Un-chill.
A few months ago, now, four great friends and I sailed around the entirety of Catalina. We started at the southeastern end, a heavily strip-mined corner, anchored and slept of a rock-n-rolly small cove, moved on to Ben Weston, after breakfast, anchored again in Two Harbors for a luncheon of chips, guacamole and Buffalo Milk, made it around the northeastern end sometime after noon then made the traditional way down past Two Harbors, from the mainland-facing side, Empire Landing, Moonstone before heading back to Newport Beach.
It is very odd that such large, mostly desolate, island floats off Southern California. The Wrigley family, of gum fame, built a few beautiful buildings in the largest city, Avalon, and a few more in Two Harbors but overall the architecture leaves something to be desired and the scene is downright unchill.
Day tourists zipping in from Long Beach. Newlyweds too poor to go on a proper honeymoon getting wasted in dank beach bars.
Messy.
I often wonder how the whole place didn’t get colonized by Los Angeles’s uber-elite and walled off from the unwashed. What could be more exclusive than an island a hop, skip and sail away?
Bizarre.
In any case, a kayaker who dipped his or her hand in the water off the northeastern end had it bitten by a shark. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department the beast had been bumping the kayak, before the incident, which sounds needlessly aggressive.
A mile of the island was promptly shuttered for 24 hours.
No other details given.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
I’m surprised the reporter didn’t have more details as it was well covered. It was a 15 yr. old Boy Scout. Several troops gather there for a week long camping trip every year. His oar slipped and he went to grab it. I know this because my Grandson was also on the trip and was in a kayak behind the other kid.
Someone who writes like this should never be allowed near a keyboard. Beside this thing being virtually unreadable (periods are used in more places than only before a com), your geography is wrong. After your lunch you rounded the West end of the island, not the northeast side of the island. And the land side as you call it is the north side of the island. Also, Islands don’t float.
Yea they are pretty picky eaters… They won’t eat garbage that’s for sure… Just ask the kayacker… He’s a registered democrat .. gave the shark the sh1ts just thinking about it.
Never been to Catalina Island curious to see if this writer is an arrogant asshole or a moronic asshole.
Fault:
Human: 100%
Shark: 0%
Best buffalo burgers are at the airport, but you’re not going to get there by sailboat. It’s sad that you think Catalina is “desolate”
Note that although I have sailed to and around Catalina and some of the other Channel Islands several times, the best times I had “on” the island were staying at the Zane Grey pre-renovation, and biking and camping from Avalon to Two Harbors.
What a waste of time reading obviously this Chas guy is jaded and THINKS he is so much better than everyone else? It goes to show that anyone is able to write graffiti on the internet!
Do you have a laysince for your minke?
The reason the rich dont want it? Because the water around it is filled with extremely toxic chemicals in leaky barrels dumped by corporations and used by various cal state universities for research. Very interesting articles about it. https://www.google.com/amp/…
Sorry about the hand but do not down play Catalina. It is all chill and charming at the same time!
Did anyone even attempt to prosecute the shark for it’s needless and dangerous boat bumping behavior and rude human tasting? It must have been an extremely rich and we’ll connected juvenile Great White for the authorities to back off. I bet it was Bruce’s grandchild, from Jaws fame. That bastard just tore into somebody up north and he walked from those charges, too
With a goat?
First and last BG article I’ll ever read.
Neato
Seriously just between me, a Coffey sister in the middle and yourself.
No one gives a fuck about shark attacks anymore.
Covid is going to kill us all !
You write like a Chas.
This was a horrible article. The last sentence told the real story, the other 98% is griping about Catalina. Blatant waste of people’s time for garbage click bate.
Seems like one of those So Cal “playgrounds of the rich and famous” in the fifties. Salton Sea another. Can picture Elvis high on barbiturates and speed water skiing there.
Is that the menu for Olympic village this year?
Catalina is where i lost my virginity
Evidently the White sharks bail whenever the Orcas roll through town. At least up by the Farallons they do.