How Long to Sail from San Diego to Seattle ?

[scoobydoo0127]

My husband is traveling with a friend on his 48 to 58 foot boat. They are leaving on the 10th of may from San Diego California and going to Seattle Washington. They are going to be traveling at no more than 10 knots and the fuel tank is 380 gal. My question is how long should it take them to get there and will they have to make stops for fuel? Our friend has traveled the sea many times before but this is my husbands first. We are just wondering how long it may take. Thanks for taking the time to answer this for me.

[jackdale]

Generally the winds and currents are against you. In poor weather, the harbours from Cape Mendocino to Cape Flattery may be closed. They have bars that can be very nasty.

They will likely get about 2 gallons per hour. So they have about 190 hours of fuel.

The usual advise for that trip is either go to Hawaii or "truck it."

I have not made the trip; I have turned it down a few times.

You might get the weatherfax to check conditions:

Northeast Pacific WX Briefing Package

[sded]

Our friends took about 2 weeks last August in a Valiant 40 from Santa Barbara. But May and June are gale months, so ???

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by scoobydoo0127

My husband is traveling with a friend on his 48 to 58 foot boat. They are leaving on the 10th of may from San Diego California and going to Seattle Washington. They are going to be traveling at no more than 10 knots and the fuel tank is 380 gal. My question is how long should it take them to get there and will they have to make stops for fuel? Our friend has traveled the sea many times before but this is my husbands first. We are just wondering how long it may take. Thanks for taking the time to answer this for me.

One would need a lot more detail for this one.
Is it a power boat or sail?
What size of motor(s)?
Is is 48 or 58'?

But you can figure it's around 1500 Nm as the crow flys and at 10 kt that would make it 150 (\ 24 hrs = 6.25 days) hours if you were 500-800 miles off shore, but you would have to add that distance too. And if your too close to shore you would be fighting the current, so subtract about 2-3 kts unless you kick it up to 13 kt.

Boats and schedules don't jibe. There are so many variables in a long distance trip that even if you have done the trip before, the time factor/conditions could be different the next time.

[scoobydoo0127]

The boat has a motor. Im not sure the size. Ive given the best information I could. thanks for all the post and help on this. He has been gone from me for 13 days now and the boat set sail this morning. Once he gets there he will be starting his trip back home by flying to California then driving back to Oklahoma. We have never been away from each other more than a week and a half at a time. And we have been able to talk during his trip but now it looks like he does not have phone reseption. I just really miss him and want him to come home. Will you all please pray the weather is good and they have no other complications so he can get home soon? Thanks.

[Santana2]

I have a 44' CHB trawler and need to bring it down from Poulsbo, WA State to Newport Beach Calif. I am wondering what is the best month to bring it down. I was told there may be a god window in January? It has two lehman diesels and 120hp ea. I plan on traveling between 8 to 10 kts. Going down hill I think should be a pretty good trip. I hold 400 gallons of diesel. Any ideas, thanks.

[delmarrey]

I would wait until at least May. The swells out there are pretty big durning the winter months. And storms come up pretty fast offshore. You can't really depend on the weather forecasts in the winter either. They can change within hours. One hour it's almost dead calm the next it's blowing 25-30 kts.

Fortunately, the wind will be at your back and your speed will pickup with the current. Don't count on being able to go port to port. They close down the bars crossings in anything over 10', especially in Oregon.

Here's a good site to monitor the conditions>>>. Sailing Weather - Marine Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers - PassageWeather

[Santana2]

Yes thanks. I have been through many of the bars, in my commercial salmon fishing days in smaller vessel during rough weather I advise to never go over the bars unless you follow someone your first time, especially the Columbia. I plan on not going in harbors except last inlet before Calif. Better price on fuel. Not sure the best harbor to go near Calif? I plan on not being out more then 10 miles if I need to try to get out of upcoming weather which most of us know com come up fast. Going down wind will help. I had been told there could be a good 10 days window in January....? I have had to ride out some nasty weather in small vessel near a beach, anchored and motor running in gear all night and at the helm. But hoping to make the run down hill in 6 days or less. But all advice appreciated.

[i3.friend]

I am thinking about going backwards from portland to california begging of next year. In the begging of the planning stages and setting up my client base for my company.

[Roy M]

I've done it a couple times, both on 40+ foot sailboats, also at the same time, in May-early June. The easy part is travelling through Southern California, until you approach the Channel Islands. At that point you are introduced to the world beyond Point Conception. The prevailing winds along the Pacific Coast travel mostly north to south at speeds from ghosting to 35+ knots, seas mirror the wind, from flat to greater than 12 feet. Approaching Point Conception, north of Santa Barbara, you will be introduced to powerful afternoon winds in the channel. By hugging the kelp beds near the shoreline, you can avoid much of the nastiness. Spend the night at the Cojo anchorage and depart as early as possible the next morning. If you should arrive at Cojo under calm winds, then consider driving hard through to Morro Bay, or Port San Luis, to make as good time as possible. May and June are transition months, so you can get residual heavy weather blasting down from the Gulf of Alaska. When these are in effect, hang out in the harbor until there is a break, then make a dash to get as far north as possible in the calmer conditions. The further north you get, particularly north of San Francisco, pay attention to these weather shifts. Cape Mendocino is called "the Cape Horn of the Pacific" for a reason. It can be uncomfortable at times, but if you pick your departures, ensure you and the boat are prepared for rough weather, and ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE AS TO THE CLEANLINESS OF YOUR DIESEL FUEL AND FILTERS, you can treat it as an adventure.

I found that clothing plays a big part in your success. I layer, starting with REI silk long underwear. I live in these, sleep in these, and believe in these. Next, a set of polyester pile pants and jacket go next. Then, for standing those cold, wet and nasty watches, I strongly recommend the Mustang work suits, with warm gloves, balaclava cap and GOOD sea boots. I undress by sitting on the bunk, unzip the work suit and pull it down over the boot tops, like firefighters do with their outfits. When you have to get on deck quickly, you jump out of your bunk, wearing the pile pants and shirt/jacket, inserting your feet into the pant legs and boots of your outergear. One zip and you're ready. keep the gloves and cap in your pockets ready to pull on. Conventional foul weather gear is okay, I just like the comfort of the work suits for cold northern waters.

This is not great fun, but if your boat has been well prepared, if you have practiced making meals, using the "zero-gravity" toilet, become accustomed to using your electronics as efficiently as possible, and learned how to drop off to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, you will do fine. And you'll have great stories to tell afterwards, besides having real confidence in your boat and crewmembers.

[senormechanico]

I agree with Del. May is probably OK, but better as you get into summer until September.
I've done it three times. Once in May and we boogied in a Dragonfly 35 against a Southerly for two days to catch the tail of a Northwesterly. Made it in 7 days averaging 8.5 knots. Sailed 90% of the time.
The other two trips were on mono sailboats (one of them mine) in July and August.
Let's just say that going the other direction is not in my bucket list.