Super fun trip. Thanks to Andy for the idea & organization, and to the rest of the guys for a fun weekend. Definitely need to do it again.
Here are my pictures in the order they happened. I’ll try to write up a detailed report later.
The Boat
The Crew- I feel like this pic could have its own soundtrack.
We saw a pod of whales on the ride over to the island
Offloading the gear at the island. Rangers were there to greet and mock us for the ridiculous amount of gear.
The campsite was about a 10 min walk from the pier. Perfect distance.
Weather was pretty nasty when we lanched on Sunday. We found a protected cove where we fished until sundown. You can see the whitecaps behind Andy in this pic. The paddle in was “interesting” to say the least!
Fishing wasn’t wide open, but we caught enough for dinner each night.
That particular fish was made into ceviche by the ceviche fairy.
Or he might have been a taco. I’m not sure.
Kurt hard at work
The campsite
Fishing Monday morning. The weather was a little better, but the fishing was slower. That is scorpion rock in the background.
A familiar sight and smell to a lot of people.
The good thing about the fishing being slow, was that I actually slowed down and explored the island a bit.
We had planned fish for dinner. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ve never been so happy to find a school of dabs in my life…
Monday noon time. I took a nap on the rocks while waiting for the others to land. The sea had glassed off nicely.
Thi just landed
Yani battling the surf
What does the fox say? Now I know. They were pretty cool, and everywhere! Pretty acclimated to people too.
That afternoon we took a hike. We ended up at a pretty cool lookout. Santa Cruz is big. All the land you see here is the island.
We were able to hike right to the cliff edge. Pretty crazy stuff.
The top was a cool place to contemplate life, collect rocks, and just take the view in. That is Anacapa Island in the distance.
On the hike back we saw lots of cool caves, which we would explore via kayak the next day.
The walk back to camp. Pictures can be deceiving. That is probably a 100 ft cliff they are walking on.
Thi and Kurt
Some nature shots
Scorpion Harbor
Knuckleheads
Got back to camp and the foxes were still active
Dinner that night was Yani’s insane fish soup. Dining with Yani, while he cooks is an experience that I feel lucky to have been able to enjoy. The pre dinner entertainment is just as good as the meal.
The next morning the weather was good, and we decided to paddle to Potato Harbor to fish.
I thought this rock looked like a skull
Repaying the favor
Caught a couple fish on the swim baits
The water at Potato harbor was crystal clear. This is about 15 feet deep.
We took our time on the paddle back. Stopping to take in the cliffs, the caves, and the island.
My camera battery died right before we got into the caves. Hopefully others got some good pics. I was able to eek out 1 more pic as we were departing the island that afternoon.
