Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 21-09-2020, 16:32   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Southern California
Boat: Maple Leaf 48
Posts: 9
Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

Hi folks,

I have an offer in on a boat in Southern California. The boat is 50', we want to move the whole family aboard with three kids and start cruising. The plan is to then hang out in California till May 2021, or when ever COVID is over and we can head south. Up till when we head south my hope is to hop from harbor to harbor and cruise around between San Diego and San Francisco. I'm planning on continuing to work remote till May, so ideally we are within cell reception and stay 10-14 days per location. I can use PTO time if there's a weather window to move ports.

Is hopping around for 7 months in Southern California even possibly or should I be looking at getting a permanent slip?


Note: I've sailed Marina Del Rey to SF before, so I know we'll be having fun going past Point Conception in the winter, so likely the cruising area is San Diego to Santa Barbara unless there's a really great weather window....
RobertAB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-09-2020, 17:02   #2
Moderator Emeritus
 
roverhi's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Carlsbad, CA
Boat: 1976 Sabre 28-2
Posts: 7,505
Send a message via Yahoo to roverhi
Re: Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

We did it years ago bouncing from Newport, Long Beach, Ventura, MDR, Anchored out in Catalina and one of the Channel Islands, Dana Point, Oceanside, Mission Bay before leaving for SoPac. It was a combination of guest slips and sub leases for the marinas. Longest stay was 3 months in Mission Bay and Long Beach on sub leases. If you are going to use guest slips it can get pretty pricey. Anchoring wasn't good for long periods because of weather in the winter. It would be a lot easier if you could find a permanent slip but that will put you at the mercy of availability.
__________________
Peter O.
'Ae'a, Pearson 35
'Ms American Pie', Sabre 28 Mark II
roverhi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-09-2020, 17:04   #3
Registered User
 
Lost Horizons's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Seattle, WA
Boat: Island Packet 349
Posts: 671
Re: Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

San Diego used to have time restrictions on how long you can remain anchored. Likely, still do. I would get a slip. LA area should be more realistic than SD availability wise. Note that a hurricane season starts in June; may not be a good idea to go South before November or so.
Lost Horizons is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-09-2020, 09:56   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Southern California
Boat: Maple Leaf 48
Posts: 9
Re: Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

Thanks roverhi! Thats a great list of ports. I just ordered a cruising guide book to get a list of places to consider. I'll call the ones you listed out to see what their availability is. I had never thought of long term sub leases. How would you even find something like that? Walk the docks?

A couple of the ones I've called so far don't have guest slips currently. They said boats that normally go south to Mexico haven't due to COVID.

I'm not too worried about price, just about anything is cheaper than my current rent. Once I quit work I'll for sure be focusing on anchoring, but its not necessary yet.
RobertAB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-09-2020, 10:36   #5
Registered User
 
Tayana42's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Boat: Tayana Vancouver 42
Posts: 2,804
Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

We did just that for three years starting in 2013. We spent about half of that time on anchor and the rest on moorings or in slips. We enjoyed time in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard/Chanel Islands, Paradise Cove, various coves around Catalina Island, Marina Del Rey, Kings Harbor/Redondo Beach, San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport Beach, Dana Point, Oceanside, Mission Bay, San Diego, Glorietta Bay and Chula Vista. Anchoring is limited in many places. Often restricted to three days. The trickiest and most enforced rules are for Mission Bay and the various coves in San Diego. Check with the harbor police there for current rules and for permitting. Transient slips are often available but may require reservations and can get expensive. Even moorings can be costly. Don’t call yourself live aboard. Instead refer to yourself as transient or in transit. If you are a yacht club member limited reciprocal docking may be available at some clubs.

One suggestion for a cruising guide is Charlie's Charts: U.S. Pacific Coast.
Tayana42 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-09-2020, 21:16   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Bellingham
Boat: Outbound 44
Posts: 9,319
Re: Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

Planning to leave from southern Cal for Mexico in May is not that practical. That puts you into the start of hurricane season. Nov is the typical exit month.

The winter rates for moorings on Catalina Island are reasonable.
__________________
Paul
Paul L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-09-2020, 21:45   #7
So many boats, so little time.

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Channel Islands Harbor, California, USA
Boat: FYC Club boats, 22 to 40.
Posts: 162
Images: 1
Re: Harbor Hop in Southern California for 7 Months

You'll find 50 foot slips are getting rarer. Newport harbor has moorings, is very central.

Otherwise Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard is about the cheapest in SoCal. There were a few 50's available but they may have filled up. It's also the gateway to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, a national park with many anchorages and no time restrictions. See Brian Fagan's cruising guide to Central and Southern California.

Check on the Peninsula Yacht Marina. 3700 Peninsula Drive, Oxnard, CA 93035

Big Advantage for you: the ownership runs a number of marinas throughout Cali and has free guest slips at each marina for tenants of their other marinas, although 40 ft max be the limit. Otherwise might be ideal for you.
td0tz is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cal, california

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What months are the best months/weather windows to sail from Hawaii to Philippines zUrchin Navigation 48 20-10-2012 16:00
Seven months Cruising and Five Months Working ozmike General Sailing Forum 2 04-05-2011 05:53
Looking to Hop Aboard . . . jhchoate Meets & Greets 2 07-10-2010 18:45
Work 6 Months, Sail 6 Months - S-Corp Jcody2121 Boat Ownership & Making a Living 15 16-09-2009 05:43

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:45.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.