Students Cruise to Santa Cruz for Camping, Exploring

November 8, 2018

It was an early morning caravan that whisked eighteen Cate students down to Ventura Harbor on Saturday, November 3. The students had all signed up for a weekend on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of California’s Channel Islands – about a 30 minute drive and a 45 minute boat ride from the Mesa. The group had 36 hours of free rein to explore the island’s rolling hills, giant sea caves, lichen-covered cliffs, and rocky beaches.

Dana Huston-Chen ’20, who grew up in Shanghai, says she was much more comfortable in urban environments than in the wilderness before Cate. However, her fall sport option this year was Outdoors, where she spent a week each on particular outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and surfing. On this trip she put those skills to good use – kayaking with fellow junior Emily Calkins around the island, snorkeling through kelp forests, and hiking vistas for sunset and sunrise views. “I really enjoyed having the freedom to go wherever and roam around and also seeing the ocean diversity.” Dana’s favorite animal encounters while snorkeling – the sea anemone, sea urchin, and sea lions.

Emily, a former Girl Scout from Carpinteria with some outdoors experience, says that parts of the trip were daunting. She says during past opportunities to snorkel she’s “chickened out.” She says, “it scares me when I can’t see well and the water is murky. But at the islands this weekend it was really clear. It was so interesting to just float and look at all the different types of fish.” Emily particularly enjoyed the garibaldi, a medium-sized bright orange fish that she had initially mistaken for a piece plastic, due to its vibrant color. Emily also was a fan of the island fox, a subspecies only found on Santa Cruz, numerous, about the size of a house cat, and unafraid of humans.

Koko Wing ’19 from Portland, ME says she enjoyed bonding with students from different grades. “Even though there are a lot of activities and systems in place to connect seniors and freshmen I haven’t really interacted with most of them. None of the other students happened to be in my groups for previous activities.” She says, “it was cool sitting around the table while Mr. Bonning cooked dinner.” The communal meal preparation and cleanup were highlights for Koko, who says that “it was cool to see everyone pitch in and come together.” Circumspect in her role as a senior, Koko says, “We were pretty loud and campground, which probably wasn’t the best but I enjoyed it because everyone was having such a good time that you just couldn’t control the volume.”