Ringing in the New Year on Catalina
Wayne and Elly Smith stopped in the Bay for a few months this fall on their way south from British Columbia aboard their custom Stan Huntingford 47 Zeppelin. They left a couple days after Thanksgiving and sent in this report on ringing in the New Year by exploring Catalina. "We are enjoying the wilder side — compared to Avalon Harbor — of the island. We took a ride up to the Airport in the Sky as we wanted to see the inland areas and bison. The bison were brought here for a movie and then left and multiplied like rabbits. The herd was over 500 strong so they began a program shipping them out occasionally back to the plains, and today keep the herd on the island to around 150. There is a local bison named Wilson who comes down from the hills to graze. One afternoon after a rain, we were walking back to the boat and there he was, 100 feet away munching on his greens.
"We unloaded our bikes one day and went for an incredible 12-mile cycle along the cliffs of the island overlooking the various coves and turquoise and emerald green waters. It is so clean and clear you can see the fish and sandy bottoms. Cycling is huge here and, because the Catalina Island Conservancy owns the land, we had to purchase permits for riding. They also require riders to stay on the main roads, none of which are paved. The ride back was exhilarating, soaring down the side of the mountain roads, then peddling like crazy going back up, dodging the odd pot hole which still had a bit of water from the one day of rain, splatters all over me. What a blast!
"The next day we brought Zeppelin around the top of the island and partway down the other side to Emerald Cove to dive at Indian Rock. The ruggedness of the tip of the island was breathtaking — the rock formations would excite any geologist. As we cruised around the tip, the sea lions jumped around like at a marine park, birds were everywhere, and our pals the dolphin came over to swim with the boat. I was on deck taking photos when Wayne yelled at me: "Look, whales!" And there were the spouts of mist up into the air. Two grey whales. The majestic beauties were cruising around having breakfast.
"We picked up a mooring at Indian Rock and went for a dive. Great sunny day, breezy, clear water — where are we? The BVIs? The Caribbean? The reef’s vertical dimension is like that of a defective pyramid, dropping sporadically to a sandy bottom in about 80 feet. Our deepest depth was just under 60 feet. There are shelves, overhangs, tall kelp all around, and lots of fish. The bright orange Garibaldi fish swam with us as if they were our tour hosts.
"We moved the boat to Cherry Cove a couple of days ago and have been enjoying this side of the island. From here we can see over to the mainland and at night the lights of L.A. We were able to swim from the boat over Lion’s Head, which is also popular for snorkeling. Swimming through the maze of the kelp forests was cool, and once again we had our tour guides showing us the way. We hope to get in another dive and another cycle in before leaving this paradise."