I've been going to Catalina since I was a child and the biggest storm I've been in off the coast of CA was New Years Day, 2000 with eerily similar conditions: Santa Ana's with overcrowded harbors and a storm that came out of no where. Luckily, my family despises Avalon aka "Disneyland with a Beach" so we were able to drop the mooring (after tying up to a second mooring and then dragging both of them about 50 meters) and get out of the harbor safely. Of course, the next 6 hours involved quartering 8 foot swells at 8 seconds with opposite wind waves of 3-4 feet. Of course, my mother and brother were both deathly seasick. Of course, we sucked kelp or a line or something into the cooling intake so we had an overheating engine the whole time that my dad had to manage. So, of course, my 10 year old self stood on a stool and drove the boat in these monstrous waves while sobbing and telling my dad, "I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!". I blame that storm on my muscular thighs as attempting to keep a stool from sliding across tile floor for 6 hours while driving a boat in horrid conditions is muscular conditioning at it's finest.

Here are some news links about the 2014 storm: Reuters | ABC7

I'll post the full essay about my storm experience when I get back to the states (someone remind me on Jan 29th). In the meantime, enjoy this thrill ride.