Santa Barbara Island

Over the weekend I cruised out to, and camped on, Santa Barbara Island. We went out with Island Packers, a charter company which carries campers, hikers, whale watchers and divers out to all the landings in the Channel Islands National Park. Santa Barbara Island is not only remote, it is also the smallest of the Channel Islands -one square mile of cliffs and hillsides rising from the Pacific about 50 miles offshore of Santa Monica. There are few amenities at the campground, but the island itself is quite beautiful, easy to circumnavigate - either on foot or by boat - and a haven for sea life and marine mammals. I spent a great part of every day in the water. The diving was magnificent. Curious sea lions seemed to follow my every move as I swam through forests of kelp and along craggy shoreline reefs. Along the sandy bottom there were squadrons of large bat rays and amongst the rocks I spotted Calico Bass, Sheepshead, Perch and a an abundance of Opal Eye. I also came across some of the largest lobster shells I had ever seen. The lobsters are molting and they are ripe for the picking. I really need to come back to this island during lobster season. This time I was, frustratingly, one week early.