Thursday, 9/16/04 Slowdance sails for Catalina Island. Our objective was the Avalon harbor. We launched at Davies ramp in Los Alamitos Bay near Long Beach around 0930 and then waited a bit for another Potter 19 sailor in "That-N-More" to finish readying his boat for the trip. We sailed from Los Alamitos at about 11:30 A.M.

Winds were light at about 6 to 8 kts as we left, but freshened to a very comfortable 10-12 kts later in the afternoon and from the west. We were able to make hull speed for the P-19 most of the way there. It was a beautiful day for sailing and the boat felt perfectly balanced and comfortable.

That-N-More making good time on the way to Avalon. Denny gives us a wave as he sails near Slow Dance.

We made Avalon Harbor around 6:30 PM, covering the 25 miles in about 7 hours. We did have to slow down on a couple of occasions to reel in fish as we were dragging a feather jig along the way, just in case. The only fish we caught were a couple of mackerel, which we threw back.

Upon arriving at Avalon, we met up with the harbor patrol at the harbor entrance to obtain a mooring. Unfortunately, the main harbor at Avalon was full and we were given a mooring in Hamilton Harbor, just around a small point of land on which the casino is located. Normally, smaller boats are moored at the very inside of the harbor were it tends to be more calm. Where we eventually ended up, there was considerably more motion at the mooring, but it was still well protected.

After securing Slow Dance, we called for a shore boat to ferry us into the town and had a great meal at one of the fine Avalon restaurants. Later, we returned to Slow Dance and turned in for the evening.

The morning view from Slow Dance at Hamilton Harbor. A fine looking three masted schooner showed up around 0900. This vessel headed back to the mainland shortly after we did and we caught up with her again at Long Beach.

That-N-More rides at her mooring next to Slow Dance.

Avalon disappears into the distance as Slow Dance heads back to mainland.

We sailed from Hamilton Harbor for Long Beach around 0930 on 9/17. Winds were calm, so we started motoring back, expecting the breeze to pick up before we got too far. It did and we were able to sail for the last part of the journey.

We did see more wildlife on the way back. There were several groups of playful dolphins and seals, but the highlight of the trip came when a couple of whales showed up. The pair surfaced about 50 to 75 yards to windward and were headed straight for us. They surfaced and blew two more times as we watched with the last being only 30 yards off of our stern. The whales were probably around 40 feet in length - about twice as long as Slow Dance.

There was no white whale, though - perhaps another day...

The Catalina Express passed us about three times as we sailed back towards Long Beach. At 25 knots, she makes the trip in about an hour.

The three masted schooner Tule Mour followed us from Catalina Island, but turned and ran when we pointed the Canon at her. Actually, it was a Nikon, but I doubt that she could tell the difference at that range. At any rate, it must have looked threatening.

We were back in Alamitos Bay at about 1530, hauled the boat back out and de-rigged. That-N-More was staying for an extra day or two on the island and planned to return on Sunday.

Overall it was a wonderful trip with excellent sailing on the way over. During the summer months the winds tend to be light in the mornings and better in the afternoons. Although the Avalon Harbor Patrol expects you to clear your mooring by 0900, it would probably be best to wait until 1100 or so to begin the trip back. Once the winter weather pattern sets in, it's a whole different story. In either case, paying close attention to the weather predictions is a good idea.

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