How Long to Sail from LA to Puerto Vallarta?

[SS Little-Devil]

I want to sail from Marina Del Rey to Puerto Vallarta in time to meet and hopefully interview several people who are making the milk run or Pacific puddle jump, and then possibly hook up with a few boats and make the run.

How long should I budget for to get from LA to PV?

[Bash]

The worst thing you can do is make a trip like that on a schedule. Especially if it's on a boat you haven't yet purchased.

[SS Little-Devil]

Well there's no set schedule really. I understand there is a congregation of boats that assemble in PV for the runs. I can sail until I run out of money, but should have more than enough to sail for 8 months or longer, even with repairs and maintenance factored in. Ideally though, I'd like to be there to do some filming and interview some of the people doing the run, and have a boat there ready to join them.

[Vasco]

What sort of boat do you have?

[SS Little-Devil]

None yet. Scheduled to fly to LA on January 3rd. Looking at boats in the 35-38' range, preferably with a double cabin two stern, but it's not a necessity. I'm hoping to keep it down to around $40k with maybe $10k for improvements.

I'm almost scared to wait for flack, but the idea is not to spend a ton on the boat. One of the goals of the show is to inspire people who dream about sailing to go for it, and not assume they have to wait until they retire. Naturally I plan to cover some of the very expensive boats and people who sail them, but I won't be one of them. If the show takes off and I feel the need, I can always upgrade later.

[Bash]

First of all, the Puddle Jump isn't the sort of event where everybody leaves from the same place at the same time bound for the same destination. It's possible to do the event without ever seeing another boat. You might want to read up on it in Latitude 38, which you can access on the web.

Second, it's a bad idea to purchase a boat in MDR and set sail right away for PV. Even a brand-new boat won't be turn-key enough to make such a trip without sea-trialing it a bit. This goes double for crews that are not experienced in boat maintenance.

Third, people are asking how big the boat is because cruising speed tends to be a function of waterline. The more you've got, the faster you go. Unfortunately, the sort of boat you'll probably be able to squeeze into your budget will be lucky to average 4 knots. That's 96 nautical miles a day, assuming you're not catching any fish. The good news is that the slower you go, the more fish you tend to catch.

Fourth, you're not ready to do the trip until you can figure out for yourself how far it is from MDR to PV. Honestly, if you need to be asking these questions on the internet, you're due for navigation lessons. Please don't head south until you've mastered some of these fundamental skills.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by SS Little-Devil

None yet. Scheduled to fly to LA on January 3rd. Looking at boats in the 35-38' range, preferably with a double cabin two stern, but it's not a necessity. I'm hoping to keep it down to around $40k with maybe $10k for improvements.

.

Good luck. But I think you're putting the cart before the horse. It's been my experience that anything to do with boats takes much more time than initially thought and, as far as money goes, even more. But I have been fooled before. Keep us informed.

[savoir]

The first thing you must do is get your boat seaworthy. If that takes months then so be it.

PV has an airport you know.

[SS Little-Devil]

Originally Posted by Bash

First of all, the Puddle Jump isn't the sort of event where everybody leaves from the same place at the same time bound for the same destination. It's possible to do the event without ever seeing another boat. You might want to read up on it in Latitude 38, which you can access on the web.

I understand all of this. I've researching the trip for two years. If possible, I'd still like to spend some time in PV and interview some people there who are provisioning for the trip before setting off myself, and if possible, find a group who will try and stay in radio contact. It will be kind of cool to possibly see some of them again somewhere on the trip.

Originally Posted by Bash

Second, it's a bad idea to purchase a boat in MDR and set sail right away for PV. Even a brand-new boat won't be turn-key enough to make such a trip without sea-trialing it a bit. This goes double for crews that are not experienced in boat maintenance.

That is exactly why I said I would not leave until end of February or later. That will give me about two months or maybe longer to sail her, possibly every day. Plus, I plan to make sure that I have either a captain on board, or at least one crew member with a lot of off shore experience.

