[The article published in the March/April, 1994 issue of Living Aboard magazine was taken from this more complete account.]

Early in 1993 John and I decided we would take three weeks in September to make our first big trip outside the Golden Gate Bridge.  Previously we had made three and four day trips to Drake's Bay (Pt. Reyes) to the north and Half Moon Bay (Pillar Pt.) to the south along the coast.  Our goals were to make the trip non-stop down to the northern Channel Islands (off of Santa Barbara), anchor out to visit three of the islands, and then harbor hop our way back up the coast.

On Saturday, September 2 we departed Alameda for Half Moon Bay where we attended the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club's annual beach luau.  We then began our journey early Monday morning after topping off our water tanks.  It was foggy and there was no wind so we set the auto pilot and began by motor-sailing.  The sun came out in the late afternoon and the skies finally cleared.  We had a nice moonlit, starry night until the fog rolled back in sometime between 0300 and 0600 on John's watch.  We could see portions of the coastline at all times up until then.  We were very fortunate to have calm seas for most of the trip, so neither one of us ever got sick!

Tuesday was a gray and foggy day.  We weren't able to see the coast at all, but we had a nice downwind sail with double headsails up all afternoon. It was a bit slower, but certainly nice to have the engine off.  We saw hundreds of dolphins (we think they were Common Dolphins, but they could have been Pacific) at 1600.  At first they were ahead, way off in the distance, and appeared to be swimming from starboard to port across our bow.  Birds were overhead so maybe they were feeding?  As we came closer they changed course to join us for about ten minutes.  Finally the last few left to join the rest of the group which had returned to its original course.  John laughed, "I knew there was a reason for buying a boat with a bowsprit!".  It was great fun to sit out on it and watch them swimming at times not a foot beneath our feet.  This was a dream come true for me!  About an hour later, I heard a strange squeaking noise through the hull.  I thought there might be air backing in through one of the hoses, when John shouted, "Dolphins!".  They were fewer in number and didn't stay as long, but they still put on a good show darting in front of our bow.

I also saw something that day that I thought looked like three shark dorsal fins flopping at the surface of the water as we passed by, but John thinks they must have been sunfish.

That night rounding the two points (Arguello and Conception) was pretty hairy.  It was a real pea soup fog and the winds were up to 25 knots.  The seas weren't bad, but the oil rigs were everywhere.  Neither one of us slept much. I would stay above to watch for lights while John watched the radar below.  We never saw the rigs off of Arguello, but when the fog lifted closer to Santa Barbara we were amazed to see what we had been passing.  They are huge, and are lit up like Christmas trees!  I wondered how the fog could possibly obliterate something like that.  We were under stays'l alone for much of that night.  At one point John suggested heaving to and waiting for dawn so we could sleep, but I didn't want to waste time with that so I told him to try to get some sleep while I kept watch.

We used three hours on and three off for our watch system.  We weren't strict about this during the day, so it officially started at 1800 and ended at 0900.  We found this worked very well for us.  We had a continuous timer set for 10 minute intervals when we would go up on deck for a horizon check and back below for a radar check.  Then we would take a lat/lon reading from the Loran every hour to plot our position.  Even with the autopilot on, this kept us busy enough so that the time passed very quickly.

Wednesday morning we crossed the Santa Barbara shipping channel headed for Santa Cruz Island.  I saw my first flying fish, and then John saw one too later on.  We followed the island coast south, identifying anchorages as we spotted masts.  I wondered how you would ever be able to tell which anchorage is which if there weren't already boats there!?

We arrived in Pelican Bay at around 0930.  We didn't make a very good show of setting our stern anchor in amongst the other boats (in 35-40 feet of water; much deeper than our usual 12-15 feet!), and after setting the 45 lb. CQR off the bow, we began to drift down on "Windfall".  As we were rushing to launch the dinghy so that John could reset our stern anchor, Hap, from Waltz'n, came by in his inflatable to offer a hand.  With his help we were finally situated and posed no danger to any other boats!

Hap told us that there was fresh water near the anchorage, so we hopped in the dinghy with our water jug and went around the point to a rocky beach.  A short walk up a gully, and then we were back on the beach with liquid Joy and a washcloth, ready to take the plunge.  It was cold but manageable, and after washing in the sea water we took turns standing on the beach with the water jug on our heads, rinsing each other off with the fresh stream water.  Then it was back to Nakia for lunch and a quiet afternoon napping and reading.

