On Friday we left Santa Barbara, planning to anchor on Santa Cruz Island for the night on our way to Los Angeles. The island is a short 25-mile trip, and we had already been there a couple times on our previous boat, Aegea. We anticipated an easy sail, followed by a quiet afternoon at anchor.
The “easy sail” part went according to plan. And the sun, light breeze, and relaxing vibe must have been contagious, because halfway there, we turned to see our Lady Gray in the companionway, ready to set foot in the cockpit! While we were underway! This was big.
John rushed below to put on her harness, and then we waited anxiously to see if she would follow through on her curiosity.
And just like that, we have a salty sea lady!
We were beaming. Alert, but trying to play it cool, she spent the next hour in the sun with us, wind blowing through her fur. We gave her a ton of pets to show our approval.
Guinny was catching up to her brother Chase, who had initially proven to be more seaworthy. He found the right sailing spot first, was first to use the letterbox underway, and never had the same look of panic (or grumpiness) that we’ve seen from Guinny.
But on Friday, Chase turned out to be a total scaredy cat! We tried to coax him into the cockpit to join us, but he was terrified. So much for being seaworthy.
As for the “quiet afternoon at anchor”… well, this Friday the 13th turned out to be a bit cursed. When we arrived at Smuggler’s Cove on the east end of Santa Cruz Island, we found unpredicted swells and breeze coming right into the anchorage. As we watched the only other boat in the cove pull up his anchor and leave (not a good sign), we debated what to do: “It’s just one night!” versus “But it’s only been 30 minutes and this blows!”
(For other California boaters reading, yes, we have ordered a Flop Stopper, but we don’t have it yet.)
We decided to leave the anchorage and try Prisoner’s Harbor, 10 miles around the island and and a bit further from L.A.
We arrived at sunset, and the cats grew desperate for dinner.
Prisoner’s was quite calm at first, and we were really pleased with ourselves. But after dinner, the swells began to roll into this anchorage too. We were tossed back and forth all night. It was so unpleasant in the middle of the night that we almost laughed at the situation. Almost.
The leg to L.A. gave us the uneventful day we were looking for. Guinny made another appearance to sun herself and show her brother who the real adventure cat is. We arrived in Marina del Ray around 7pm—not what we had planned, but good practice entering a busy harbor after dark.
We’re here in L.A. for some scheduled boat maintenance, and then we’ll continue south!
12 comments
Michelle, I love your missives. Having been on the water for about 60 years and having done overnight passages for about 55 of those years, I’m getting a totally new perspective from reading you notes. The cats seem to be doing wonderfully and I expect it will just get better and better for them. Wait til they see a squid or flying fish on the deck in the morning. They’ll love it. [The ink from the squid does stain but the sun and the salt make the stain disappear within a couple of days].
Hi Ron! Thanks for the tip about the ink stain – saves me a worry. Glad you are enjoying the blog. Probably mostly non-boaters reading this, but good to know it’s entertaining to the well-sailed like yourself! I know John learned a lot from you and Doug on your trip down the coast several years ago. Say hi to Jane for us!
I still think Chase needs a set of bongos..he is going beat!
That is the last thing he needs. We are working on a kelp crown for him though.
Live the cruising cat updates! Wait till they meet a flying fish! Cal Yacht Club commodore is also a StFYC member- Kellie Fennessey. She and her hubby are cruisers too!
Hi Susan – Her husband Mike stopped by our boat yesterday evening! Looks like while you were making this comment 🙂
The blog is great but the PHOTOS…!!!!!!!! Picture perfect in every way! Love this.
Love hearing from you and seeing all wonderful pictures. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Love you be safe .❤️❤️
Thanks Mom, love you too!
As heard on PINEAPPLE from down below from STARRLITE’s virtual satellite connection……
Ginny – No one told me about the rock’en around.
Lady Gray – Yea, me either – my paws don’t work as well on the floor
Ginny – Lady Gray – really – they call it a deck.
Lady Gray – I’m sorry but I’m having a terrible time with all this new vocab.
Ginny – I heard #1 talking about a flop stopper.
Lady Gray – Yea, I heard that too – I think he was talking about a semi-conductor.
Ginny – I think your right – they used to talk about flip flop at home – at sea a flop stop must be the same thing.
Lady Gray – I notice there is a lot more discussion about the weather then we had back home.
Ginny – Yea – what’s the big deal – just passing the time of day – nothing changes.
Lady Gray – You know. Ginny, I have been losing weight since we got underway.
Ginny – it is the same with me – it must the sea food or and the changing meal times.
Lady Gray – That’s it – meal timing – I think Pineapple may be running our lives with her own schedule.
Ginny – It wasn’t like this back home.
Lady Gray – Get with it Ginny – this is a whole new world plus, can you believe they have cats on other boats – really cool cats…..
Ginny – yea, that’s what I hear plus I get more rubs on the stomach per hour here than back home.
Lady Gray – Hummm, you’re right – fun times ahead. I think I’ll take a nap in the sun.
Ginny – me toooooo.
This is amazing!! Sounds about right. I must have been confusing – Lady Gray is a nickname for Guinny (which is short for Guinnivere). Her brother is Chase. But I think you captured their personalities whatever the name!!
OMG a salty sea BOSS!!!!