Empress at Avalon on Catalina

Late in September 2012, Marcellite and John Penhune took Empress from Mission Bay to Avalon on Catalina Island.  We originally had planned to also visit the Fourth of July Yacht Club at the Isthmus, but our trip was cut short by schedule conflicts.  The crew included Joey Lasensky, the Penhune's grandson-in-law, Tomi Faust, Marcellite's mother, Lola the English bull dog, and Oliver, Tomi's miniature mixed breed.  After almost not getting a mooring and one move, we were given a 70-foot mooring for the remainder of our stay.  The photo below shows Empress with the Avalon Casino in the background.


Empress on a mooring in Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island

Marcellite and Joey rented a two-person kayak and toured the harbor including the snorkeling areas where fish abound.  They also circled Empress to give John a chance to photograph them.


Marcellite Penhune and Joey Lasensky

Marcellite and Tomi had their hands full (no pun intended) dealing with the nature calls of Lola and Oliver, who sometimes used their potty box and sometimes used the foredeck!

Marcellite, Tomi, Lola, and Oliver

Empress operated very efficiently during the trip, using about 115 gallons of diesel for the main engines for a round trip of about 130 nautical miles at a speed of about 7.5 knots.  Running a generator during the days consumed about an additional 75 gallons, so total fuel consumption was about 190 gallons for the six-day round trip.  We used the inverters at night to keep the refrigerators and freezers cold and to allow reading and Internet use.