Catalina - Destination

Boat/US Magazine, Jan, 2002 by Tony Gibbs

If Santa Catalina Island has one fault, it's too-easy access. Only 20 miles away from the teeming millions of greater Los Angeles, this boaters' nirvana can, on summer weekends, overflow with visitors. Even then, however, it's usually possible for the Catalina connoisseur to find a mooring in one of the dozen or more superb harbors.

Third largest of the eight Santa Barbara Channel islands, 21-mile-long Catalina is often invisible from the mainland, and vice-versa. As your boat approaches the island, the first hint you're likely to see is a faint, irregular line across the sky -- Catalina's mountainous spinal ridge, whose peaks range from 1,650 to 2,100 feet above sea level. Then, grayish brown against the usual gray-blue haze, the steep hillsides and canyons fill in, and at about five miles out you may see the first signs of human development -- typically, the huge, cylindrical Casino, signature structure of Avalon, larger of the island's two communities.

About half-a-mile across, Avalon Harbor contains nearly 300 moorings (see sidebar). Its bustling waterfront is lined with small hotels and restaurants, several of them first-rate, as well as a plethora of souvenir shops. The mooring area is well-protected, which is more than can be said for the two adjoining areas of Descanso Bay and Hamilton. You can tie up your own tender at the dinghy docks or go ashore in one of the harbor launches (raise them on VHF Ch. 12). Though it's unblushingly devoted to servicing tourists, picturesquely hilly, cluttered Avalon is arguably a perfect sailors' liberty town. (See Things to Do Ashore.)

Near Catalina's other end is aptly named Two Harbors, a tiny, seasonal village that contains just one of everything the boater needs: One restaurant, one snack bar, one set of showers, and one general store that sells everything from engine parts to wine. Even friendlier than Avalon, Two Harbors lies at Catalina's half-mile-wide neck, with (surprise, surprise) a harbor on either side. The more popular Isthmus Cove, on the north shore, contains about 250 moorings and a fuel and ferry dock. It's reasonably well protected, as are neighboring Cherry Cove (100 moorings) and Fourth of July Cove (40 moorings). Notched into the south side is Catalina Harbor (100 moorings), perhaps the best-protected natural anchorage in Southern California. Its only drawback is that you're on the wrong side of the island for any other anchorage, and a half-mile walk from the attractions of Two Harbors.

The village can bustle when a fleet's in, but much of the time it's as idyllically peaceful as Avalon is lively. Even better, Two Harbors has convenient access to some of the island's best hikes, all the way down to West End, five miles away, and diving or kayaking in the coves on the north shore is first-class.

And what about the rest of the island? Thanks to the generous farsightedness of one family, more than 80% of Catalina retains the starkly dramatic beauty of California before the freeway. In 1919, chewing gum magnate William Wrigley obtained control of most of the island, and 55 years later his son Philip was instrumental in setting up the nonprofit foundation devoted to keeping Catalina pristine.

You can see as much of the unspoiled island as muscle, time, and money permit--on foot, mountain bike, or tour bus. Though I enjoy hiking more than most boaters, the tours are great fun. Local residents are your guides, and they come armed with knowledge and dedication.

One word of warning: If you encounter Catalina's free-range buffaloes (abandoned decades ago by a film company), give them a wide berth. They're as mean as they are ugly, and that's saying a good deal.

RELATED ARTICLE: VOYAGE PLANNING

The San Pedro Channel isn't usually a difficult body of water for even fairly small cruising boats, but it is an arm of the Pacific Ocean and should be treated with respect. In late spring, summer and early autumn, the best time for powerboats to cross the channel is in the morning, the earlier the better. The prevailing westerly will make itself known a little after lunch, and often picks up as the afternoon progresses until it's quite strong by about sunset. Sailing craft coming from the west will have an exhilarating ride; anyone beating into the winds and seas will probably find the going wet and bumpy.

Between October and April the daily weather may be even better, but there's always the chance of a dreaded Santa Ana -- the northeasterly wind that takes a running start from the high desert and picks up enough force along the way to turn Catalina's best harbors and anchorages into cauldrons. The mere possibility of a Santa Ana shouldn't frighten sailors into abandoning their cruising plans, but if the marine forecast includes a prediction of "strong winds below passes and canyons," put off your voyage 'til another day.

San Pedro Bay, the terminus for two major coastwise shipping lanes, is full of commercial and military traffic day and night. And on weekends, the boat traffic to and from Catalina can look like a freeway gone to sea. Southern California coastal fog isn't, thank goodness, as thick as what you'll find along the coast of Maine, but visibility can drop to a quarter-mile or even less. If you have radar, use it.