Late that afternoon Bob, from Windfall, came by to invite us to the Cabrillo Yacht Club's happy hour.  There were 12 boats from CYC on a cruise of the islands.  After three days and two nights of only each other for company, John and I were ready to see some new faces!  They were all very nice and welcoming.

Thursday we started out on a hike at 1000.  We went to the north, but the trails were not well defined and kept dead ending, so after an hour of that we decided to head south on the trail to Prisoner's Harbor.  We stopped for more shower water which we left at the dinghy, and to talk to some other sailors before taking off on what we knew would be about a two and a half mile hike.  We finally arrived at Prisoner's at 1330.  This was an open bay which didn't look very protected from the swells.  We left at 1400, and were back at the dinghy by a little after 1500.  It was too much hiking!  Would have been fine if we hadn't done the "warm-up" before the main hike and if we'd carried more drinking water.  Both Wednesday and Thursday were hot days with just enough of a sea breeze to make things comfortable.

We found it very difficult to sleep while we were at Pelican.  There was quite a bit of swell rolling into the anchorage and the boat was rocking not only bow to stern, but also on the beam.  There was so much irregular motion that John said it was like "sleeping in a washing machine".  He had to start sleeping on the settee while we were there.  We eyed Hap's rocker stopper with envy!

Beginning at Pelican Bay and then throughout the trip at most of the anchorages, we heard a sound through the hull that was like a cross between popcorn popping and a big, dripping rain.  We thought it was fish or crabs making all that crackling racket, but we later learned at the aquarium in Monterey that it was actually "snapping shrimp"!

Friday morning we packed up and moved to Fry's Harbor to meet our friends, Patti and Mike.  We arrived at 0930 and New Corona, a 21 ft. center console, open fishing skiff, came in shortly afterwards from Santa Barbara.  This was a smaller, more protected cove than Pelican Bay.  There was so little swell here that we had New Corona rafted to Nakia.  With steep cliffs on either side of a small beach leading back into a gorge, there was really no place to hike here.  Later we found there was fresh water in pools up the gorge which we collected for showers.

Saturday morning we went out in search of the Painted Cave.  We finally found it and New Corona took us as far as the last chamber with natural light before turning around to go back out.  It was a shame we didn't have a way to bring the dinghy with us.  The seals/sea lions were obviously upset by the engine noise, and their barking from way back in the dark cave was very eerie.  We forgot to bring good flashlights with us, so I'm not sure I would have wanted to go all the way back in anyway!  There is supposed to be a lot of colorful lichen along the way, and a small sandy beach at the very back.

We fished our way back to Fry's.  John caught a small Calico and Patti caught a kelp fish of some kind which she threw back.  We also explored the various anchorages along the way.  We went into Baby's and looked at Lady's.  They looked nice but we had heard of some other people who thought the swell was bad in Lady's.  Had lunch in the cockpit after we got back to Nakia.  The day was sunny but the wind really came out of the island gorge all afternoon and evening which made things a little chilly.  They all went fishing again and managed to get another kelp fish which they kept this time so that we could have a fish dinner which Mike cooked.

The weather Sunday was about the same as Saturday.  Foggy in the morning, burning off by afternoon with a stiff breeze out of the gorge.  Next time we'll know to put our bow towards the beach so that the cockpit is out of the wind.  Sunday morning there were red crabs in the anchorage. We'd seen the sea gulls out gorging on them the day before.  Mike scooped some up for John to use as fishing bait.

Mike and Patti had to go back to Santa Barbara for the drive home to Long Beach on Sunday.  They left at 0800 to try to get across before it got too rough.  They were fantastic guests.  Excellent company, not to mention that they took us out on their boat, brought us fresh fruit, English muffins, drinking water, smoked salmon that they caught and smoked themselves, cheese, crackers, salami, nuts, Oreos, and they introduced us to Capt. Morgan's rum and Cokes with a twist of lime for happy hour!  I was really sad to see them leave...

Almost forgot.  Never store fruit in the storage behind the settees. One cantaloupe rotted and another began to mold before I pulled them out on Sunday.  Yuk!  Another yucky thing was the frozen squid thawing squid juice in our freezer.  Also, we didn't bring enough wine.  We went through two bottles of red and white each and had two white left at this point.  Plus we drank a whole bottle of the Captain with Patti and Mike!  Next time we need to remember to bring more to drink!

