>Did I read that right? It was an ELEVEN HOUR crossing? Why so long on the
>water with decent wind? Sight seeing again?

Yes. We were close hauled, and beating all the way to far west end of the
Island. The route of the crossing was a single starboard tack from Ventura
Harbor to a point directly north of Coche Pt. and directly west of Potato
Harbor (N34 03' 11.8" X W119 36' 30.6"), or roughly at the east end of the
island's isthmus. This crossing took about 3 1/2 hours.(Had we sailed
directly to Scorpion landing, we would have made it in this timeframe). We
then beated hard to weather for about 5 hours to the west end of the Island
in the roughest seas I've been in since the infamous Milt Ingram race two
years ago. 

At 5pm the SB Weather Buoy reported sustained winds of 25.3 kts, gusting to
29.1. Surface conditions reported significant wave height at 5.9 ft, a 3 ft
swell and 5 ft wind waves, with a steepness reported as "very steep". As
Gary said, there were times when the boat went completely airboard, save the
leeward rudder. (At least I think the rudder was still in the water). 

It is interesting to note that in the Milt Ingram race I felt limited by
equipment. But in this crossing, I felt the equipment was worthy, thus
placing the challenge upon my own endurance. It takes a considerable amount
of concentration to maintain footing on the boat as it falls off the crest
of a wave. At one point I had to go in to the trampoline to deal with
something (securing cargo or a furling line or something), heard a warning
from Gary to hang on, then felt weightless as the boat came over a wave. In
one "flight", I lost my footing and came down straddling the shroud
chainplate, the shroud hitting my right thigh, just inches from the "huevos
de la familia". 

This was some heavy stuff.

We then took approximately 2 hrs or so to run back to Scorpion and Land just
after sunset.

While I respected the dangers and risks we took on this journey. At no time
did I doubt the competence of the skipper. In both our crossings, Gary
demonstrated expert level skills in sailing, a thorough knowledge of his
equipment, and a keen respect for conditions and safety, all which combine
into great seamanship. At one point, Gary recalled our intention of getting
a group of boats together to do this trip, then discounted the idea by
saying, "I would never persuade anybody to come out in this stuff." 

In any expedition of this magnitude, you learn things. The things that stand
out for me:

- Our waterproof cargo bags need a better system to secure them on the
forward trampoline. Our system included single short tiedowns and long
lanyards to accomodate easy ejection and retrieval in the event of a
capsize. Unfortanately, the bags became disloged and needed repeated
attention during the trip. Perhaps an easily released cargo net of some type.

- Rudders cannot be left free and exposed during landing. They either need
to be removed, secured in a "straight aft" position, or the boat needs to
positioned differently immediately on landing (wind permitting). Had both
castings broke, the return crossing would have been a tow. With one casting
broken, our 2nd day of hiking and crusing was history, as we had both agreed
that the safest bet was an early morning departure in calm conditions.

- I need a dry suit. During our rough water experience late on Friday, my
wetsuit/spraytop combination was working as an evaporative cooler in the
high wind. By far, the most formidable hazard I faced at that point was
falling in the water. Considering how cold I was, I could not have spent
much time in the water before risking hypothermia, a condition which would
risk my own life as well as that of my skipper. I will not expose either one
of us to that hazard again by not shelling out the relatively minute amount
of $500 before attempting such a trip again.

I really can't thank Gary enough for opportunity to go on this trip. To go
into the specifics of what I appreciated would take pages. You da man, Gary.
You da man.

Bill Mattson