We had a very fast, very wet passage from Santa Barbara to Fry's Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. I got a little seasick hiding under the dodger as water flew from the bow to the stern, our windvane steering us through the steep swells and blowing wind. The boat was comfortable but we could have taken another reef in the main. With our new waterproof (we'll see!) camera we took a little movie of the windvane in action which we'll post in the Photo Gallery.

Santa Cruz Island is the best known of four islands that comprise the northern part of the Channel Islands. To the west lie two desolate islands, Santa Rosa and San Miguel, and to the east is a smaller island called Anacapa. Fry's Harbor is on the north side of Santa Cruz Island, and we chose it because it is protected in almost all weather and we correctly anticipated the winds building in the days to come. Santa Cruz Island is steep and tall, with cliffs dropping to the sea all around; Fry's Harbor just a small notch in the coastline. In the cliffs at the back of the cove, to the south and east, are the scars and rusty metal scraps of a 1920s quarrying operation supplying stone to the breakwater at Santa Barbara; on the west side a steep, round cliff undercut by the waves. A pebbly beach is tucked in the southwest corner, inviting dinghy landings. Behind the beach is an arroyo lead back into the interior of the island, with bay trees and oaks visible.

Being the first boat in, we had our choice of spots to anchor and we found ourselves in twelve feet of water, with our bow pointed to the beach and a stern anchor holding us steady. It was remarkable how rough it was outside the harbor, with breaking waves and blowing spray, while inside we only had some surge and sharp canyon winds to remind us what was going on outside.

Midday on Monday, our Canadian friends Chris and Rani aboard the Cal 29 "Ladybug" appeared, also wet from the trip. It was great to see friendly faces, and in the evening they picked us up in "Little Bugger," their red-and-black spotted dinghy, and brought us to their cozy boat for a potluck. With our lentils and their roti and salad, and a couple of bottles of wine, we had a lovely evening. They have been traveling for a couple of months now, all the way from Victoria, and they plan to keep cruising for quite a while longer. We will be keeping track of them via their blog (http://ladybugcruise.blogspot.com) and we're confident we'll meet them again along the way.

Tuesday arose windier and windier, and the gusts off the canyon walls grew stronger and stronger. Our boat sailed back and forth at her anchor, heeling to the blasts that picked spray up off the flat water and threw it into our faces and against the hulls of Mariposa, Ladybug, and the five fishing boats anchored in Fry's Harbor. We watched as the fishing boats dragged their anchors and came back in to reset them, rolling heavily all day long in the less-protected water further from the beach. While the fishermen tried to sleep, we read and snoozed and kept an eye on things, and waited for the wind to die down.

In the evening we listened to the radio to follow the election results. What a remarkable feeling to be anchored in a cove with a few fishing boats while a million people collected in Grant Park in Chicago to celebrate Obama's victory! And what a relief. We told the Ladybugs we'll be feeling better as Americans traveling abroad with someone respectable as our president.

Wednesday broke much warmer and calmer, and in the later morning we decided to raise anchor and set sail for Prisoner's Harbor, five miles to the southeast.