When in Doubt, Paddle South

So with the moon to my east and that bright star to the south, I was feeling more confident with our heading. As the night wore on the seabirds became curious about the two blue kayaks rocking in the deep cobalt seas. Migratory black-vented and sooty shearwaters flew directly at us, and then banked away at the last second. On several occasions solitary ashy storm petrels swooped off my bow and then vanished in the unsettling seas.We knew that after 6 p.m. the folks at the national park would begin wondering where we were. We told the ranger on Santa Cruz the night before we left that we expected to reach Santa Barbara Island by then. By 8 p.m. we heard over the radio the Santa Cruz ranger and the researchers on Santa Barbara Island discussing our whereabouts. Sensing some mild anxiety in their transmissions, Chapman tried several times to contact them, but we weren't close enough to the island.The surveillance machine grew too big Best Dry Bags for Sale for anyone to understand. 

It was now 8:30 p.m., and mentally I was still fending off perpetual what ifs. Rapidly fluctuating between the positives and the negatives, I put a cheery spin on paddling in the dark. Ironically the visibility was better than at daytime when all I could see was haze. I kept telling myself the full moon and that bright star was what we needed.There are even some musicians you may have heard of who are tinkering around onshore hose with robotic instruments. But then I would feel discouraged because I wasn't seeing anything resembling the triangular shape of Santa Barbara Island.Suddenly, I felt Chapman's kayak go slack behind me. I thought his line had snapped, but it simply came untied. We quickly came together and Chapman retied his bowline to my stern. However, Chapman dropped his paddle in the dark waters at the same moment and the black shaft with the dark red blades instantly disappeared in the dark, capping seas. 

When he told me my heart sank for a millisecond and then I turned to the south and saw what looked like Sutil Island,A former child actress on Broadway, Zadora has been most-often honored by the Razzies, an sup paddles spoof that hands out prizes for Hollywood's lousiest movies on the eve of the Oscars. the smaller, yet ominous isle about 1/8 of a mile southwest of Santa Barbara Island.Until then my eyes had been playing tricks on me. I thought I was seeing lights flashing on the horizon because I knew Santa Barbara Island had an automated light off Arch Point on the north end of the windswept island. Whether it was operating I didn't know. There was nothing wrong with hoping. I asked Chapman if he could confirm my sighting."Are you seeing Sutil Island?" I yelled in the wind.