After lunch John ran the engine to charge the batteries.  We were over the stern anchor line of Fantasea when the gearshift accidentally slipped into reverse (as it's prone to do).  John got it right back into neutral with no harm done.  Unfortunately, after awhile our trick gearshift slipped into reverse again and we wrapped Fantasea's line on our prop.  John stripped down to his shorts and was over the side with mask, snorkel and fins right away.  Lonnie and Jennifer from Fantasea were on the beach and could guess what had happened so they rowed back to the boats to help.  Lonnie put on his dive gear and he and John finally got the line unwrapped.

We went into the beach later that afternoon to get water and to try to warm John up after his cold swim.  Then we had Lonnie and Jennifer over for a glass of wine to try to repay them for their trouble.  They lived aboard a Baba 30 for seven years, but now have a three year old son and a house. They helped us pick up our Fortress the next morning, then we managed to get the Bruce and the 35 lb. CQR by ourselves.

We motored around Santa Cruz Monday morning and arrived in Forney's Harbor at 1130 where we set the 45 lb. CQR with chain rode.  We'd had to pilot our way through the kelp for the first time to get in, but we managed to anchor in a sandy spot.  There was an incredible swell running through the anchorage.  We watched a couple trying to launch their inflatable from the beach and it looked very nasty.  This looked like it would be a nice place to hike.  It was a long, low peninsula, as opposed to the steep cliffs we'd seen on the other side of the island.  If conditions had been favorable for landing, we would have enjoyed spending more time there.

John put on his wet suit and went down to have a look at how the anchor was set.  He came back to the side of the boat to talk to me.  I saw a circular break in the surface of the water behind him and immediately knew that something big was in the water with John.  In the next second I saw the flash of a harbor seal as it buzzed by John underwater.  I must have overreacted because John said, through clenched teeth, "Please put the ladder ladder down now!"

We left Forney's at 1230.  There had been two other boats there with us, but I suspect they were both only lunch stops like ours.  It took us about an hour of motoring to get across to Becher's Bay at Santa Rosa Island.  To me this was a much prettier spot with sheer cliffs of clay and sandstone dropping to white sand, narrow beaches.  The hills were rounded and grassy, and it was a much smoother and softer terrain compared to Santa Cruz. We spent a lazy afternoon bathing and reading on deck in the sun (which came out about when we arrived; it had been overcast and hazy all morning).

The next morning we decided to stay another day, determined to brave the small swell breaking on the beach in order to do a little hiking.  We got an early start while things were still calm, but a SSE breeze picked up while we were still in the dinghy.  We managed a good landing about a mile and a half down the beach from Nakia at the designated permissible landing area.  We then hiked up into Water Canyon, the only place where you could hike unaccompanied, and it was pretty.  We saw a fox on the first part of the trail.  It was about the size of a large house cat with a very pretty grey coat and reddish fur around its face.  We had lunch at the primitive camping area.

We returned to the dinghy at 1245 and could see right away that launching was going to be tricky.  The tide had gone out a bit making the beach even steeper and the swells were bigger.  We attempted a launch and were both kneeling in the dinghy, each with an oar, starting to paddle.  My hat was down low over my eyes so first I heard John cry, "Oh sh*@!", then I saw a wave push the bow up in the air as it broke over us.  Next thing I knew I was holding my breath trapped under the dinghy in about two feet of water.  The pack on my back made it hard for me to get out from under the dinghy, but the next wave must have helped me lift it up, and John says he got to me at about the same time.  He knew as soon as he got up and saw the flipped dinghy with no sign of me, that I was underneath.  We scrambled  to retrieve oars, hats, sandals, a cushion, and the water jug, and tried to empty the water out of the dinghy.  We thought we had everything high enough when another wave roared in.  The dinghy painter wrapped around my right ankle as the wave washed the dinghy back down the beach, but I managed to break free (after getting a nasty rope burn). After that I took all the lines off the dinghy and got them into John's backpack.

We regrouped and managed to catch a break in the waves.  We jumped in and paddled madly to get out well past the breaking swells.  Everything was soaked and sandy, and our outboard wouldn't start.  It had really taken a pounding when we were swept up on the beach.  One of the blades on the prop had broken off, and John couldn't get it to start even after working on it later for most of the afternoon.  So we had to row all the way back to Nakia (good thing we weren't in an inflatable which is more difficult to row over long distances).

