santa barbara marina
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9/26/2008
Of all marina's on the US west coast, the one in Santa Barbara ranks as one of the most pretty. Beautifull back drop of palm trees, cliffs, mountains, ocean and sometimes (depends on ocean fog) islands views. Downtown state street, beaches, musea, wharf, and great bike path's within walking distance. Harbor relatively small (1104 vessels), yet interesting mix of vessels and occasional super yachts. One meets people from literally all walks of life within a few acres and many foreigners and sailors from around the world. Excellent sailing weather with predictable winds in the afternoons. Harbor restaurants extremely popular. The funny thing is that quite a few yacht club members have no boats but enjoy the scene so much they joined anyhow. On the down side is the scarce availability of boat slips and if you have a multi hulled vessel, forget it. Micro climate better than the city itself due to the ocean breeze. A stunning place. "Wet Wednesday" during the Summer months provide competitive sailing opportunities and beatiful vista's of inflated spinnakers sails as seen from the breakwater. Seakayaking, spear fishing, beach volleyball, and scuba all add up to a diverse pleasure ground.
eric | Camarillo, CA