channel islands to paradise cove

Channel Islands Harbor was my refuge during three powerful winter storms. I was there almost two weeks. It was a pleasant stay thanks to my peace pals Al and Laura Holtz. During the stay I tried to help the VFP chapter’s Vice President Joe Acevedo reserve the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Barbara for the SW Regional Conference that both he and I thought Chapter 112 was to host. Although the conference attendees at the last one in Oceanside had asked him to do it and he had volunteered, at the last minute members of a committee halted the search so I departed later than I thought I should and missed the ideal sailing day at the end of the last storm.

I left on December 15th at 10am with light and variable winds….indeed they changed 180 degrees just inside the harbor and I had to tack out the narrow entrance into a SWer. Once outside I turned to head directly to Paradise Cove but a navy vessel overtook me and told me that they were having live fire and did not need another target at Pt. Mugu and I had to divert several miles offshore. Once past the very busy area off Pt Mugu, many planes strafing and rifles firing and a large missile launch, I turned and sailed downwind, wing and wing, a lovely way to sail. Hundreds of common dolphins joined me about midway. The loveliest sunset came a full three hours before I made Pt. Dume and when I turned into Paradise Cove I misjudged the kelp beds in the dark and got stuck in the kelp (these kelp forests are getting bigger every year…a good sign?)….but having sailed ten hours I just stowed the sails and set an anchor in 25′ in the kelp. I checked the tide table, knowing that the time to traverse a kelp forest is at high tide. As luck would have it, there was a 6′ high tide at 8am so after my morning coffee I used a long oar as a sweep to get myself through about a thousand yards of kelp and reset the anchor near the restaurant. I am writing this at the Malibu Public Library where I will do my communication work. My laptop uses too much power for my little inverter and its battery pack is defunct. I will stop at a radio shack in Marina Del Rey and see if I can trade the inverter in for one that will wer the laptop, although ideally i should step down the boat’s dc to the laptops dc needs….complicated but more efficient.

I hope to commute to Santa Monica’s Arlington West from Paradise Cove by the bus….and to any other peace events that I can get to and back by dark (no moon just now and finding the boat in the sometimes santa ana blows is challenging)

If anyone gets by Paradise Cove restaurant at 8 am I should be taking breakfast there until the first SEer storm drives me out…I’ve stayed there for a SEr before and don’t need to do it again.

In solidarity, Lane