Section I
The Island
At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unex plored, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.
- Henry David Thoreau _____________________________________________________________________
SAN MIGUEL is wild. It is an island that commands respect from experienced seamen. The forces of nature are close and untamed. You are exposed to them. The waters are rugged, demanding, and potentially dangerous. Navigation requires vigilance. This island holds you in the present. It brings your life out where you can feel it.
San Miguel Island immerses you in contrasts of peril and beauty, of awesome destructive power and extravagant creativity. It's a windswept moonscape with wild flowers, a bombing target with hiking trails, daunting reefs guarding white sand beaches, great white sharks patrolling luxuriant kelp jungles, treeless dunes beside bone-white petrified forests, and solitude by shores teeming with wild animals. The time you spend here puts you in touch with something that expands your life and mends the wounds of time ashore.
Although San Miguel is truly one of the windiest, foggiest, and most wave-dashed islands on the West Coast, shipwrecks of another era and the cruising accounts of novices have given it a more fearsome reputation than it deserves. With today's charts, navigational aids, and weather forecasts - coupled with caution and good judgment - experienced skippers can enjoy an exhilarating sail, avoid the hazards, find a secure berth, and usually miss the worst of the weather.
Indeed, the natural beauty, the astounding profusion of wildlife, and the challenge of the expedition attract a small stream of adventuresome mariners. The island's reputation and its remoteness ensure they will enjoy this national treasure in remarkable privacy. Most of the recreational boats in the harbors of the Santa Barbara Channel have never been here.
San Miguel Island is forty miles southwest of Santa Barbara, the nearest mainland harbor - in prevailing winds, a boisterous beat to weather all the way. For those who do go, San Miguel is usually a high point in their exploration of the Channel Islands. The visitors' log at Cuyler Harbor is replete with the names of boats and skippers who have made the trip more than once. We hope that you will consider adding your name beside theirs.