On January 27, we got the boat ready, checked out of the harbor and set sail for Santa Cruz Island. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with mild winds and calm seas. We set sail around noon, sailed about 26 nautical miles, and arrived at Smugglers Cove at the southern end of Santa Cruz Island around 4:15 PM.
As we approached Santa Cruz Island, we sailed slowly with both the genoa and the mainsail.
In the tranquil waters, we also spotted several whales blowing spouts and diving!
A whale spouts off of Santa Cruz Island
We pulled into Smugglers Cove and found another sailboat anchored there. We didn’t want to anchor too close to the other boat, so we followed instructions from the cruising guide to anchor near the foot of an old olive grove and near the foot of some cliffs. We anchored and put out about 150 feet of anchor chain. This was our first time anchoring on this cruise, and the anchor held beautifully. We saw an amazing display of stars that night and enjoyed a mild breeze, which blew down off the island. It was very peaceful.
On January 28, we are arose at 4 AM, pulled up the anchor, and set sail about 5:15 PM. We started our journey in the dark and sailed southward past Anacapa Island. In this picture, you can see the light from the lighthouse on the southern end of Anacapa Island.
When Nina was on watch, she enjoyed watching the sun rise.
Nina also saw a pod of nearly 100 dolphins swim by the boat heading from the open ocean towards the shore. As the pod swam by, many dolphins came to play around the boat and swim alongside it.
We motored with the mainsail up all the way to Marina del Rey, which is a harbor in Los Angeles. Our journey was incredibly beautiful. The seas were calm, sometimes almost glassy, with very little waves or swell. We also had very little wind.
When Robert was on watch and Nina was sleeping, he also was visited by dolphins.
We arrived outside the Marina del Rey Harbor much earlier than we thought we would – close to 1:30 PM. So we slowed down and finished our lunch outside the harbor.
The Marina del Rey Harbor is the largest, man-made, small-craft harbor in North America, and is home to almost 5,000 pleasure craft. For Robert, sailing into Marina del Rey felt like coming home, because he used to sail with the UCLA sailing team, which has its docks here in the harbor.
Approaching Marina del Rey 
UCLA boat docks 
Marina del Rey
We sailed past the UCLA docks and made our way to the very back of the marina where the Del Rey Yacht Club is located. The Del Rey Yacht Club is a beautiful club. We received a very warm welcome. We were greeted by the Rear Commodore of the yacht club and by the Vice Commodore of the yacht club. Everybody we met was friendly and kind to us.