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Sailing Solo to Catalina Harbor (Dec 2021)
December 28, 2021 · 23 min · 970 views · Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island
What this video covers
A solo sailor transits from Emerald Bay to Catalina Harbor, Catalina Island, in late December, anchoring in the mud-bottomed harbor overnight.4:33 The vessel, equipped with 320 watts of solar, maintains power for a diesel heater and refrigerator despite limited winter sunlight.1:00 During the return passage to Los Angeles Harbor, the sailor encounters a cargo ship, the Arrieta, which experiences intermittent AIS transmission failures and fails to respond to initial VHF hails.11:03 The sailor confirms the ship's position and collision risk by using Nikon binoculars with an integrated compass to track the vessel's bearing, eventually verifying the ship's status through VHF traffic monitoring with San Pedro port control.12:04 The trip concludes with a light-wind sail toward Angel's Gate, navigating through lobster pots before entering the harbor.22:56 The experience highlights the necessity of maintaining manual navigation backups, such as visual bearing checks and paper charts, when electronic AIS and VHF data become unreliable or contradictory.
Boats in this video
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