The Martin's Blog

Tom –  Anacapa is composed of three islets: East, Middle and West.  We arrived at Frenchys Cove on West Anacapa about 9am.  We then kayaked along the northern coast going in and out of sea caves and eventually paddling under Arch Rock on East Anacapa before returning to the boat.  One of the best parts of the trip for me (about half of our group did not try this) was negotiating the tidal zone between Middle and East Anacapa.  I paddled as fast as I could from the north with the waves going through the opening between the islets.  I surfed down a six foot wave and was then hit by an eight foot wave coming in the opposite direction!  According to spectators, it was a spectacular capsize!  Anyway, I got back in the kayak and made it through.  I just made it through the return trip surfing down the eight foot wave without capsizing.

After lunch we snorkeled in a kelp forest (some 100 feet long!) in Frenchys Cove.  Even in our wetsuits, it was cold (about 55 degrees)!  So we only stayed in the water about a half hour but were able to see lots of fish (e.g. including the gold Garibaldi, CA state fish) and other aquatic life.  As the “Truth” returned to Santa Barbara we were at times accompanied by at least two pods of over 50 dolphins!  They enjoyed surfing in the bow and stern waves of our boat.  After returning to Santa Barbara, we drove to Venice and stayed in the Ramada Inn.