Southern Oregon to San Francisco for newbie

[Knuckledragger0]

Buying a 54 ' power boat in Southern Oregon and taking it to San Francisco in March. If I watch the weather and carefully plan my route is this something a newbie could do by himself? I have cruising experience but it is all around the San Juan Islands and also in Florida. Thanks in advance.

[Randyonr3]

From anywhere south of Coos Bay, its harbor hopping all the way down if need be with each port less than 80 miles.. easilly done durring daylight hours if you leave at the crack of dawn. watch your weather and it is doable..
We prefer to travel the north coast in early spring or late fall to avoid the big winds that build in the afternoon..

[Stu Jackson]

http://georgebenson.us/

[bobconnie]

Try and keep up with the tide tables !! As you must know almost ALL the harbors can have troubles at there harbor bar's! Knowing when the flood tides happen can sure make life easier!! just a couple of 2 cent's worth from many years fishing and sailing Above the Redwood curtain !!

[KnuckleDragger]

Knuckledragger0???

[Knuckledragger0]

Originally Posted by KnuckleDragger

Knuckledragger0???

Ah a line minded thinker. So I guess your the reason I had to add the 0.


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[Knuckledragger0]

Randy, thanks for info. Guess I started to loose my confidence after reading about the sailors on this site and how hard it is for them to make this trip this time of year. Of course I realize that is a much different animal than what I'm doing, it brought me pause non the less.


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[BandB]

I would reserve an answer until you define Southern Oregon and the boat including power and type.

[Knuckledragger0]

Brookings, 54' Cummins 3.7


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[BandB]

Originally Posted by Knuckledragger0

Brookings, 54', Cummins 3.7.


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From Brookings you just have a very short run to Crescent City. Then a couple of longer jumps. What speed does it cruise? If I recall correctly about 85 nm to Eureka, then another 115 to Noyo, 75 to Bodega Bay and then a short run to San Francisco. If you cruise at 12-15 knots then it shouldn't be bad. If only 7-8 knots, then a challenge and perhaps an overnight as I wouldn't try to enter any of the inlets after dark. You will have to look for good weather windows and it's very possible to get held up in any of those locations for a few days.

[Knuckledragger0]

BB, top speed is 20 but 12 to 15 a much more effecent speed. Thanks for the info!


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[Randyonr3]

just a short note,

On our first trip down, we rounded the lighthouse on St, Georges Reef , cleared the reef by a mile or so and turned east tword Cressent City..
About a mile or so after the turn we saw a rock come up from below on the right side of us about 50 yards off. the SOB was the size of a buss and showed itself at the bottom of a swell..
The rock on the south side and the reef on the north.. thats when your butt cheeks come up around your neck and you start gagging for air.. Slowly we rounded south for another mile or so befor we turned east again..
I had watched the charts and all measurements and was sure I was clear of the reef..
When I got into Cressent city, I asked a couple local fisherman about the issue and they said it was "Fantom Rock" and only appears on an extreme low tide and then only at the bottom of a deep swell..
Its not marked as its only a hazzord for a few hours a month and I guess they figure it shouldnt be marked...
So My suggestion is that you take the inside channel or give the reef a good amount of distance..........

The guys fishing asked if I thought I could find it again for them as the story is there is great fishing around that rock

By the way, thats Cressent city in the background of the lighthouse..

[Knuckledragger0]

Wow, ok inside it is!


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[BandB]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

When I got into Cressent city, I asked a couple local fisherman about the issue and they said it was "Fantom Rock" and only appears on an extreme low tide and then only at the bottom of a deep swell..

We depended on two great sources of information coming down from Seattle to San Francisco. One was the Coast Guard. The other was local fishermen. They go in and out the inlets constantly. They are the West Coast equivalents to tow boat captains on the East Coast when it comes to the latest local knowledge.

[bsurvey]

very rugged coastline the entries to most harbors going south are formidable. take extra fuel as you may get out there and not be able to get into the next harbor.


crescent city eureka have breaking bars and large swell when it bad. you should try to get a clear i week weather window in advnace but that is hardly likely


bodega bay is a little tricky and i wouldn't want to do that at night.


you may want to take someone with you that has done it before for local knowledge