Mon 8/21/06 1330hrs Santa Cruz Island 34 degrees 2 min N, 119 degrees 42 min W (Peter)

We had a nice 2 day sail from Santa Cruz the city on mainland California to Santa Cruz Island south of Santa Barbara. The winds were a steady 10 or 20 kts going our way the whole way - we ran wing and wing for 20 hours or so. As we approached Pt Conception it breezed up as expected, and the last 8 or 10 hrs was under double reefed main alone. We found a nice anchorage yesterday afternoon in a little nook on the north shore, Pelican Bay, and dropped anchor under sail. Under sail because as we approached, when we tried to crank the engine, nothing happened. We were able to position ourselves pretty well under sail, but ended up a little too close to a small sloop anchored near the center of the cove. As long as the wind blew, we were separated enough, but at around bedtime the wind dropped and we got way too close. The people on "Lady Grace" were very nice and shortened up their scope to keep clear. The next morning they gave us some tips on places to explore in the Channel Islands, and took off. We spent the morning trying to figure out the problem with the motor. We fixed it at noon (salt water on a terminal block) and are now going to pump up the dinghy and go exploring. The sun is out, the water is warm, the motor runs, and life is good!