Is 'this' Possible, or Is it Suicide ?

[coreyholmes]

I have never sailed before. I am looking to buy a 25 foot sailboat with a friend who also has never sailed before. We've been reading alot though. When we get a boat we plan to practice for about a week and then sail from San Diego to Vancouver Island, Canada.

I think I we can do it haha but I want expierienced sailers advice. Is this possible or does it sound like a suicide trip?

Thanks!

[S/V Antares]

yup... suicide, no question about it

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by coreyholmes

I have never sailed before. I am looking to buy a 25 foot sailboat with a friend who also has never sailed before. We've been reading alot though. When we get a boat we plan to practice for about a week and then sail from San Diego to Vancouver Island, Canada.

I think I we can do it haha but I want expierienced sailers advice. Is this possible or does it sound like a suicide trip?

Thanks!

If you had said you wanted to sail from San Diego to Mexico, I would have said be careful but Just Do It.

However, the sail from San Diego to Vancouver is a notoriously difficult upwind (do you know what that means??) bash. It is possible, people have done it on boats that size, it would be an epic adventure, but it sure is not the ideal first trip.

[S/V Antares]

Acctually not a problem. Put the boat on a trailer and "sail" up the coast Hwy.

Really...No joke...This is a very tough trip for very experienced crew on big boats. Pick a different venue for your introduction to sailing.

[zeehag]

you could either die or you could live. uphill in a small boat like that is very very wet trip. is also cold. you will figure it out before you go very far.
please let us know how far you get.

[Peter Colgate]

I think it's not a good idea. First learn about sailing, acquire navigation skills and try some short passages. You only live once.

[Swift Drift]

I agree with all previous responses. I will however encourage you and your friend to buy your 25 footer and work towards what you want to do. I can't guarantee you'll meet your initial goal of sailing to Vancouver (with out dying) but I can guarantee one hell of an adventure and experience pursuing and preparing.

Please don't tell me if you get enough "it's suicide" that your response will be to not buy the boat and not get into sailing. That would in fact be unfortunate.

[zeehag]

many 25 footers harbor hop northward nicely. some do not. most ar wet rides. you want to pick out places that are about 40-60 miles apart for your duck-in places for day's work resting. go from sd bay to oceanside. then go to dana point. then go to newort beach. keep going like that all the way and you wont die too dead.

[Adelie]

At the very least it's the wrong season right now.

What kind of boat do you have in mind, or did you just pick that as a size you are comfortable with, or for price?

[Hydra]

coreyholmes,
You should also consider this: how much do you value the continuation of friendship with your friend? If things go bad (not ugly, just unpleasant), are you sure that you will be able to keep your temper under control?

For this reason too, I suggest that you begin with easier cruises.

Alain

[delmarrey]

Awh! Go ahead we need another thread about someone being rescued and how dumb they were to be there in the first place.

Seriously, once you get north of SF all hell brakes loose this time of year. Not to mention you would be going up stream. You wouldn't get far. A Northern passage is recommended 200+ miles off shore.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

. . . You wouldn't get far. . . . .

I hope you all realize that if Corey is young you are probably simply goading him into doing this just to prove you wrong. The young can do anything (or die trying)

[Carl-T705]

Really now , what's the deal, If your looking for high adventure as a jumping off point into sailing, that's great but your doing it on the wrong coast. Start in FL, half the boats there are for sale. Then do the sailing / motoring thing up the East Coast ICW. Ah, that would be after learning to: raise a sail, drop an anchor, read a chart, safely pass another vessel, and 35 other tasks. You and your friend would be setting a record to prepare a boat and learn to handle it in two weeks. A 25 footer is certainly capable of sailing up the west coast if it is designed for that type of sailing.
Haven't you posed this question somewhere else as well?

[Redcoat]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

Acctually not a problem. Put the boat on a trailer and "sail" up the coast Hwy.

Really...No joke...This is a very tough trip for very experienced crew on big boats. Pick a different venue for your introduction to sailing.

Listen to a experienced cruiser. Plus it will save you thousands. Sail it from Port Townsend after you sell the trailer.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by coreyholmes

I have never sailed before. I am looking to buy a 25 foot sailboat with a friend who also has never sailed before. We've been reading alot though. When we get a boat we plan to practice for about a week and then sail from San Diego to Vancouver Island, Canada.

I think I we can do it haha but I want expierienced sailers advice. Is this possible or does it sound like a suicide trip?

Thanks!

I am almost always the, "go for it" guy.

In this case I am not. You can have lots of fun, learn a bunch and be safe in warm, temparate, protected waters with lots of options. Uphill in a big ocean at the wrong time of year can be uncomfortable at best and disastrous at worst.

There was a thread long ago of a guy who bought a cruising boat and decided to single hand to Hawaii. He made like 80 miles from the west coast before a rudder failure required a rescue and the boat was lost. He since became a credible sailor and perhaps equipment failure was his downfall but a week to practice in a boat and get ready it is not enough to know the boat and her almost sure to have shortcomings.

Is there a reason Vancouver is the destination?