Made it to San Fran. Is it to Late ?

[LucasM]

Well here is my situation, definetly looking for some advice.

Iam a Canadian citizen with a Canadian registered vessel and just arrived in San Fransisco from Vancouver Island on route to Mexico. Or so I thought, I spent the summer sailing around Vancouver Island and have lived and cruised on the boat for four years now. I feel like I'm satisfied with my boating stage of life for the time being. The 9 day solo passage to SF was memerable and i am glad I did it. To continue further south i just dont think I can handle the expenses anymore. Over the last four years i have spent countless hours and well over $80,000 to get the boat in such good shape,she is a dream out there in the open water and i know i will miss her very much but i think its time to cash in my chips. Not sure what to do now. Can I even sell her here in the US? Is the boat market better back in Canada? (I would have to ship it by truck. not going to motor up coast into headwind for two weeks) I would like to keep sailing down to San Diego but feel I would just be getting farther from the Shipping back home option.

[John A]

It's terribly hard for me to suggest life choices for another. How old are you? Are you sailing solo? What type boat? It truly saddens me to see someone else's dreams end.
To answer your question - there are more boat buyers in California NS MORE IN SOUTHREN cAL THAN cANADA.
Best of luck

[highseas]

Lucas,how much did you spend on your 9 day trip south?You don't set off for Mexico without careful planning and some finances in place.Getting boat back from the south is no easy task.If you get your boat to Mexico you can store on the hard for $120. per month.Oh yeah,congratulations on your solo sail on the open ocean.

[highseas]

If it was the weather that has turned you off,don't get discouraged.The west coast north of San Fran. is some of the toughest you will experience,it gets better.Many circumnavigators have said the leg south from PNW was worst weather of entire trip.There are many places to anchor for free in SouthernCal. and wait out hurricane season.If you can sail to S.F. you can make it to Hawaii.Figure out how to survive the winter in Mex. and sail home next spring.

[LucasM]

I guess some detail would be helpfull.
I would consider my trip thus far to well researched and funded on an aververge budget. I come from a strong nautical background and have been cruising the challenging coastal and offshore waters of the PNW since I was a small child. Altough I have learned much in the last few years I do not feel my endeavours to have been brash or careless thus far. I think like many others I got swept up by the call of further horizons and the desire to explore new cruising grounds. To continue this trip is within my financial means. I think at this stage I'm more tempted by the collateral of the boat itself and the new possibilities that provides then any thing else. I am a solo sailor but do have a lovely and patient wife at home who would join me once the boats arrives in more settled waters down south. Shes no fool about the Oregon coast and decided to pass on this leg. I'm glad she did, gale force winds were a true challenge for several days getting around Cape Mendicino. (60-70nm offshore)

I hope to brainstorm with my fellow cruising community about this lifestyle we all seem so drawn to.
When is it time to explore new avenues in life? For some never, for others cruising is just a dream that nips at us our whole lives until we sell everthing we own and just do it! I will never regret my time on the water and selling the boat doesn't mean its all over, I think I just need a break. Perhaps this perspective can be of some value to new and aspiring cruisers.

So far the plan is to Sail to San Diego and leave the boat with a Yacht Broker down there. She is a beautiful cruising boat and perhaps someone elses ticket to there dreams. A real turn key with all the cruising extras that destroy so many peoples cruising kittys trying to get under way.

Continued thoughts would be much welcomed.

[LucasM]

highseas; a seperate post about "the cape horn of the north" is soon to come. I have been in some rough weather near the Queen Charlotte Islands, but WOW did I ever take a beating out there. As usual a well built boat is stronger then a well built sailor. A truley humbling experience. Part of me loved it, the other part just endured it.

[highseas]

Your voyage has just begun.Cape Mendocino gave me a good spanking also,40 to 50 kn. for 16 hrs.The boat market being what it is these days selling will be tough.I would still sail to Mex. and try to sell there. The moorage rates in Cal. are steep and could break the bank quickly.Boats are selling there and prices are comparable.

[DeepFrz]

Why not relax for a few weeks, maybe spend some time home with the wife and then make a decision. When you are tired and feeling a little beat up isn't the time to make a decision of this magnitude, IMHO.

[SkiprJohn]

Although some may disagree with me but I would say if you are intent on selling the boat my experience from looking at ads for years is that you will get a better price in the Puget Sound or in San Francisco than anywhere else on the west coast. The further south you venture the cheaper boats are selling for and Mexico will be a hard sell. Don't try to sell a boat in Hawaii either. Tough to get much money here for anything in this economy.
It's a tough decision. I had to make the same one many years ago when my Navy ship took me to the east coast and my wood boat was in Seattle. I still have many sorrowfull thoughts about that.
kindest regards,

[terminalcitygrl]

Wow, your boat sure is yellow! I think like many others you may want to rest and/or visit home for a bit before making a big decision. If you do decide to sell, we might be interested in hearing more about her, seeing some interior pics and her price.

[jeremiason]

If you are in San Francisco call Farallone Yahcts in Alameda and ask for Dinah Goodsell. She can advise you the best way to sell your boat and if it is better to sail south or not. She is great with free advice!

The problem with moving further south is there are more boats down there and consequently more on the market in Southern California than SF. Also the slip fees are double what they are in San Francisco.

[Charlie]

San Francisco Bay is a pretty good place to sail. You could leave it there for awhile and then sail out of SF. Problem with it is that it is windy and cold so the wife might not enjoy it. Ventura is the next place down the coast that I can recommend for good sailing weather and a place to find a slip. San Diego and Ensenada are two other good places where the wife would enjoy boating. If you can get the boat to La Paz the Sea of Cortez is a great place to introduce the wife to boating. If you are done with it get on the market and be done ASAP.

[senormechanico]

I've done the trip from Puget Sound to Mexico, then to Newport Beach California twice.First time around Mendocino was out there like you 60 miles or so.
It took forever in confused seas.
Both of the other trips we cut the corner at Mendocino just a few miles off.
It was still a bit hairy, but quickly over with the nasty seas.
The farther south you get, the better the conditions, especially after rounding Point Conception. All of a sudden, it's warmer and a lot more mellow sailing.
Moorage rates in Newport Beach are through the roof, there's not much you can do but daysail or go to the Channel Islands.

Mexico would be my choice if I were you.
As long as you don't hang out in marinas, you can live cheaply and have fun in the sun at the same time.
Leave the boat on the hard in San Carlos, Sonora for the hurricane season, return to Canada for the summer. Take a break from the boat, and enjoy the best of both worlds.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Charlie

San Francisco Bay is a pretty good place to sail. Problem with it is that it is windy and cold so the wife might not enjoy it.

Yesterday, it was a windy, chilly 60-degrees.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by LucasM

Not sure what to do now. Can I even sell her here in the US? Is the boat market better back in Canada? (I would have to ship it by truck. not going to motor up coast into headwind for two weeks) I would like to keep sailing down to San Diego but feel I would just be getting farther from the Shipping back home option.

If you have sailed and cared for the boat for 4 years you know what it costs to store and take care of it - local variations in costs aside.

You are tired and beat up. Take a short break - maybe there are reasonably priced places to leave the boat up in the delta as opposed to the bay.

You have $80k in the boat, if the decision to sell the boat sticks after a break sell it where it is. Tons of cruising boats are sold on countries other than the flag countries. Brokers know how to do this.

As others have said, head south. The "hardest" part is done for now.

I met a young cruising couple that basically got 3 months off a year. They bunny hopped their boat over a number of years from Seattle, down to Galapagos and across the pacific. Leaving the boat for up to 9 months at a time.