On September 22 we conducted our 2nd Fall Equinox Cruise to beautiful Santa Rosa Island. I am very proud of all the hard work the CIR staff put in to make this trip a success.
Three years ago, as a Board Member of Channel Islands Restoration, I was looking to create an event that we could repeat on a yearly basis. In October 2020 when CIR
hired it’s new Marketing Manager, Morey Spellman, we began to put together ideas for educational events that would benefit CIR’s commnity.
Working with Island Packers and the National Park Service, we planned, organized, and conducted our first cruise on September 23, 2021.
This was a “beta” test, as it is a remarkable effort to first organize, communicate with members, process payments, recruit trail leader experts, and conduct the cruise in a safe manner where participants might learn something new and memorable about Santa Rosa Island. One of the key tenets of Channel Islands Restoration is education.
For twenty years we have been bringing students to the islands and since our founding we have conducted educational & volunteer activities for over 2,500 students. Our desire was to take what we do for middle and high school students to… adults!
To accomplish this task, we needed to recruit leaders in their respective fields who would lead walking tours or hikes to nearby parts of the island.
Not an easy task as the trip to and from Santa Rosa Island can take over three hours from Ventura and return at a reasonable hour. That leaves about three hours maximum for each group to reach their destination, have lunch while discussing island geology, botany, archeology, and history.
On our 2nd Equinox Cruise, we were able to improve our processes in recruiting leaders, processing payments and coordinating hikes for nearly one hundred participants.
We were very fortunate to have the following experts, professors, and island knowledgeable people to lead our groups:
CIR staff on board the Island Packer vessel explained the day’s events following the safety instruction from the ship’s crew. Upon arrival at the pier at Bechers Bay, Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteers explained the rules of the island and then we formed seven groups for the pre-selected hikes. Immediately arriving at Bechers Bay, we were reminded why we love visiting Santa Rosa Island. The Santa Cruz Channel / Bechers Bay was an explosion of tropical colors. Who needs the Caribbean when we have our Channel Islands?
It seems everyone thoughtfully selected their hike based upon certain interests, trail leader or just wanted a day of incredible views with vigorous exercise.
The hikes or walks varied greatly. While the coastal walk started on the nearby Vail & Vickers Ranch with only two to three miles range, the hike led by Dave Edwards to the Torrey Pines was a seven-mile round trip. If you went on the Torrey Pines hike you would need to keep a steady pace and then climb perhaps 400 feet to the top elevation in the Torrey Pines Forest. Torrey Pines is an amazing story of recovery. Only twenty five years ago there were only about one hundred Torrey Pines remaining. Thanks to the removal of feral pigs, deer and elk there are now more than 24,000. It was amazing to see hundreds of saplings growing on the northeastern slopes.
Jennifer Perry, Professor of Archeology at California State University – Channel Islands, shared how she loves being with groups of island lovers, as everyone has their own interesting reasons and oftentimes a wealth of past experiences that informs their feelings.
She enjoys connecting these interests and experiences to information about the human history of the islands and, in doing so, recognizes that we are all part of the island community, past, present, and future.
Dr. Perry was particularly moved by a family who traces part of their Chumash ancestry directly to Santa Rosa Island. They named the specific ancestor and the specific village, which is a known location. This was their first time on the island, and they participated in the CIR hike specifically to connect with their heritage. How powerful and humbling it is to be a witness to people literally walking in the footsteps of their ancestors and honoring them in doing so!
Steve Junak’s group was enthusiastic about seeing the Brandegee’s Sage and the Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis). It was great for them to see the Santa Rosa Island Manzanita on the road to recovery.
John Kuizenga’s Coastal Walk might have seen some of the greatest variety of flora and fauna for the day. The group of eighteen walked three to four miles on the east shore of the island (as far as Water Canyon) with some hikers going as far as Black Rock. An avid birder, John helped identify Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, Black Phoebes, Western Gulls, amd Greater Yellowlegs. The group heard song sparrows and meadowlarks in the chaparral!
John pointed out that the Santa Cruise Passage is seeing more activity with Gray Whales hunting in the shallow “Potato Patch”, feeding on mole crabs. Sea Lions were seen sunning on the beach.
A walk with John includes some coastal geomorphology. He explained how the four Northern Channel Islands were once a single island known today as Santarosea.
The group found the discussion on how marine terraces form across the passage at Frazier Point on Santa Cruz Island particularly interesting. An island walk with John Kuizenga is always educational and memorable!
Dr. Sabina Thomas, Nature Education Manager & Nature Collection Librarian at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History led the geology hike. The group discussed the fascinating geology of the Channel Islands.
Later, they explored the complicated and contorted sedimentary structures of the Bechers Bay Formation which were laid down in submarine deep-sea fans.
On their walk along the coast, Sabina pointed out much younger river deposits that were laid down after the older Bechers Bay Formation got uplifted as a result of the compression that the area experienced.
With our focus on organization and communication and with trip leaders on portable radios, all participants returned to the pier on time to return to Ventura. One additional treat on our way home was a stop at one of the largest Sea Caves in the world – Painted Cave
Painted Cave is a sea cave on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island, thought to be the fourth largest sea cave in length in the world and second largest in volume in the US.
With weather and tides permitting, Island Packers Captains can make the decision to immerse the boat completely within the cave. The entrance is over 130 feet high, over 100 feet wide and over 1200 feet in length.
Naturally occurring algae and lichens give Painted Cave its artist’s palate appearance.
We have already started planning the 3rd CIR Fall Equinox Cruise! First step will be to submit our Supplemental Use Permit to the National Park Service – Channel Islands National Park offices in Ventura then confirm the availability of a vessel and crew near the 2023 date of the Autumn Equinox.
We invite suggestions from Santa Rosa Island aficionados for future hikes and leaders. Next year I have already confirmed a noteworthy Coastal Geomorphologist – Dr. Alana Radar from Cal State University Northridge - Geography and Environmental Studies.
On a final note, a big thank you to Cherryl and Mark Connally for their special consideration in making the crew of the island Adventurer ship available at a reasonable fare.
Thanks as well to Mark Hnat and Karen Cromwell of the Chief Rangers Office at Channel Islands National Park HQ in Ventura for processing our Supplemental Use Permit.
Painted Cave is a sea cave on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island, thought to be the fourth largest sea cave in length in the world and second largest in volume in the US.