Ventura
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| Pelican, pelicans and more pelicans |
We left Santa Barbara at around noon on October 15th and arrived in Ventura at around 4:30 pm. where we met new friends Heather and Jim. Heather works at the marina and found a slip for us and her husband, Jim, would be looking at our freezer. They live aboard their 49 foot catamaran ‘Meerkat’ and have cruised extensively in Mexico. We had a nice potluck dinner together and saw some of the beautiful pictures they took on their travels. As well, Jim is an avid fisherman and he gave me lots of good advice and some fishing gadgets to add to my arsenal. The freezer now cycles on and off and the cooling fan works (it had never run before).
The jetty protecting Ventura harbour is home to hundreds of pelicans. This is another photo that would encompass the whole experience more completely with the addition of smell.
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| Marina in Ventura |
Ventura was to be the start of our long-term provisioning. There are some things that are hard to get in Mexico so we planned to stock up beforehand. Among them are hard cheeses like cheddar, nuts, tea, good chocolate, decent wine and peanut butter. Basically, the four food groups; sugar, fat, caffeine and alcohol.
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| New dingy wheels |
We also wanted to get wheels for our dingy so that we would be able to do beach landings in surf. Jim and Heather told us about the absolute best dingy wheels and lent us a car so that we could pick them up in nearby Oxnard.
The installation was not as straight forward as advertized but that was due to the construction of our dingy, not the construction of the wheels. And only two days after starting this simple project they were installed! Aren’t they gorgeous?
The installation was not as straight forward as advertized but that was due to the construction of our dingy, not the construction of the wheels. And only two days after starting this simple project they were installed! Aren’t they gorgeous?
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| The installer |
We left Ventura on Thursday, October 20th in the afternoon and headed over to Santa Cruz Island where Jim and Heather were planning to meet us for the weekend. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it so we checked out Yellowbanks anchorage on Santa Cruz Island and East Fish Camp anchorage on nearby Anacapa Island before leaving for Marina Del Rey on Sunday, October 23rd.
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| Yellowbanks anchorage on Santa Cruz Island |
The hills at Yellowbanks anchorage look like they could have been imported from Drumheller. There was a rattlesnake exhibit at the Ty Warner Sea Center in Santa Barbara and, although I don’t know if rattlesnakes live on the island, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see one. We chose to stay at East Fish Camp anchorage on Anacapa Island because it would enable us to reach Marina Del Rey at Venice without doing an overnight trip. Anacapa Island is composed of steep sea cliffs. It was quite foggy while we were there.
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| The rocky cliffs of East Fish Camp anchorage |
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