It was a stunner of a clear day as I kayaked around Fraser Point on the rugged northwest fringe of Santa Cruz Island. And like other paddling excursions I’ve completed around the largest isle off the California coast, it usually includes paddling to and around Santa Rosa Island.
There’s a lot of reliable island topography that assists in navigating the Santa Cruz Passage; the long gritty finger of Skunk Point and the daunting, wave-battered cliffs of Carrington Point come to mind. However, from afar, there’s no denying one of the rarest groves of trees in the world swaying in perpetual northwest winds on the northeast-facing marine terrace that overlooks massive Bechers Bay.
Whether crossing from Kinton, Near, or Fraser Point on Santa Cruz, I’m typically drawn to the wind-stunted Torrey pine forest on the second-largest island off the California coast. To reach the stiffest and thickest pine needles of any pine in North America requires paddling across one of the most dangerous passages on the planet. Though there’s something surreal and soothing about paddling to a grove of trees that offers solace while kayaking in potentially turbulent seas; those thick, blue-gray pine needles and burly pinecones beckon from the frothiest of whitecaps.