Originally Posted by Bash

Third, people are asking how big the boat is because cruising speed tends to be a function of waterline. The more you've got, the faster you go. Unfortunately, the sort of boat you'll probably be able to squeeze into your budget will be lucky to average 4 knots. That's 96 nautical miles a day, assuming you're not catching any fish. The good news is that the slower you go, the more fish you tend to catch.

Not sure what you're trying to get at here. I can look at a map and figure out average speed, and a few days don't matter much. Perhaps I should just wait and deal with this in MDR. I'm not interested in boring the boards or getting bashed.

Originally Posted by Bash

Fourth, you're not ready to do the trip until you can figure out for yourself how far it is from MDR to PV. Honestly, if you need to be asking these questions on the internet, you're due for navigation lessons. Please don't head south until you've mastered some of these fundamental skills.

Already dealt with above. It's been over 20 years, but I was in the Navy, and I'm sure much of this stuff will come back quickly, and if I HAVE to, I can figure it out on my own, or once I assemble my crew.

[SS Little-Devil]

Flying into PV is a possibility for sure. Might be an idea.

As for the rest, If I left MDR end of April, I understand I would still have time for the trip. That would give four months to get the boat ready.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by SS Little-Devil

Not sure what you're trying to get at here. I can look at a map and figure out average speed, and a few days don't matter much. Perhaps I should just wait and deal with this in MDR. I'm not interested in boring the boards or getting bashed.

Not bashing you here. There are an awful lot of folks on this forum for whom 96nm would be a great day, and that's sailing day and night. With what you've posted, budget wise, an average speed of 4 knots is a realistic figure.

[SunDevil]

What kind of show are you doing? Educational, documentary, inspiration? Would it be better to be a temporary crew on different boats? Or follow one crew from start to finish?

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Bash

Not bashing you here. There are an awful lot of folks on this forum for whom 96nm would be a great day, and that's sailing day and night. With what you've posted, budget wise, an average speed of 4 knots is a realistic figure.

100 nm/day is quite realistic for a 35 footer

[islandplanet]

Have you considered just going down to PV or La Cruz and joining someone as crew? There's almost always people looking for crew. I had a few people invite me when we were down there on our boat. Some people will leave their boat in Mexico and sail with someone else to the South Pacific. Catch a flight to PV, see if Philo has any rooms available in La Cruz, and hang out for a bit. It's easy to get to La Cruz from the airport. Bus ride is a bit over a dollar.

While taking a minimally prepared boat to Mexico is frequently done, setting off for the South Pacific is a different story. You really need to have your act together and the boat well prepared. It's a long passage and once you arrive, services are limited and expensive. Most people try to hold off until Australia or NZ to do any major projects.

$40K for purchase and $10K for outfitting is pretty minimal. Consider that most boats in your price range may need new standing rigging, mast repairs, and sails. Most won't have a liferaft (not mandatory but a good idea).

I'd spend a season in Mexico first. South Pacific will still be there and you'll know the boat and any shortcomings a lot better.

[SS Little-Devil]

Sun Devil. All of the above. The idea is to do interviews and tours of boats, but also feature destinations and resorts. Then there are the parties, beautiful women, and beaches we will cover. Lastly, we will have GoPro Hero HD cameras set up above and below the decks and do some filming en route. That should give us material for a reality show that will cover living/working together in confined space, the good and the bad times, scary moments, practical jokes, etc.

Realistically if we just keep filming, we should have enough content for four different genre of shows and several episodes of each. And since I edit, we can do much of that during the trip. Certainly enough to do some webisodes and start generating a following/fan base to help push the other shows forward. With all that footage, and some narration, we can drive it how we want. Plus, add the ability to sell some of it as stock footage, and hopefully I'll be able to upgrade the boat and keep sailing indefinitely, and continue the show(s) while circumnavigating.