How much balls do you need on the West Coast?

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by poiu

I'd like to cruise this area of the north west Pacific coast some time. It seems that really a lot of boats are motor trawlers. Are they not the best choice for this area? I imagine there are a lot of days with low wind? Isn't a big keel is a nuisance when anchoring in little bays? And the accommodation in a trawler is far more suited to the climate?

Hate to say it but your are right. A trawler is much better suited to the PNW during the summer. Can't tell you how many thousands of hours I have spent motoring in a sailboat up here. Draft is not a problem. Anchorages are all deep enough. Very deep waters here.

[Toaster]

Regarding trawlers vs sailboats because of the finicky wind in the PNW, it's really a matter of choice. If you want the trawler experience, get a trawler. If you want to sail, you can do it if you learn to use the local winds and currents. And it's a safe area, with lots of places to hide.

To find good wind, you can choose your time of year to go, and you can choose your time of day. Early in the year is great, in fact if you want to sail from Seattle to Alaska, you should be leaving in April. You'll ride some left over southerlies as you go north, you'll hit Alaska at the best time of year, May and June, and then ride the summer northerlies as you cruise back home.

August is infamous for no wind in the PNW, but along the BC coast, daily winds are often dominated by land effects - specifically solar generated onshore flows that start in the afternoon and often run most of the night. So a sunny August is fine for sailing if you sail later in the day. The "inside passage" really does have almost no wind, so you stay outside (much more interesting anyway).

We sailed >10k nm over the last several years, between Seattle and Glacier Bay, and we spent 2/3 of the time under sail (based on our logs). And much of the time motoring was getting into and out of anchorages. Yes, we had days where we had to motor to get anywhere, but we learned to avoid a schedule and minimize the motoring. No wind? Stay put, go fishing, kayaking, hiking, etc....

My wife wrote a "local knowledge" book for sailors about taking advantage of the winds and currents in this area, called Taken By the Wind: The Northwest Coast. You can find it on Amazon, just search for "r2ak". Or here: Taken By the Wind

[fuentes]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

I've sailed just about everywhere. I find the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands to be my favorite cruising grounds. Shouldn't say that since don't want to spoil a good thing. Lots of good holes to hide. San Diego is beautiful but where do you go?

South? Not intending to be a smart a-s. Just enlarging the dream. There is the whole west side of Baja, Sea of Cortez, Central and South America. When you hit bottom, west to the South Pacific. I will concede that Baja is not for short, easy sailing. There are few places to hide and it can get nasty. It is not for 1-5 day sailing from San Diego. It depends on what a person has in mind, how much time he has, experience, etc. At least, it is our dream and we are working on it..

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by Toaster

Regarding trawlers vs sailboats because of the finicky wind in the PNW, it's really a matter of choice. If you want the trawler experience, get a trawler. If you want to sail, you can do it if you learn to use the local winds and currents. And it's a safe area, with lots of places to hide.

To find good wind, you can choose your time of year to go, and you can choose your time of day. Early in the year is great, in fact if you want to sail from Seattle to Alaska, you should be leaving in April. You'll ride some left over southerlies as you go north, you'll hit Alaska at the best time of year, May and June, and then ride the summer northerlies as you cruise back home.

August is infamous for no wind in the PNW, but along the BC coast, daily winds are often dominated by land effects - specifically solar generated onshore flows that start in the afternoon and often run most of the night. So a sunny August is fine for sailing if you sail later in the day. The "inside passage" really does have almost no wind, so you stay outside (much more interesting anyway).

We sailed >10k nm over the last several years, between Seattle and Glacier Bay, and we spent 2/3 of the time under sail (based on our logs). And much of the time motoring was getting into and out of anchorages. Yes, we had days where we had to motor to get anywhere, but we learned to avoid a schedule and minimize the motoring. No wind? Stay put, go fishing, kayaking, hiking, etc....

My wife wrote a "local knowledge" book for sailors about taking advantage of the winds and currents in this area, called Taken By the Wind: The Northwest Coast. You can find it on Amazon, just search for "r2ak". Or here: Taken By the Wind

You made a sale but I must say I remember one week in August when it stormed all week. 30+ one day. I had promised charter guests it would be great. Had to eat my words again. Never know. I think Sept is best here.

