Catalina TO PORT
Sailing to Catalina Island is no mean feat. Racing singlehanded or doublehanded around the back side of the island in the open ocean is a whole other animal. My mind was working overtime a few days before the Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Assocation (PSSA) race around Catalina Island. Will it be a good day? Will I have enough gas to travel halfway around the Island if something breaks? What if the wind dies completely? Nevermind all the rigging and racing setup. What’s the wind going to do on the day of the race? And more importantly, what’s on the menu for lunch and dinner?
Most of those thoughts had fled by the time I left the dock at 0800 for the 1100 start off Palos Verdes. I was enjoying the motor out of the harbor, the water glassy on this sunny day., hardly left a wake as we made 6.5 knots out the channel alongside , a new Hanse 37. As we motored out together, I heard the coxswain calling out cadence as an eight-man Cal Yacht Club rowing team flew by in a determined stride. I thought about the race, sail plan and wind conditions while motoring out to the head of the breakwater.
