Sailing to Catalina Island

Andre Michel sailed us over to Catalina Island on his 32' sailboat. We secured "mooring"in the Avalon Marina with a great view of downtown and the Avalon Casino.

On the way over Andre showed me the ropes of sailing and how to tie a few knots. We had 20-25 knott winds so when we finished motoring out of the Long Beach marina, where Andre stores the boat, we turned off the motor and at full sail were going much faster than the motor was able to go.

The boat seemed to be a 45 degree angle with the wind blowing so hard It made me feel like if I stood perpendicular to the water I would fall out of the boat and into the ocean. My feet were on the bench across from me and my back was against the chair I had been sitting in after we got the sails up. Even though it took four hours to sail to Catalina is seemed to go by quickly talking to Andre and adjusting the sails to let the wind "slip over the sails".

When we arrived at Catalina we had to pull the "dingy" out of a bag, blow it up, put boards into it's bottom to make a flat sturdy floor then attach a small Honda motor so we could go from the sailboat to town. Riding in the "dingy was my favorite activity on the island, second only to driving a golf cart off road and down a steep hill.