So after our brief flirt with LA life we felt a change of scenery was needed and so we headed for some R&R where the Southern Californians like to play – Catalina Island. We arrived in 2 harbours and after washing the salty taste out of our mouths due to the extortionate nightly rates, moored up within spitting distance of the pier.
Our first order of business after nearly 2 months of dry land was to get wet. Finally the water was warm enough to swim in (well 18C, so ok for 10 minutes if you're a seal). We were pleasantly surprised by our snorkelling, seeing about 30 bat rays and some shovel nose rays in addition to the many Garibaldis and sea bass we were expecting to see amongst the kelp.
After a couple of nights we moved on to White's Landing, the première spot for Halibut at Catalina. At last we were to fulfil our great white hunter potential and justify the amount of gear we had on board dedicated to catching fish. As it went, the area proved to be an excellent spot for mackerel, providing both great entertainment and a delicious lunch on the BBQ as they readily committed suicide on our bacon rind baited hooks. Our efforts to catch a halibut however were less successful but we did catch and release some huge rays that took our bait off the bottom instead.
Our next port of call was Avalon, with the happiest harbour master in the world (probably because of his huge bank balance from the mooring fees he went round collecting). The view held by some of Catalina being the Capri of America could be understood on arriving in Avalon, with it's steep cliffs and Mediterranean style buildings. However the rest of the island seems more like it should be called the Rottenest of America with its barren landscape and hundreds of mooring buoys.
The town of Avalon was nice enough and a big night out was had on Friday leading to the crew of Indian Summer being “Wicky Whacked” in Luau Larry's. See photo below for details.
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