These are the Channel Islands of the Santa Barbara Channel.
Our cruising grounds are the islands that comprise the Channel Islands National Park, the four northern islands and the dot - really, Santa Barbara Island, just WNW of Catalina Island.
Catalina is the most famous of the whole group, famous mostly for the city of Avalon. It's got some other cool places to cruise, but there are many guides to tell you about those.
We limit ourselves - at least so far - to the National Park waters.
This guide is intended as a supplement to the official information available - Coast Pilot, NOAA charts {see bottom for links} - and as an adjunct to Brian Fagan's excellent cruising guides. The most useful for us being Cruising Guide to Southern California's Offshore Islands
So if Brian has done such a great job, why do we bother with this?
Brian's work has the advantages of being a book. It's easily transported - we always have one on the boat - easy to read and chock full of great information.
The drawback is it's a book. Hard to get updates, expensive to include new graphics and unable to provide linking data. So we've taken it on ourselves to provide the material between printings of Brian's books.
We're not doing this alone and when you've been to an anchorage, we'd like you to share any new information and your digital pictures. And we haven't been in every anchorage yet, so if you go to one we haven't covered, we'd like your description.
Welcome to Windy Lane
The weather is usually benign here - most forecasts call for 10-15 knots and seas less than 5 feet. However, Santa Ana winds
and occasional (usually winter) storms can give us winds of 50+ knots and huge swells with conflicting wind waves.
"Windy Lane" is just that - most summer days start with calm winds, but when you get to the coastwise traffic lanes or just beyond, you'll frequently
experience winds in the 25 - 30 knot regime. In addition to your other weather checks, go to Sailflow to find out what's cooking in Windy Lane.
A Work in Progress
Even when we complete this guide, it will be important to refer to some of the other authorities:
Note that the Pacific Coast Pilot is updated about once a year. It would be a good idea to check out the publication from time-to-time with particular attention to the information about restricted activities in the Marine Sancturary. Also take a quick look at Channel Islands Boating and Marine Reserve information and restrictions. Remember, most notes on NOAA charts reference Coast Pilot.
Additionally, you should ensure that your charts are current, which you can do by checking the dates of the charts you use (18700 to 18729 cover the Channel Islands) at Current Chart List
If you have the latest chart, but not the latest update, go to Local Notices to Mariners.
Submit Your Photos and Commentary
We've made great progress with our online cruising guide, thanks mostly to the ardent sailors who sail from Channel Islands Harbor and Ventura Harbor and the the Sailing Yacht Sancerre's Boatswain Dennis Dreith.
If you've been in any of these anchorages and would like to submit your pictures and commentary, we'd sure like to include your work. Our e-mail link is at the bottom. Give us a shout.
This guide is intended as a supplement to the official information available - Coast Pilot, NOAA charts {see bottom for links} - and as an adjunct to Brian Fagan's excellent cruising guides. The most useful for us being Cruising Guide to Southern California's Offshore Islands 
Even when we complete this guide, it will be important to refer to some of the other authorities:
