Entry by Joe: My friend Howard came down to San Diego to help me bring the boat back to Ventura. Our first leg was a tough, dead-upwind sail to Avalon. The locals had warned that it could be a rough passage—now I understand why. The waves were close together so the boat would pound hard after cresting each steep swell and dropping into the trough. Tough day.

We arrived at Avalon as the low, setting sun blinded us on the final approach. Then, in a moment of magic, the sun slipped below the tall mountains behind the harbor and the city—hidden by glare only seconds earlier—suddenly appeared. The Harbor Patrol quickly assigned us a mooring ball in an easy spot to reach, for which I was very grateful. Check out the nigh shot of Avalon below—we’re hoping to get back there in December.

The next day we made it the short distance to Emerald Bay, where we were given a tour of the San Diego YC facilities. They have a great club house on the island! The following day we had a long, tedious, but calm motor to Anacapa Island where we explored the Pacific side near East Fish Camp and cruised past Cathedral Cove on the mainland side. Big thanks to Howard for all the help!

A few weeks later, Chantell and I headed out to Santa Cruz Island for an anchor-out at Prisoners Harbor. We were greeted by a mega yacht named Rule #1—$150,000 per week to rent, if you’re curious! Check out the photo with the inflatable water slide. When a storm rolled in, we retreated back to Ventura to work on the boat, go kayaking, and explore the countryside. Right off of Highway 150, we found an aviary and discovered a charming little town called Ojai—it reminded me a lot of Northern California.

Next up: back to Santa Cruz Island this week—hoping for better weather!