SailTime Channel Islands Member, Mike Ruel, sent this photo in to prove that clouds have been spotted while he was sailing the other day. Winter is a good time to go cloud hunting around Southern California’s coastal waters. When Summer rolls around you just won’t find them. We get a “marine layer” but it’s just not the same as a good sky full of fluffy clouds.
Speaking of Winter, the sailing has been great here. We rang in the New Year with two weeks of 80 degrees followed by the front that produced these clouds and are now back in the 70’s. This photo depicts the local sailing grounds near the Channel Islands base. That’s Anacapa Island in the foreground and Santa Cruz Island in the background. Less than 20 miles offshore, you find these uninhabited wilderness islands which provides quite a contrast to what is found on the mainland. It is a popular cruising area for local sailors and cruisers making their way up and down the West Coast of the continent.
