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20 SEAMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2017We — Sea managing editor Mike Werling, Sea
assistant editor Stephanie Shibata, Stan Miller Yachts
salesman Geoff Swing and Werling’s wife, Dawn — are
feeling none of the Wednesday wishy-washiness,
because the island visible through the weak haze is
our destination. Our day is going to be better than
most. We are dayboating on an MJM Yachts 40z,
but not just around the harbor or to Dana Point or
Long Beach for lunch. It’s not just dayboating, it’s
day-cruising. We are headed for the island, just for
the day — the afternoon, really — which is something
too many SoCal boaters forget they can do.Is Catalina better for a weekend excursion
rather than for a day? Yeah, that’s probably
accurate. But that doesn’t make it any less
appealing as a day-cruise destination. Play
hooky on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
— we are working, not playing hooky; we’d
never condone that, wink wink — and find-
ing a mooring shouldn’t be a problem. Heck,
we are here in early August at the height
of the season and have no trouble. Getting
around town is easier midweek, too, as is
finding a table for lunch or dinner.DAYBOATS & MORE
We published a feature a few years ago
about dayboats. Our writer examined what
dayboats are and how their capabilities
have expanded over the years. He labeled
dayboats “made-for-the-way-you-really-
boat” boats. Our ride for the day, and
several other dayboats I’ve seen recently,
certainly fits that description. They have
amenities that stretch beyond a day on
the water, but they don’t waste space on
features that will hardly ever get used.
Our writer went further: The term
dayboat suggests a boat made for
harbor-hopping and little more. Au
contraire. These boats are perfect for
coastal cruising, and if you find the weather
not to your liking, they’re fast enough to get
you into shelter quickly. But that doesn’t
mean they aren’t seaworthy. You may not
want to cruise your dayboat to Alaska,
but other dayboat owners have. You may
not want to run from Southern California
to the tip of Baja on a dayboat, but otherdayboat owners have. Bottom line:
Dayboats are surprisingly tough, and you’ll
probably want to head back before they do.
(See Our Ride for evidence of this.)THE ISLAND
A flash of color streaks through the haze.
A parasail. It’s a popular activity in the
water just off Catalina, one the Werlings
have done in the past. We’re not taking to
the air today, but the sight of a parasail
means we’re getting closer to Avalon, which
is confirmed by the increasing size of the
Casino through the camera lens. Other
landmarks are filling the viewfinder, too:Descano Beach, the Green Pier, Chimes
Tower, a passenger ferry arriving from
Long Beach. Werling tells his fellow
passengers he sees a buffalo, but everyone’s
fairly certain it is a tree or a bush. The
last time his wife and he visited, they took
a Jeep ride around the island and saw
several of the furry, horned beasts up close,
so he knows they’re big but probably not
see-them-from-several-miles-away big.
We are holding out hope for a whale or
even a pod of dolphins, but they are proving
as elusive as Nessie. Instead, we reach the
mouth of the harbor empty-handed, so
to speak. The harbor patrol officer meets
us to collect our mooring fee for the day
and assign us a mooring ball (see Grab a
Mooring for information on daily rates).
With the administrative duties out of the
way, we find our spot, tie up and catch a
ride to the Green Pier. There we split up.
Shibata grabs a bite at a local on-the-pier
lunch spot, Earl & Rosie’s Fish and Chips,
while Swing and the Werlings head to
Bluewater Grill.
After our respective repasts, it’s time
for activities. Swing heads back to the
boat to do some work (see, no hooky)
while Shibata takes a dive — she rides in
a semi-submersible called Nautilus with
Catalina Adventure Tours — and the
Werlings hit the slopes — they rent a golfÆ Mini-Cruise