Day Three would have us relocate around the Santa Cruz Island to Scorpion Anchorage. We had plenty of time so much of the day was for relaxation.
The adventure is billed as a training session for learning about sailing. Captain Holly taught classes on how to use a nautical chart and how to read a magnetic compass heading from a chart. We use dividers to measure distance from origination to destination from the scale. Captain showed us how to use parallel dividers to convert a desired route between locations down to the compass on the chart page. Captain showed us how to read the difference between true course and magnetic course. Very through.
Captain then gave everybody lengths of rope and taught us how to tie boating knots.
We had a really good time in knot school because some of us could not tie a knot and others had learned a different way to tie the same knot. Captain teaches classes at colleges so she knows what she is doing.
As we cruised around the east end of Santa Cruz Island we began to see the landscape change. More and more we began to see cliffs and caves.
We anchored in Scorpion Anchorage and noticed that the swell had carved a blow-hole into the cliff. As each swell pushed its way into the cave a hiss of spray would blow out the back side.
Weird but cool.
We went out for a dingy ride with Greg, Chuck, and Mike and had our first chance to look back at Dirigo II from a distance. That is one distinguished yacht.
We dingy-ed around the cove and found shallow water.
We were really having a good time looking over the edge at the fish and sea life on the shallow bottom.
Chuck and Greg hopped out for a snorkel around the cove.
We gave the underwater camera to Chuck who took pictures of thing on the bottom.
The pictures came out better than I expected. Look at those purple urchins.
The water was very clear in this cove.
We patroled around in the dingy while Chuck and Greg finished their snorkeling.
We looked back at the other boats in the anchorage. The windswept shores of Santa Cruz islands are covered with grass but no trees.
We picked up our snorkelers but in doing so we ventured too close to "bird poop island". The picture is a little off but I think you can tell what Susanne is doing!
Back on the Dirigo II we had a great dinner and chance to visit up on deck before turning in for the day.
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