The majority of people take the sensible route to Santa Catalina Island, which involves taking a ferry from Long Beach, possibly taking a helicopter if they’re feeling extravagant, and traveling nearly undetected across 22 miles of ocean. With its charming harbor, beach clubs, and zip-line course nestled into the hills above Avalon, the island is waiting for you. It’s beautiful. It’s also a bit too simple, depending on your temperament.
A Los Angeles-based business has determined that the trip itself merits greater recognition. Uncharted Society links tour operators with BRP powersport vehicles, such as Sea-Doos and Can-Ams, and their guided Sea-Doo run to Catalina has begun drawing riders prepared to forgo the comfort of a ferry deck for two and a half hours of open Pacific. Your comfort zone is irrelevant to the water. The tour doesn’t either.
Riders ranging in age from 19 to 52 made up the group that left Long Beach on a July morning at around eight o’clock. Wetsuits on, the sun still shining through the mist, and there was no clear indication of what lay ahead in the channel. The first dolphin showed up about four miles out. Then more. They cut so close to the Sea-Doos that, before anyone could fully comprehend what had happened, one rider couldn’t resist and was in the water with them. For most people, this is the moment that defines the trip. It’s difficult to ignore that impulse.
Something changed after that halt. With no land in any direction, the San Pedro Channel opened up, and the group navigated it in a manner only possible on something low, swift, and a little careless. This was not a guided tour with posted speed limits and single-file arrangements. Racing was taking place. Splashing occurred. There was the unique sensation of being truly small in a vast body of water, which sounds terrifying but is incredibly fulfilling for reasons that are hard to pinpoint afterwards.
The group made a stop at Blue Cavern Point for a cave swim before arriving at Two Harbors, the more sedate and unadorned portion of Catalina that receives fewer visitors than Avalon. There, the coldness of the water makes your head clear. Lunch was served at the beachfront deck’s Harbor Reef Restaurant: ice cream from the general store and mahi-mahi sandwiches that were still dripping from the ocean minutes earlier. It had the beat of a day well-deserved.
It was more turbulent on the way back. The sky had become a clear, hard blue. The shouts came from somewhere behind the group, still trailing, and as they accelerated, they saw a pod of dolphins surfing the wake and moving with the Sea-Doos as if this were a competition they had been anticipating. It doesn’t quite translate into a photograph when you’re at eye level with them, close enough to feel their true size and speed. Maybe that’s the point.
The advanced “Guided Jetski2Catalina – Two Harbors Adventure” costs $399 and is only available to riders who are at least eighteen years old. For $299.50, there is also a one-way option to Avalon, which includes an overnight stay and a ferry return the next day. This pace is ideal for people who want to visit the island without committing to the full open-water experience. A recent renovation at the Pavilion Hotel is worth taking into account. Cabanas are available at Descanso Beach Club. After traveling across the Pacific on a machine the size of a large suitcase, Luau Larry’s offers cocktails that are strong enough to feel earned.
Observing how those who have taken these trips describe them gives the impression that the ferry was never truly the issue, but rather the only choice available. There has always been an ocean between Catalina and Long Beach. Finally, someone made the decision to allow people to experience it appropriately.
