Deadheads are waiting to ambush unsuspecting boaters.
It sounds like this could be the teaser line for a horror movie and if you are crossing the shipping lanes ahead of a huge container ship when you encounter a deadhead, it could rapidly become a horrific situation.
Deadheads are submerged logs suspended just below the surface, and it seems the primary objective of a deadhead is to destroy propellers and sometimes hulls of boats.
Many a boat has limped into harbor after big storms and heavy rains washed wood and debris into the ocean.
Boaters who were able to limp back to harbor were the lucky ones. Others had to be towed in after their props were destroyed, their outdrives were busted or their hulls holed by deadheads.
There are plenty of good reasons to want to cross the channel. We have days of calm glassy-flat seas during the winter. Whales are abundant and large pods of dolphin are often encountered by boaters.
Calico bass fishing can be great at the Channel Islands. There are plenty of squid around the islands, especially on the backside of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. Watch for squid seiners or light boats and use your fishfinder to look for squid marks in the same general area.
It is often possible to jig up some live squid, even during the daytime, to use for bait or take home to clean and eat. Armed with live squid, white seabass fishing can be fast and furious. Catch the live squid and put them back down as bait in the same spot.
On the way to the islands and on the way back, watch diligently for driftwood. The worse spots are along meandering current breaks where debris accumulates.
Floating driftwood is easy to detour around because it is visible. Submerged deadheads are often impossible to spot. To stay safe, travel only during daylight hours, run the boat at slow speeds and keep one eye trained on the waters ahead.
It is amazing what ends up in the ocean. I recall slowly and carefully maneuvering around an upright piece of neatly trimmed wood sticking about a foot out of the water, some seasons ago. As I went by, I looked down in the water and shook my head as I realized it was the top piece of a large and ornate staircase.
The sea holds many surprises and at that point, I might not have been surprised to see a mermaid sitting on the stairs smiling and waving at me.
A captain can dream, right?