On Wednesday, the fifteenth, we motored to Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island.  It was about a three hour trip, and on our way there we counted a dozen fishing boats in the channel between the two islands.  We listened on the radio but couldn't figure out why so many boats were in one particular area.  We were nervous about all the rocks and kelp that are mentioned as being in the harbor, but it was big enough so that these were not the dangerous obstacles they sounded in the books.  We piloted our way through the kelp and each rock was clearly seen off in the distance.  There was one other sailboat there as well as a fishing boat.  John went exploring in the dinghy while I read.  It was still overcast, but the beach was beautiful.  It was a couple of miles of white sand with large dunes built up in one spot.  It was a wider beach than the one at Becher's with no large swell running (Becher's was a much more open anchorage than Cuyler).  This was the prettiest place we had seen in the islands.

That evening we were mystified at the number of fishing boats that started coming into the anchorage.  At last count after dark, there were 25 boats total!  We figured that they were the boats we had seen on our way to the island.  Some were fishing boats, but most were small, one and two (occasionally three) man operations, and I saw a couple of wet suits so I guessed they were abalone divers.  But John didn't think that you could take abalone commercially.  The next morning as one of the last boats was leaving, it came alongside and the guy handed John a good sized red abalone,  with "compliments of the chef"!  We had it that night and it was good.

The next morning all the fishing boats left, and then the other sailboat left, and we had the entire anchorage and beach to ourselves.  We spent most of the day on the beach and it was a perfect day.  I felt like I was in a tropical paradise.  It was a little breezy, but the sun was strong and warm.  I collected shells while walking the length of the beach.  We had lunch and I read while John snorkeled, until another cruising sailboat came in and anchored behind us.  Then we bathed in the shallow water off the beach and returned to Nakia.

Friday was a boring day.  The wind had come up with huge gusts and it was overcast for much of the day again.  I don't think either one of us left the boat at all that day.

We made a reservation over the VHF with the park ranger to join a hike to Pt. Bennett on Saturday, September 18.  This was a 15 mile round trip hike to a pinniped rookery which is one of the largest along the California coast. John and I started from the beach at 0900, and we met up with the rest of the group shortly after.  We were with a group of about ten campers who had come over to the island on an Island Packer boat, I think out of Ventura. Our ranger guide was Lori Winston and she set a very fast pace across the island.

There were absolutely no trees on this island!  It was all low scrubby bushes.  We stopped first at the "Caliche Forest".  This was a small area of white formations caused by some form of plant life which took mineral deposits up into its system and then sort of calcified.  Interesting but not especially spectacular.

We reached the observation hut by Noon thanks to drill sergeant Lori!  We ate lunch and looked through binoculars at the pinnipeds (sea lions, harbor seals and sea elephants) which were spread out on the point below us.  There was a huge sandy beach with a sand spit that connected out to a rocky plateau.  Pinnipeds were all over, mostly concentrated on the beach.  The scene reminded me very much of a crowded municipal pool with the number of animals in the water and all the noise they were making!  The ones in the water were body surfing and leaping clear out of the water.  We were allowed to walk about a mile closer, well behind the dunes still, to get a better look.

Lori let us make the return trip at our own pace so we were all spread out. It had been quite a treat to spend time with other people since we had been almost a week without any human contact (except for the abalone diver passing by)!  We left the observation hut at about 1400 and were back at the dinghy by 1700.  As we were walking along the beach we saw another island fox like we had seen on Santa Rosa!  They didn't seem to be very shy at all.

Sunday, September 19th, we left Cuyler Harbor at dawn to motor across the channel to Cojo anchorage (just below Pt. Conception).  This was a nice place without much swell where we could rest up before heading north.  We had intended to wait until 0100 to round Pt. Conception, but John thought conditions looked fine and got over-eager to leave.  We departed at 1800 and as soon as we got out off the coast a bit conditions were less pleasant.  The wind was 15-20 knots and the seas were sloppy for the next couple of hours, but it was John's watch so hey, I wasn't about to vote for turning around and going back!

