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NO LIGHT ON THE HORIZON
A
decade later, I paddled to Santa Barbara Island, the pull of
solitude across an open ocean to the rugged volcanic isle was
too much to resist.
Despite a bright full autumn moon, I was still searching for
another light that would define the horizon on a star-filled night.
Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I kept thinking I was seeing
a flickering light, hoping to locate the automated beacon on tiny
Santa Barbara Island. I was kayaking from Santa Cruz Island to the
smallest island off the California coast, a 44-mile paddle in open
ocean 40 miles off the mainland.
What windswept Santa Barbara Island lacks in size, it more than
makes up for in volcanic features like sea caves, craggy arches, and
towering sea stacks. Its island flora and fauna is in high concentration,
and the solitude is boundless. Before I left on my excursion to the isle, I
knew there was an automated beacon located on the northern tip of the
triangular-shaped islet. Whether it was working weighed heavy on my
mind during the length of my kayaking trip.
94
winter
|
spr ing
FAR
FLUNG
TRAVEL