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by Baba Buoy

No need for brass ones for sailing Southern California. -snip-

Thread drift: this makes reference to an expression I learned in my youth; "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." Where I grew up that referred to minus 40, Fahrenheit or Celsius, same thing.

I have heard two explanations of the expression, one of them nautical. What is it? The answer is probably here somewhere: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ns-148599.html

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

You made a sale but I must say I remember one week in August when it stormed all week. 30+ one day. I had promised charter guests it would be great. Had to eat my words again. Never know. I think Sept is best here.

OK that is true down here in Santa Barbara Channel too, especially in spring. Some time back I chartered a 44' boat to take my family and my brother's and a couple of his friends over a three day weekend. Forecast looked fine and the first day was beautiful going out to Santa Cruz Island, but a low passed north of us and then stalled and the clearing N-NW wind came in the wee hours. The next morning it was too windy to go out in the dinghy so I went around to the leeward side of the island hoping for a calmer anchorage. The wind was blowing so hard it just dropped over the island and filled in the leeward anchorages too. Still, stuck on the boat. The only one having fun was my 10 year old nephew. The next day we had to go back but it was still howling. At this point my brother's friends had had enough, but the weather is what it is. I headed back upwind to Santa Barbara in 25 knots and some fairly good sized seas. Things were fine, the boat handled it all well, but when we got to the harbor, there was at least one who wanted to kiss the ground and swore she'd never go on a boat again! I felt pretty bad about it all, and now I am a lot more careful about checking weather and comfort level of guests! Moral of the story is, well, not sure what the moral is but I still think it's all good around here! A little local knowledge will go a long way as everywhere.

[TrentePieds]

I think we can take it that the common explanation is a load of bollocks. Since the expression seems to date from around the time of the Indian Mutiny, it is not unlikely that the monkey in the expression is a reference to a representation of Hanuman, the monkey god. Such representations/statues/figurines were (and AFAIK still are) common in India. Live monkeys are, as we know, mischievous or cheeky.

In many northern English dialects, to "have brass" means to be cheeky (as well as to have money). In our marina we have a boat named "Cheeky Monkey", and, in fact, a mischievous urchin can, in the North, be called a "cheeky monkey"

It seems unlikely to me that in Victorian times "balls" would have been the body part of choice for the freezing except in barracks-talk. Other body parts seem to have been the candidate for the freezing and for the melting used in other versions of the phrase. As Victorian norms went out of style, it was the barracks talk we were left with.

TrentePieds

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by AnglaisInHull

Thread drift: this makes reference to an expression I learned in my youth; "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." Where I grew up that referred to minus 40, Fahrenheit or Celsius, same thing.

I have heard two explanations of the expression, one of them nautical. What is it? The answer is probably here somewhere: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ns-148599.html

The Brass Monkey of Stanthorpe, Queensland, a place known for its "brass monkey weather", complete with a set of balls....

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

ISince the expression seems to date from around the time of the Indian Mutiny, it is not unlikely that the monkey in the expression is a reference to a representation of Hanuman, the monkey god. Such representations/statues/figurines were (and AFAIK still are) common in India. Live monkeys are, as we know, mischievous or cheeky. TrentePieds

Brass and brassy are also common descriptions in the US, usually in reference to nervy or aggressive persons and behaviours. I won't even start with other expressions relating to brass, except to mention the one that refers to witches and bras in connection with temperature, probably Fahrenheit. Donkey dust might encompass this entire discussion.

[zeehag]

i have sailed both west coast fla and west coast usa. neither needs balls--just sailing know how and practice.
west coast fla has lightning storms, west coast usa has storms-- i have sailed into and through the fla storms--even the extreme ones--those were a lil hairy. fla has lee shore, as does west coast usa.
west coast usa has la nina storms to curl your hair, chubascos off baja, and well spaced rollers, normally about 1-2 meters constantly, and a lee shore.
following seas in gom are only 8 ft when breaking over your stbd quarter to scare your cat and soak your skin, west coast usa can get 30+ ft following seas and can hurt ye.
so far i have been in decent shape in those. i sailed a citation irwin(not mine), one of the worst boats i have ever sailed-- in following seas of 30 ish feet height
for 80 miles from avalon to oceanside, and swear i will NEVER sail another of those.. what a handful.
it is not where you sail but how you sail that matters.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "i sailed a citation irwin(not mine), one of the worst boats i have ever sailed-- in following seas of 30 ish feet height
for 80 miles from avalon to oceanside, and swear i will NEVER sail another of those.. what a handful."