We reached San Simeon early the next morning and spent the day there.  This was a really pretty little anchorage, again without any swell to speak of.  I loved seeing all the trees which looked wonderful after the barren landscape of San Miguel.  We probably should have stayed there another day.  We could smell wood smoke as we came into the anchorage, I guess from the homes nearby, and the fog finally burned off later in the afternoon.  A few party boats (fishing) came in and there was one other cruising sailboat (looked like someone single-handing) in the anchorage with us.  There was a nice sandy beach which looked easy enough for landing a dinghy, and after the fog burned off, we could see Hearst Castle way up on one of the hills.

At 1600 on Monday, September 20 we departed San Simeon for Monterey.  This was an idyllic evening.  There was no wind, a very gentle swell, we motored close to the beautiful coast, the sun was shining, the air was warm, and we played a game of dominoes in the cockpit (I won!).  Near sunset, while John was below, I spotted a whale headed south between Nakia and the coast. It really gave me a chill to see something that big in the water with us. I called John up and we put the engine in neutral hoping for another glimpse. We managed to catch sight of it one more time further south of us.  Couldn't tell for sure if it was a grey or a humpback.  We also saw our first sea otters off the point just north of San Simeon.

Then, while it was still light, I noticed a dark ridge which seemed to be at the ocean horizon well ahead and against the coastline.  I got out the binoculars and could see what looked like a wind line.  Then I made out the dolphins!  There were hundreds of them covering 2-3 football field lengths across the ocean, leaping and swimming south.  We slowed the engine and edged over to the right to meet up with them.  Several came over to us and swam off of our bow for a little while before turning back to rejoin the
main group.  It was just breathtaking to see on such a beautiful evening!

The night stayed clear until about 0400.  For awhile the seas were so calm that I could see the stars reflected in the water.  John came off his first watch very excited about seeing dolphins in the phosphorescence.  It really had taken him a few minutes to figure out what the glowing high speed torpedoes headed straight for the boat actually were!  He just kept hoping that whatever it was would dive about eight feet before reaching us.  I got to see them on my next watch.  First you would see the white streaks and then, when they got to the boat, you could see the dolphins.

The phosphorescence throughout the trip was spectacular.  We had seen a little of it on an overnight trip up to Drake's Bay, but this was much more intense.  Anything making the water break made it look like diamonds or emeralds were being strewn cross the water.  Very sparkly, especially after the fog rolled in and obliterated the ambient light from the moon and stars.  Birds trying to get off the water as we approached would leave a glowing trail too.

Eventually the fog rolled in right before we got close to Monterey.  It was still dark and traffic increased as I tried to make our way around the last point.  I was looking for buoy lights from up on deck and trying to watch other boats on the radar, so for awhile I was nervously going back and forth from the cockpit to the nav station while John slept.  After about an hour of this he got up and I asked for his help.  It was the first time we really weren't sure of our position or what our heading should be.  So we headed for the shore and finally the sun came up enough for us to make out some landmarks.

We got into the harbor just after 0700 and waited for the fuel dock to open.  Then we went over to the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club and tied up in front of another boat at their guest dock.  Cleaned things up on deck and took showers so that we would hopefully look presentable enough for them to allow us to stay!  They said we could, but only for the 48 hour limit that they impose, so we were there for Tuesday and Wednesday nights and then moved to a marina slip (A-74) for Thursday night.

By this time we knew that we had done very well with our water conservation.  As we left the islands we still hadn't emptied the first of our two 70 gallon water tanks, so we were free with showers in Cojo and San Simeon.  In addition to doing some of our bathing in sea and stream water, I used sea water for washing dishes (with a fresh water rinse).  Since we don't shower on board in the marina, I think dish washing is where we waste the most water.

Tuesday, September 21 we walked around Fisherman's Wharf for a bit, but our feet were still so sore from the hike on Saturday that we gave up early!  Wednesday morning we filled our back packs with dirty laundry and walked to a nearby laundromat so that we would have some clean underwear.  I was on the phone trying to find a bus service running from the Wharf to the Aquarium because we still didn't feel much like walking!  But we managed okay without a bus, walked to Vivolo's Chowder House (127 Central, across from Nob Hill Foods up David St. by the aquarium), and went shopping at the Factory Outlets.  That night we had happy hour at the club (it was race night) and ate at the English Pub right next door (by Tony Roma's) which we liked very much (maybe it was the happy hour, but the fish and chips and pastie and mash seemed delicious!).

