# Daydreaming of sailing to Catalina through the sky

By [Pioneering Spirit](https://pioneeringspirit.xyz) · 2024-07-20

flight, catalina, future, beauty

---

> "Only by soaring above the clouds can one feel the immensity of the heavens."
> 
> \- _Wind, Sand and Stars_ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Every year, for almost two decades, I've gone camping on Catalina island with close family and friends over July fourth weekend. It's a magical little refuge to remember what's really important and real in this crazy mixed up world. Here's an illustrative image.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e0815b40e7a9baaa0239c3ef9d4b28c6.png)

Getting to the island is a quick boat ride away. A short distance made [famous by the Four Preps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I7zMKptjRs):

> Twenty-six miles across the sea  
> Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ec22096241ff2eeaa0325ae9e8143030.jpg)

Today you can also take a fifteen minute [helicopter ride](https://www.maverickhelicopter.com/cali/catalina-transport.aspx) to Avalon, the main city, for ~5x the price of a [boat fare](https://catalinaexpress.com/schedule-fares/). There is also the option of chartering a plane to the airport in the sky, more of a fun option for hobbyist pilots.

I can't help but wonder: why not another way? The big Catalina express boats are typical diesel chugging ferries. Further North, the Bay Area will soon have [electric vertical takeoff and landing](https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-06-21/archer-plans-evtol-air-taxi-routes-san-francisco) (eVTOL) taxis traversing the skis.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/9f3c487cd2fe5e42d2f20ab400a2f39f.png)

Something similar seems perhaps apropos for a trip to Catalina. The only big question I'd have though is how effective those electric taxis would be for schlepping a lot of gear. Helicopters and eVTOL machines are very much weight conscious.

In the great book _Ministry for the Future_, Kim Stanley Robinson envisioned lighter than air travel making a comeback as the world grappled with climate change.\[1\]

Today that vision is increasingly becoming a reality. A fully [electric airship is set to embark](https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a45444968/airship-making-nonstop-fully-electric-around-the-world-flight/) on a non-stop, around-the-world flight in 2026. Utilizing a combination of solar and hydrogen power for its electric engine, the airship aims to cover approximately 25,000 miles in a 20-day journey.

Perhaps in a Catalina in the not too distant future our group will be able to take an airship across the sea.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/fb71a527ffb856cf5b9cb72ee22426ea.png)

> “Alone within the vast tribunal that is the stormy sky, the pilot is in contention for his mailbags with three elemental divinities: mountain, sea and storm.”
> 
> \- _Wind, Sand and Stars_ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

\[1\] Granted this shift happens because freedom loving peoples in particularly climate affected countries engage in large scale industrial sabotage against carbon intensive heavier than air planes with massive drone swarms.

---

*Originally published on [Pioneering Spirit](https://pioneeringspirit.xyz/daydreaming-of-sailing-to-catalina-through-the-sky)*