Thanksgiving 2009

Early in the morning on Thanksgiving, 2009, I set sail for Santa Barbara Island.

For much of the day, the wind was nonexistent - I floated, drifting along at 1 or 2 knots, periodically using the motor to close some of the gap. The 40 mile trip took 14 hours. By the time I arrived, the cove that I had never seen had been plunged into complete blackness - even the lighthouse wasn't operating, so I didn't have even that dim beacon to gauge the location of the cove in the shape of the island and knowing there were hazards I elected to sail around the island and continue on into the sea, sailing through the night farther out to sea.

When I returned in the morning, the winds had picked up and the swells were 6ft+ and choppy. Santa Barbara Island's only access is by a metal ladder that descends from a clifftop landing into the surf. Under those conditions, I couldn't see disembarking from my dinghy with camping gear in hand - so I turned my boat and returned to the marina.

The island beat me.

But in a day and a half, I sailed roughly 120 miles. I saw a million stars in a velvet night over an inky black sea. I was amazed at how small the ocean becomes at night. I was attended by hundreds, maybe thousands of dolphins and whales, night and day, much of which I couldn't film because my camera wouldn't record it.

It was amazingly intense... it's hard to explain the distortion I felt in time and distance and the profound sense of connectedness I felt to the animals. I've been sailing nearly every weekend for about a year now, usually solo. I've always treasured the 'otherness' of the sailing experience - the way it pulls you out of your regular day.

This was different, even than that. It was as if I was the only person on this strange earthlike ocean world.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• sailing
• thanksgiving
• santa barbara island
• catalina
• ocean
• dolphins
• birds

[cheesyquaver]

Argh! Dolphins!