While we were at the yacht club we met the people on Sassona, from Victoria, B.C. and Quinnat from Ketchikan, Alaska.  And in the marina I talked to a woman off of Toucan from Seattle.  They were all going south to Mexico and boy did that make us feel like we were headed the wrong way!  It was interesting to compare the two mentalities though.  We were at the end of our vacation and after two weeks of not spending a cent, we were being very free about eating out, shopping, etc.  But we never saw these cruisers eat out, and though they had talked about visiting the aquarium, when I told them it cost $10.50, they decided to skip it!  I guess when the general plan is to keep cruising until the money runs out, you sure don't want to spend it at the beginning of the trip!

We visited the Maritime Museum Thursday morning.  This cost $5 and was a little desperate for things to exhibit.  A gorgeous new facility, but it can't compete with the SF one which is free and much more interesting. Later we moved the boat to the marina slip, walked around Fisherman's Wharf some more, showered and walked up to the Cannery Row area for dinner at the Captain's Cove (so, so; I had a paella special and John had calamari; the good part was that we sat in the bar area and got to watch ESPN on a big screen TV!).

Friday we had breakfast again at the Elves' Grill on the fishing pier before going to the aquarium.  Got to see both the otter feeding and the kelp forest feeding before heading to Vivolo's for clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl with a garlic lid again.  Once you've had their garlic lid, you'll never go back to a plain sourdough bread bowl again (thanks to Mom and Dad for that tip!)!  After taking a shower and turning our keys in to the harbor master's office, we departed Monterey at 1700.

Saw otters and of course the sea lions on our way out.  We had even seen an otter swimming right in the marina!  It was a little windy and of course it was right on our nose so getting out of Monterey Bay took a long time and was kind of uncomfortable.  It was hard to sleep on the first couple of off watches because of pounding into the waves.  I didn't see any dolphins that night, whereas on the trip to Monterey I saw them several times when I went up on deck to do my horizon checks.  But we were lucky enough to spot a sunfish a little while before sunset!  At first I thought it was a bat ray floating on the surface of the water, but John came on deck and knew right away that it was a sunfish.  We went back to take a closer look  and it let us circle around it a couple of times without moving any deeper.  Very strange fish, but then, aren't they all?!

When I came on my last watch that night, John was excited because he had seen something new.  At first he thought he was seeing a couple of baby Orcas, but he got our whale and dolphin book out and was able to identify them as Dall's Porpoises.  He watched them swimming right off our bow, but they left too soon for him to bother getting me up on deck.

This whole last leg home was one of the least pleasant.  It seemed like it was foggy for most of the night, and as we approached the Golden Gate it was really thick.  John got me up on deck at 0800 to help watch for boats while he watched the radar.  We had just gone through a fishing fleet which he could see on the radar, but visibility was only about 100 ft. or less.  We heard Mile Rock and then we could hear the different signals from the bridge towers.  We heard an outbound ship and started sounding our own signal every two minutes with an air horn.  Then we heard a boat answer back and it turned out to be a tug which appeared to be sitting in the gate waiting for the fog to lift.  We could see everything on the radar, but it was still spooky and nerve wracking waiting for things to appear out of the fog.  We got closer and closer to the bridge with John calling out course changes as he watched the radar.  We were actually underneath the bridge before we could look up and see the span above!  Passed a couple of outbound sailboats before it finally lifted at about Alcatraz.  Then what a gorgeous morning it was!  (Have I mentioned yet how invaluable the radar was throughout the entire trip?!)

We changed into our shorts and T-shirts and were headed into the Estuary when we heard someone shout "John!".  It turned out to be Dale Dozier, a co-worker, out on his Santana 22.  We turned around so he could take pictures of us and we took pictures of him.  It was nice to have a welcoming committee!  We pulled into Grand Marina at 1100 and spent the rest of the weekend cleaning the boat and putting our home back in order.

The trip was a great experience for us.  All the overnight hops were good confidence builders, we did a lot of anchoring and the wildlife was very exciting to see.  But in retrospect we actually had too much time in the islands.  Unless you dive or fish a lot, there isn't that much to do on the islands since you can't always even hike in some places.  It also depended  a great deal on what the conditions were like in each anchorage.  Maybe if we   had moved around a bit more we could have avoided some of the uncomfortable swell and seen some other anchorages at the same time.  We probably could have included Catalina (which we had thought was too much farther south), or at least Santa Barbara with no problem.  But it was an interesting trip and we're looking forward to taking 4 weeks to go back this September.