a day on the AI. I'll be doing a similar thing to what he did by heading out 10 nm SWW under peddle power before the winds pick up, leaving at about 6am so I can get a better sailing angle. However, on one of my test runs I noted if there is no fog then the wind is going to pick up by 9ish so I'll be going into a head wind, all be it light. As it isthe course I have plotted is a little close but I am hoping the wind comes around directly west later in the day so I can curve up higher. Preferably it would have been great to have booked a more southerly camp site but couldn't find any booking availabilities further south. This might mean I have to tack up to the site at the end of the day.

For those reading the post, I know it isn't of much interest but the feed back I have been getting and info from other posts has been invaluable in preparing me for the trip - so thanks.
If the trip goes well I'll be doing it again with SWEETDUDE (who wanted to come this time but scheduling was an issue) and anyone else who wants to come along.
Here is my float plan:

FLOAT PLAN
LEAVE DATE 7/27/08
LEAVE TIME 6:00AM
LEAVING PORT MARINA DEL REY N 33 57' 01" W118 27' 46" (south entrance @ breakwater)

TO INTERMEDIATE WAYPOINT WAYPOINT N 33 50' 50" W 118 36' 00"

SPEED AVERAGE (knots) 2 kn
COURSE 214 deg magnetic
ETA at WAYPOINT 11:00am
DISTANCE 10 nm

DESTINATION PORT (from waypoint) PARSONS LANDING, CATALINA ISLAND. N 33 28' 25" W118 32' 54"

SPEED AVERAGE (knots) 3.25 kn
BEARING (frm. Waypoint to PL) 160 deg magnetic
ETA @ Parsons Landing 6:00 PM
TIME TO NEXT 7 hr.
DISTANCE (frm. Waypoint to PL) 24 nm


RETURN FLOAT PLAN
LEAVE DATE 7/30/08
LEAVE TIME 7:00AM
LEAVING PORT PARSONS LANDING, CATALINA ISLAND. N 33 28' 25" W118 32' 54"

DESTINATION PORT MARINA DEL REY N 33 57' 01" W118 27' 46" (south entrance @ breakwater)

SPEED (knots) 3.25 kn
BEARING (frm. Waypoint to PL) 355 deg magnetic
ETA @ MDR 4:30 PM
DISTANCE (frm. Waypoint to PL) 29 nm

NOTES ON SPEED Due to typical South CA wind patterns, I estimate I will be going 2.25 knots average speed in the morning from 7:00AM to NOON getting me to coordinates N33 40'11"5 W118 30'57" (11 n.m. along heading 355 deg to MDR). Wind picks up around NOON and my speed to about 4 knots.

VESSEL TYPE Red hobie adventure island trimiran (Sail, peddle and paddle power only)
VESSEL DESCRIPTION red 16ft trimiran with red and white sail and 15ft mast
VESSEL OPERATOR me!
OPERATOR'S CELL PHONE # 310

SAFETY EQUIPMENT ACR Electronics Microfix 406 PLB (epirb)
4 flares
3 hand held signal flares
signal mirror, whistle
IC-M88 Handheld VHF Radio Submersible
strobe

ACCOMPANYING VESSEL
VESSEL TYPE NEWPORT 27ft SAILBOAT CRUISER
REGISTRATION NUMBER: CF 5869 HE
HOME PORT OF VESSEL: MARINA DEL REY
CAPTAIN HANS PFLEIDERER (cell) 310
CREW: HUGO DE SHAIRE

CONTACTS

KLARA MOLACEK (next of kin) 310
JEFF WILLIUMS mobile 1-310 home 1-310

/Users/andrewmenzies/Desktop/catalina trip new.jpg

I made it! All went well. I'll put something together later of the trip details incase anyone else wants to do the trip and needs advice. It was much easier than expected on some levels but I didn't have wind for the first 20 nautical miles both ways which was a blessing and a curse. As you can see from the picture of the tanker, it was dead calm at noon and I had to make it across the shipping lanes quickly as they were surprisingly busy and those things are FAST when you're only going 3 kn!

TANKER AT NOON;
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/ ... C03883.jpg

COMPUTER LOG READING FOR JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/ ... C03914.jpg

LOG READING ON RETURN JOURNEY:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/ ... C03961.jpg

NOTE THAT WHEN THE WIND DID PICK UP (AROUND REDONDO) I HIT AT ONE POINT 8.6 KN.

CAMP SITE AT CATALINA:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/ ... G00021.jpg

G.P.S. MAPPING OF TRIP:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/ ... C03969.jpg

SORRY, can't work out how to upload pictures to the site so will post a website when I get it together. Unless anyone knows how to upload a picture and can pass the secret on to me. Thanks. Andrew