Winter sailing seattle

[Jpat14]

Hi all, I’m fairly new to sailing, i plan on buying a capable 36’ boat in Seattle in the next few weeks and taking it down to San Fransisco. I plan to have a few friends come with me. All with minimal sailboat experience but plenty of time spent on other boats. Although all that experience is east coast.
I have been reading plenty of forums and from what i can see everyone is saying going north in the winter is a terrible decision. What about heading south? I’m planning the trip with the ability to motor it the whole way. My plan was to hug the coast the whole way down and stop everywhere i can.

If anybody has done this trip in December please let me know how much life insurance to take out now.

[Stu Jackson]

You may be interested in this earlier thread:


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...re-223212.html


See my reply #10 there for where I stopped on the way coming north 3 years ago.


Life insurance? hahahahahahaha


Answer: do not try this.

[Cheechako]

I hope you get some good feedback. The Pacific coast can be deadly in Winter, but some people do it. "Graveyard of the Pacific". Available stops are minimal due to bars being unsafe to cross and take a ton of time to get in and out of for a stop. Winds of 50-70 mph are not uncommon and the resulting seas can be 20 ft or more.
Just saying ....this is a trip for the well offshore experienced in late fall, winter.

[rbk]

Take a good long look at that coast you intend to ‘hug’. Then imagine twenty foot confused seas and start to look for safe anchorages.

[senormechanico]

August, September, yes. I've done it three times to Mexico from Puget Sound. December, heck no !

[Dsanduril]

It's not as dire as all that. But it is a waiting game. That section of coast usually is, but even more so in winter. You get to Neah Bay and then you wait, and wait some more, and wait some more.

When the lows are marching across the Gulf of Alaska and landing in Haida Gwaii you'll likely have strong southerlies and big waves for the first part of the trip, which means you stay in hiding. Eventually, though, a high will form in the Gulf of Alaska. If the weather confidence is good and the prediction is for the high to remain for three days or more then it might be OK to get underway (with some safe refuges - there are only a few - pre-planned in case things deteriorate sooner than expected) . A high in the gulf will usually result in lighter winds from the north, and if it is relatively strong will push the next several lows to the north. You'll probably have some leftover seas to deal with for the first day or two, so it won't be entirely pleasant, but also not too unsafe.

The question, of course, is how long will you have to wait? Could be two days, could be a month. This is the part that usually gets people in trouble. Either a schedule drives an inopportune departure or patience wears out and does the same. If you don't have the patience and/or flexibility to wait for the right conditions then better to wait for spring when the odds improve.

I wouldn't want to attempt this without a full understanding of a the weather discussions (not forecasts) issued by the US and Canadian services. These will tell you the confidence that the meteorologists have in their forecasts and the factors affecting that confidence. Then you can evaluate on your own the reliability of the forecasts and the likelihood of a high remaining stable for long enough to get you down the coast.

Once you get past the halfway point you're much more likely to have northerly winds if weather starts to come in so you can decide if you want to continue the last couple of days or hide and wait again.

[Jim Cate]

The passage is a hazardous one, especially with a new to you boat and an inexperienced crew. There is a perceptible chance of damage to the boat, injury to the crew or even loss of boat or life.

And what is the point of buying a boat in Seattle and then moving it to SF? There are plenty of boats for sale in SF Bay area, likely better equipped for the local conditions that one outfitted in the PNW where winds tend to be less strong.

Further, your time scale is not realistic. Preparing a new to you boat for such a passage, and having enough sea time to be sure that everything on board works as expected, AND in adverse conditions isn't something that will happen in a few weeks.

In short, IMO this plan is somewhere between ill-advised and foolhardy. I would not join the crew for love nor money.

Jim

[cortezsailor]

Generally not a good idea , you will rarely have more then 48 hours between fronts . Harbour hopping this stretch will take a lot of potential time to sit out weather , plan on a month possible

[Paul L]

Do you really think this post is for real? Sounds pretty trollish to me.

[GordMay]

Greetings and belated welcome aboard the CF, Jpat.

You've received some good cautionary advice.