Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa
prime
My crew and I anchored off Becher’s Bay in 1980 or ‘81 (no log book and fuzzy memory). The time was November so summer winds were not a concern. We arrived after dark to find a single light on a small pier with no other references. The area was near uniform depth so the depth sounder was not useful to gauge the distance from shore (long before GPS and electronic navigation). No useful moonlight either to judge distances.
The access to the various islands was in transition between former private owners and NPS. To gain access, there was a need to call a telephone in Santa Barbara and request access. Since the permission step was not completed, we rowed around in the dinghy.
After seeing the photos from prior posts, we missed a lot. Oh well. Live and learn.
Cheers,
Ants
PS. I am not sure if the contest has been settled.
My second guess, if allowed, is the sabre tooth tiger.
There is certainly a conflict between the ages when the prehistoric animals and the apparent age of the island. One written source said the island formed 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. The finding of prehistoric animal bones would date their occurrence to 13,000 to 15,000 years ago. The information was from more than one source.
Hi Ants, Interesting stuff, the age of the Channel Islands, including Santa Rosa. There is proof the northern Channel Islands were inhabited from the sea, not from the land. These seafaring peoples were the first to inhabit North America, at least 13,000 years ago. The Arlington Springs man, actually a woman, discovered in 1959 on Santa Rosa Island, has been radiocarbon dated to 13,000 years ago, the oldest skeleton on the North American continent. At this time, the northern Channel Islands were still united together in one mega-island.
So yes, it is likely that pygmy mammoths, sabertooth tigers, and other now extinct mammals were present on the island when the first humans arrived by boat from Alaska and Siberia.
Last edited by sleddog; 05-25-2023 at 11:08 AM.
Legendary WINDWARD PASSAGE, aka "Passage," and "WP," built on a beach in the Bahamas, is now 55 years old. What a boat. I first raced on her in the 1971 Transpac when we broke the elapsed time record and won overall as shown in this painting hung at CBC.
PASSAGE lives today and if you want to see WP in all her beauty, smoothness, and power, her she is in a glorious short video shot 2 weeks ago during the Newport Harbor YC Opening Day race from LA Harbor to Newport.
https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.beck...11844690632904
Last edited by sleddog; 05-25-2023 at 11:39 AM.
What a great video of Windward Passage, what lovely photos by Stephen. This forum offers so much enjoyment. I love it. I look here every morning over coffee. Only then do I turn to the ickiness in newspapers.