Sea Trek

Last year's transatlantic re-creation of a Mormon migration from Northern Europe to Utah has turned into a financial nightmare for organizers, with three Norwegian ships demanding $530,000 in unpaid bills. Bill and DeAnn Sadleir of Salt Lake City organized the 59-day voyage, known as Sea Trek 2001, from Denmark to New York City, to commemorate the 85,000 Mormon converts who left Europe.

If you would like to be under the sea, perhaps in an octopus' garden, head to Sea Trek, Santa Catalina Island's newest attraction. No yellow submarine required. Intrepid wanderers need only don a wetsuit and a diving helmet before walking off the beach of the Southern California resort island onto the ocean floor. The guided excursion meanders among forests of kelp, where schools of anchovies, mackerels and other underwater denizens lurk. The brightly colored garibaldi, California's state marine fish, frequents the waters off the coast of Catalina.

If you would like to be under the sea, perhaps in an octopus' garden, head to Sea Trek, Santa Catalina Island's newest attraction. No yellow submarine required. Intrepid wanderers need only don a wetsuit and a diving helmet before walking off the beach of the Southern California resort island onto the ocean floor. The guided excursion meanders among forests of kelp, where schools of anchovies, mackerels and other underwater denizens lurk. The brightly colored garibaldi, California's state marine fish, frequents the waters off the coast of Catalina.

Eight decades ago, William Wrigley Jr. added amenities to the tiny harbor community of Avalon that transformed Catalina Island into a storied getaway for movie stars and the early power brokers of Los Angeles: steamships, hotels and a landmark "casino" building featuring a theater and a ballroom. In the 1960s, development slowed as big spenders and tourists gravitated toward newer resorts -- Disneyland, Palm Springs, Lake Arrowhead -- blossoming on the mainland.

The underwater realm is often called the silent world because submerged divers ordinarily cannot speak to each other. In "National Geographic Explorer: Sea Trek," a new technological development called a bubble helmet allows co-hosts Mike deGruy and Martha Holmes to transform the silent world into the talkative world. In Sunday's premiere episode, "Sea Trek: The Galapagos Islands," deGruy and Holmes joke with each other as playful sea lions surround them.

Eight decades ago, William Wrigley Jr. added amenities to the tiny harbor community of Avalon that transformed Catalina Island into a storied getaway for movie stars and the early power brokers of Los Angeles: steamships, hotels and a landmark "casino" building featuring a theater and a ballroom. In the 1960s, development slowed as big spenders and tourists gravitated toward newer resorts -- Disneyland, Palm Springs, Lake Arrowhead -- blossoming on the mainland.

By the hundreds of thousands each year, they sail to Avalon by ferry and cruise ship for diving trips, glass-bottom boat tours and to lounge on the beach in the Catalina Island town 26 miles off the Southern California coast. Yet the same crystal-clear water that draws tourists also harbors an embarrassing hazard. For most of the last decade, Avalon Harbor Beach has ranked among the most polluted in the state, tainted with human sewage that puts swimmers at risk. Even though the city of 4,000 has spent $3.5 million testing and rehabilitating sewer lines, the water is no cleaner.

"WHILE my husband and I were exploring the Greek islands of Kefalonia and Ithaki (Ithaca), we spent a week learning to sail with a terrific British company, Sea-Trek Adventures. We lived on a 27-foot yacht by ourselves in the port of Lixourion, a Greek town with plenty of modern amenities, and during the day learned to sail with our own personal instructor." From $995 per person, includes week's stay on boat and lessons.

Hankering for a high-seas adventure? A rare chance to cross the Atlantic in a tall sailing ship is available this year through an event that's designed to commemorate the Mormons' migration from Europe to the U.S. in the 19th century. Sea Trek 2001, sponsored by a Utah-based nonprofit foundation, is organizing an armada of eight tall ships to retrace the emigrants' route from Esbjerg, Denmark, to New York City, starting Aug. 7.

Coast Guard personnel and others rescued at least nine kayak riders who were dumped into chilly, rain-swept San Francisco Bay after their Polynesian-type outrigger boats swamped during a race, Golden Gate National Recreation Area police reported.

Last year's transatlantic re-creation of a Mormon migration from Northern Europe to Utah has turned into a financial nightmare for organizers, with three Norwegian ships demanding $530,000 in unpaid bills. Bill and DeAnn Sadleir of Salt Lake City organized the 59-day voyage, known as Sea Trek 2001, from Denmark to New York City, to commemorate the 85,000 Mormon converts who left Europe.

The underwater realm is often called the silent world because submerged divers ordinarily cannot speak to each other. In "National Geographic Explorer: Sea Trek," a new technological development called a bubble helmet allows co-hosts Mike deGruy and Martha Holmes to transform the silent world into the talkative world. In Sunday's premiere episode, "Sea Trek: The Galapagos Islands," deGruy and Holmes joke with each other as playful sea lions surround them.

Stalwars, who has had a variety of physical problems since leaving California, was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby Thursday because of a fever, leaving a field of 17 starters. There will be a pair of entries, Forty Niner and Cefis, and Lively One and Intensive Command, plus Winning Colors, Private Terms, Kingpost, Brian's Time, Proper Reality, Granacus, Jim's Orbit, Seeking the Gold, Din's Dancer, Regal Classic, Sea Trek, Purdue King and Risen Star.

Private Terms and Forty Niner, two of the leading candidates to win Saturday's Kentucky Derby, drew the outside post positions Thursday, seriously compromising Forty Niner's chances and slightly dimming those of Private Terms. Private Terms drew the No. 16 post, and Forty Niner has No. 17 in the 17-horse field.