So, my wife and I were at Santa Cruz Island last weekend and up through yesterday. Four lovely nights in Frys on the north (weather) side of the island were followed by an awkward relocation in response to the gale warning of last Friday night, July 22. Apparently, a high pressure system over Texas drifted west impacting the "normal" weather of the northern Channel Islands, bringing a gale warning that extended from Pt. Conception to San Mateo Point at from 10 to 60 n. mi. offshore. We went to Yellowbanks even though Frys is a perfectly viable refuge anchorage up to 40 kt according to Fagan. By the middle of the afternoon there were a couple of dozen boats, or more, in combination of Smugglers and Yellowbanks, plus a coastie vessel moored at Smugglers, which was nice to see! I got the feeling that folks from various sites around Santa Cruz Island had come to hunker down there for the big blow, which appeared around 1900 with very strong leading gusts and hot air at 89 to 91 deg F!! The boat, facing southwesterly at the time, swung around in a matter of a couple of seconds to face west into the teeth of the wind. A steady, strong breeze of 25 kt was the "foundation" whence came sustained gusts to 35 kt, perhaps more, I would estimate. The strongest came between 2330 and 0030 where I feared my "ill reputed" CQR might send me dragging toward one of the catamarans anchored behind me, but alas not! (We saw only one boat that dragged.) As the thing keep punching, but as I imagined like a tiring prize fighter in round 13, it became evident that we would stay put through the final blows. Suddenly, the wind shut down around 0200 and the boat leisurely swung back around to the southwest, while cool air returned. So, I got some sleep after all! Thankfully, it was not COLD!
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