Interesting :-)! Would you be kind enuff to describe in what way she was "a handful" Having read many of your posts I have no doubt that you were appropriately canvassed for the conditions. I take it you were on a broad reach as well? Were you singlehanding?

Both the 30 and the 34 look by the specs and the plans to be absolutely typical of "modern" cruising boats. You have the good fortune - or perhaps it's good taste ;-) - to be sailing a Billy Garden design, a design from which one would expect far more gentlemanly behaviour at sea, than one would from the Irwins.

I'm sure we'd all - newbs particularly - appreciate, and benefit from, a quick "compare and contrast". Would you be so kind? Just a quick coupla paragraphs?

TIA

TrentePieds

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Quote: "i sailed a citation irwin(not mine), one of the worst boats i have ever sailed-- in following seas of 30 ish feet height
for 80 miles from avalon to oceanside, and swear i will NEVER sail another of those.. what a handful."

Interesting :-)! Would you be kind enuff to describe in what way she was "a handful" Having read many of your posts I have no doubt that you were appropriately canvassed for the conditions. I take it you were on a broad reach as well? Were you singlehanding?

Both the 30 and the 34 look by the specs and the plans to be absolutely typical of "modern" cruising boats. You have the good fortune - or perhaps it's good taste ;-) - to be sailing a Billy Garden design, a design from which one would expect far more gentlemanly behaviour at sea, than one would from the Irwins.

I'm sure we'd all - newbs particularly - appreciate, and benefit from, a quick "compare and contrast". Would you be so kind? Just a quick coupla paragraphs?

TIA

TrentePieds

we were sailing downwind, with 30 ish ft following seas, not uncommon in pacific after the pnw storms many of which are remnants of wpac cyclonic activity.
the citation is a pooorly designed example of a coastal cruiser. sorry i willnot ever sail one again. handful--they surf for crap, handle poorly. much weather helm and squirrelishness
i have sailed many boats in many conditions--i prefer even a seidelmann 37 to a citation 37.
i have owned many different boats since i first moved on board-- but i have never owned one that handled as poorly as the citation. kept in flat water, they may be accepotable, but i choose to sail, not mollycoddle my boat
yes i cruise a garden design because i appreciate properly designed sturdy boats.
perry is also a good cruising boat designer. sailed some of his also.
i was sailing with a fair weather sailor who refused to take his own helm in the conditions in which he chose to sail. was the day after an el nino storm in pacific.

[warana08]

I have been sailing the Gulf Island, San Juan and points north and south on the west coast for many years. You are in very protected waters amongst the San Juan and Gulf Islands although a good winter gale can blow up almost anytime and in the summer you have to watch for the southern squalls. There are literally dozens upon dozens of protected anchorages and the weather forecasting is very good. If you get to the west coast of Vancouver Island and proceed north you are in open waters with a large swell. There are fewer holes to hide in should a storm blow up but again the weather forecasting is great. My husband and I have sailed for many years and only twice were we caught in a storm, 35 knots with 2 meter seas, pretty easy to handle over all. Heading down the west coast to Mexico we encountered one vicious storm just off the Straits of Juan de Fuca 35-40 knots with gusts to 50 and 4-5 meter seas. Too busy to be scared. The other storm was as we rounded Cape Mendocino but the winds weren't as vicious nor the seas. I say enjoy the ride!

[JSSailem]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

The mouth of the Columbia will kill you and so will Cape Flattery. Bring your balls. You will need them

Maybe, maybe not... If it does then you will be resting in the place (with others who tried to test their ball size) known as "The Graveyard of the Pacific"

[thomm225]

If you know sailing and have experience, it's not a question of balls.

Just saying that it takes balls seems to indicate you are scared of something (the unknown?) since many others have sailed that area and never refer to it that way.

It's all about knowing/learning the weather and conditions in the area you sail wherever that may be and being prepared