Sacramento to Alameda in 5 hrs

[CantKetch]

I'm headed from Sacramento to Alameda this weekend in my 26 foot Chaparral cabin cruiser and want to know what tips and concerns experienced cruisers have to share.

I hear the channel edges drop quick!
I hear that the tides in spots are quick!

I have good charts, GPS, vhf, good pfds, a fuel plan, tide charts, and plan the travel to start at 630am and arrive Alameda by 1230pm including 1 stop for fuel, etc.

What else do I need?!?!?!

[sailorchic34]

If your doing on an outgoing tide with the typical incoming wind the section of the river west of Shermans island point to past Port Chicago can have 3-4 foot chop for a goodly part of the way. The incoming winds stack up the outgoing river waves. San Pablo bay can also be "Fun", as can the slot (area from golden gate to berkeley). Everything else will be easy.

If you see lots of kiteboarders and windsailors at Shermans point, watch for the chop. Before that it's easy peezy. After port chicago it will be better till after the straights, then San Pablo can be a bitch too. Watch for the fast ferries going to and from Valleyjo as they throw a huge wake.

Avoid the boat eating sandbar (1 foot above water at low tide) in the middle of Suisun Bay.

Odds are 5 hours may be optimistic. Of course the ride will be much smoother though a few knots slower with a incoming tide. Tide is not an issue till your pass Rio Vista. It can get epic with 20-25, gusting 30+ knot winds.

If you see a old sailboat with Pink Trim, give it a slow pass. .

Rio Vista delta marina has easy fuel dock access. Antiock's fuel dock takes minutes to prime. Fuel dock at Benicia is easy access though it's upwind, and a small pain when the wind is honking.

[markpierce]

Beware of eastern Suisun and San Pablo bays with westerly winds and an ebb tide. You're likely to meet steep five-foot waves. Both bays have lots of shallows. Stay in the main channel in the Suisun because the middle of the bay is very, very shallow. If you don't want to be beat up, take two days.

[sailorchic34]

Current forecast shows light winds Saturday. However NEVER trust that the NWS actually is correct, or actually looked outside.. Specially more then 2 days out. Check the winds Friday.

Also you will have outgoing tides this Saturday. If the winds are light, no biggy. If they are 20 knots, and they are ALWAYS higher on the water, be careful.

BTW tides run about 1-1/2 to 2 hours late from posted times. So if say Richmond tide is low at 10:11 this Saturday, the current will not be slack (or incoming) till about noon. Tides are based on Lunar time. So San Pablo will have an outgoing tide till you pass Richmond or noonish.

[JPA Cate]

If the OP is hoping for a midday arrival to avoid the afternoon sea breeze, he should leave earlier in the a.m., and try to arrive in SF Bay before 11, to avoid the sea breeze. On hot days, the Valley starts to suck in the ocean air early.

He shouldn't make much of a wake if he's up on a plane, SC.

Ann

The coast where we're sailing now, the sea breeze can start any time from about 10:00 a.m. onward, but usually in by 1:00 p.m.

[Lepke]

Many years ago, I kept my commercial fishing boat in Sacramento during the winter. I would leave SF at low tide and get a push from the flood tide almost all the way. About 2 knots. It was better when the barge locks were running and you could go up the ship channel and miss the current and all the bends in the river.

[dw1979]

You have a choice between staying on the Sacramento all the way or going the shorter Steamboat Slew at Walnut Grove. In either case when you get to the main channel again near Rio Vista don’t cut the corner. Make sure you are out in deep water. Don’t know what your air clearance is but make sure you can get under the bridges and check for times of operation if appropriate.
Sailor Chic is right on with her advice.

[sailorchic34]

One last fun thing. Be sure to watch out for floating trees or logs in the water. You'll be surprised what you see in the water sometimes

[CantKetch]

Definitely!

[CantKetch]

Great stuff...thanks! Am going to try to keep er in the channel after the powerlines and follow compass headings from marker to marker...I assume tide won't be on the beam

We r leaving Sac at 630am too so counting on easy winds in the morning but tide looks like it'll be strongest when I hit carquinez so bummed there. Planning to keep er on plane but if there's large boat traffic that won't happen....gonna have to slow to negotiate wakes.

I wonder how much the tide current will slow me down when I'm on plane...any thoughts? The boat draws 24 inches when stopped and maybe half that on plane.

[CantKetch]

Ya was bummed the locks are permanently closed!

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by CantKetch

I wonder how much the tide current will slow me down when I'm on plane...any thoughts? The boat draws 24 inches when stopped and maybe half that on plane.

Tide is going out sat. AM so it adds to your speed a knot or two. If you were heading upriver in the AM it would slow you down a knot or two.

At the moment winds are forecaster to be only 10 knots, so probably it will be an easy trip. Check the Friday evening forecast for San Pablo bay. If it's still at 10 knots it will not be bad.

Ship wakes will not be bad as they are generally doing 10-12 knots or less. The Ferries toss a much larger wake.

If the winds get 15-20 knots or higher the wind driven chop will slow you down far more then any boat wake. Or you will get beat up from the banging. Though at the moment, high winds are not in the forecast for sat.

[CantKetch]

Thank you all! The trip was a success!

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by CantKetch

Thank you all! The trip was a success!

Good for you.

I did similar years back in my 38 foot Harbormaster from Discovery Bay....however we weren't in a hurry and we left late. BIG mistake....the usual afternoon winds picked up and we got beat up pretty good with steep short period waves on the nose.

Spent the night in Benicia as was planned, which was nice.

I assume by leaving early you just cruised non stop.

[CantKetch]

Well, San Pablo bay was still rough for sure, but we just beat the worst of it. The deep parts were bad but we found better water in shallow areas outside the channel. Had to slow down to 20 kts in there to avoid getting too much air hahaha!