La Isla de Santa Cruz

The Island of the Sacred Cross.

Nearly eleven months ago a good friend invited my son and I to kayak the sea caves of Santa Cruz Island. While we were there we saw a lone sailboat anchored at Little Scorpion. Little Scorpion is no more than 22 miles from the mainland of California but once there you feel as though you're a 1,000 miles from nowhere. No cell phone coverage, services, or roads. Nothing of the modern world but what you bring from it. It was such an incredible adventure that I wanted my entire family to experience Santa Cruz.

The island itself is a hiker's paradise with sea-cliff vistas and valleys that meet at the waters edge as cobble and sand beaches. The turquoise water is clear, the ocean air refreshing and the marine life plentiful. Sea birds of many varieties grace the cliffs and soar through the blue skies. Pelican's can be seen plunging themselves into the life-giving waters. On land, a dry version of this is repeated by birds of prey. At dusk the island fox makes its grand appearance. Sunsets are as beautiful as you'll find anywhere regardless of how far your search takes you.

This would be the place for our family vacation. Full of opportunities for adventure; hiking, kayaking, exploring sea caves and snorkeling. Adding to the adventure the island presents we'd sail Bella to the island and anchor in that same perfectly picturesque spot of Little Scorpion. For me, this trip was the culmination of months of preparation; developing the mandatory sailing and anchoring skills, acquiring the required kayaks, wet suits, snorkeling equipment, and planning every detail to make this trip safe, successful, and memorable.

The departure day finally arrived. We prepared Bella with supplies, fuel, loaded kayaks and all necessary gear. The plan was to leave early Saturday and sail to Channel Islands Harbor. Once there the rest of the family would join me. My loyal first mate, and second daughter, Katey, joined me on the long ten hour voyage. We set out before 5:00am to take advantage of the smooth seas and calm winds.

This would be the first time I have sailed in the dark. I must admit that it was a bit rattling to not have the ability to navigate by sight. However, Bella is well equipped with modern marine electronics including GPS charting and radar making it possible to always know where you are and where everyone else is. We safely navigated out of one of the busiest ports in the world.

Along our way we saw two blue whales, hundreds of dolphins, flying fish, sea lions, sea birds, and lots of clear blue water. The blue whales were at a distance so the few pictures we took aren't very impressive. However, the dolphins joined us several times to bow surf Bella.

Once safely docked at Channel Islands Harbor we were excited to grab showers and learn that a concert in the park was starting at 4:00pm. We set up in the park, dialed up a local pizza place and had pizza, salad, and drinks delivered. It was a perfect start to our adventure.

The rest of the family joined us on Sunday and we made final preparations for an early Monday morning departure.

We arrived in Little Scorpion to find three boats anchored where we hoped to find none. We located the best available remaining spot and set anchor. We got a good bite on our 40lb. USAnchor Danforth-sytle anchor in 23 feet of water and 100 feet of all chain rode. I had planned on a 5:1 scope but given that everyone was bow-only anchored and this location wouldn't allow a full sweep around the anchor set at 5:1 scope. After setting GPS markers for anchor location and initial boat position we secured the chain and set up the anchor bridle.

With Bella successfully anchored we dropped the four kayak's in the water and suited up to headed out to explore our first set of caves. Santa Cruz Island is really an incredible place. The water color is absolutely incredible. The abundant sea and bird life is fantastic. The water temperature was more than acceptable with wet suits at 68 degrees.

There are many different kinds of sea caves. Two main categories are swimmers and non-swimmers. Basically a swimmer is one that is too narrow for you to explore with your kayak and requires you to leave the relative security of your kayak and swim the rest of the way. The swimmers offer the most adventure. Of the non-swimmer varieties there are caves with very high ceilings and those with low ceilings. Some caves have ceiling heights of 60 feet or more. Others are very low and force the kayaker to play a twisted version of kayak-limbo. With high and low tides, swells and surges no cave offers the same experience each time you explore it.

If you are reading this and would like to plan a similar adventure, make safety your first priority. Do not enter a cave without the following mandatory equipment: helmet, life vest (PFD), gloves, helmet-mounted waterproof light, water shoes, and wet suit. Buddy system is a must. Swell, tide height, and surge are to be taken seriously. Be cautious and remember you're there to have fun.

On our last day I took a solo morning hike on the island. It's really a beautiful island of mostly chaparral landscape. The rolling golden hills with the Pacific Ocean as the back drop is simple and yet spectacular. Outstanding vistas are offered by the many cliffs.

Pictures, they say, are worth a thousands words. Unfortunately, these do not say enough about just how beautiful a place is the island of Santa Cruz.