My sister thought Santa Catalina Island was a resort and a little posh. She is correct. But it’s a good refuge here in Cat Harbor and since Sampaguita draws so little water we are able to anchor in the back bay. This is good because the harbor entrance is the only other anchoring choice, and not at all a good one. That, or moorings are $60 per night. $60 for a 24 foot boat feels bad. I resist bad feelings.

Getting here was epic. The choices along the coast did not seem very good and some weather was coming in, so I did an overnight to get here, and still arrived two hours late. A special thank you to Jerry with Harbor Patrol for helping the after dark arrival avoid the shallows and pick up a buoy. My arrival was not savvy at all and he made it work out.

I’ve done some good hiking while avoiding the ridiculously priced amenities and tourists. Cat Harbor is on the back side of the island, while most of the mainlanders arrive on the north side, so it is much more chill.

I keep encountering Jeff and Susie from Sequim traveling on their Nordhavn 40, Irene. I first met them in Morro Bay and even if we don’t get a chance to speak, we recognize each other in an anchorage. While power boaters and a different fraternity, I like them.

Boat Hack: A bit about being little. Sampaguita is the smallest boat I have seen making this voyage this year. Also, the smallest any of the several other boaters I’ve met along the way have seen. As the Pardey’s famously say, “Go small, go now.” Go Sampaguita!

Observation: Sharks…Off the coast of Washington after being becalmed for a couple days, the water became glassy. Usually with waves and movement, there is enough reflection you really can’t see into the water. On this particular day, I was doing some maintenance, in particular sussing and preventing some new found chafe. I walked along the deck and looked down over the edge. I could see for hundreds of feet into the most blue and incredibly clear water I have ever seen. I could also see a shark about 40 feet below circling under the boat. That was sobering. My first ever such siting. It was about Josh sized, but I couldn’t tell the species. That day I saw three other sharks. Two of those other sitings could have been the same shark, but the fourth was smaller. I haven’t seen any since, but must assume they are there. It is the nature of things. The boat provides shade and little organisms too. This creates a food chain. Denial is futile. So I don’t. Honestly, land is full of “sharks” too, so it is a matter of keeping perspective. Humans, being at the top of the food chain on land, are adverse to the idea of being eaten, but 99 percent of the world’s species(at least) have to contend with being eaten on a daily basis. Just sayin’.