Finding Peace Anchored off Santa Cruz Island

It took an adventure for Carolyn Rosner and Mike Hay to capture this idyllic cruising moment for Sailagram. The pair were cruising their Passport 37 Sula in the Channel Islands. The classic “at-anchor” sunset photo was shot at Morse Point Anchorage on the south side of Santa Cruz Island, with Santa Rosa Island in the distance, after a long day on the water. As they said, “I think we all know the feeling once that anchor’s set.”

It wasn’t an easy prelude to this setting. Carolyn describes the adventure before this peaceful moment. “We were on our first circumnavigation of Santa Cruz Island from Ventura. This turned out to be a longish day, complete with everything from zero wind to a lot of wind; an iPhone that inadvertently went swimming and is now 200 feet down on the floor of the Pacific; an underway coolant-hose repair; bailing out from a scary anchorage; and finding a safer anchorage — all before dark. Guess this is what they call “cruising.” All in all, it was a full-value day (phone loss notwithstanding), and it felt great to feel safe while spending the night here.”

She went on to say, “We’re only just starting to explore the Channel Islands, but one of the things we like to do is to anchor, go ashore, and run the trails and roads on Santa Cruz. We’ve run out of Smugglers Cove and Prisoners, where it’s legal to land without the Nature Conservancy permit. We’ve found this is a great way to see more of the island — routes can be as long or short as desired — and, of course, the views can’t be beat.” One of the other things Carolyn and Mike like to do is pick up stray Mylar balloons while sailing off Ventura.