Best Year-Round Cruising - US / Caribbean

[zeehag]

you are in commercial basin, aka ac harbor? so protected you canno tfeel wind nor seas. 2 point moorings. the rest of the world in sd is a lot different than ac harbor. is a lot different. moor in coronado for a gooood el nino winter. or on shelter island roadstead.
IF you are on a mooring, then you KNOW the moorings are repaired regularly and lines are provided for the boats moored, and therefore should have not written slander of boats on moorings.
i am not angry, i am flustrated that you , allegedly living in sd, and allegedly a sailor, do not have a clue as to the weather.
rainy season begins end december. ends end february, sometimes into march.
please.
is funny how newbies to kali alw2ays swim or sail in el niono years in feb or whatever winter month has a day of wasrmth , then brag to all ther ei year round XXXX when there truly is not. stick around for the weather patterns, before you open mouth., you aint seen nothing yet. i lived there from 1995-2011. i still have a boat there.
the op was asking about perfect year round sailing-- san diego has not that.,

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by zeehag

you are in commercial basin, aka ac harbor? so protected you canno tfeel wind nor seas. 2 point moorings. the rest of the world in sd is a lot different than ac harbor. is a lot different. moor in coronado for a gooood el nino winter. or on shelter island roadstead.
IF you are on a mooring, then you KNOW the moorings are repaired regularly and lines are provided for the boats moored, and therefore should have not written slander of boats on moorings.
i am not angry, i am flustrated that you , allegedly living in sd, and allegedly a sailor, do not have a clue as to the weather.
please.

I'm sorry for flustering you. I have lived in San Diego Harbor in a few different places and I have indeed experienced weather, both nice and not nice there, and in other places. It seems like a relatively nice place with relatively mild winters compared to the rest of the world. That's all I'm sayin!

I hope where you are has even nicer winters than in San Diego. Everyone knows that no winter is the best kind of winter.

[zeehag]

stick around for the storms, you will learn fast.
am in transit to panama then caribean and gulf of mexico.

[Agility]

So from what I've heard my two best options are Curacao Marine in the ABC's and Shelter Bay Marina in Panama. Anyone else have comments about those two marina's and cruising grounds.

I had been planning on San Diego but for some reason just can't get excited about the cruising ground. We can get a slip close to the Channel islands but I fear that it doesn't quite have enough interest to keep us coming back for more of the same. Also, once there it's a long way to another tropical ground.

The PNW area is a place we really want to go someday but I don't think the cruising season is long enough and the admiral get's grumpy with cold and wet. We like it hot and sweaty.

Tampa Bay sounds much more interesting than I remember but unless we want to register the boat there anyway it's prohibitively expensive.

I heard someone say Hawaii but from what I've read they just aren't very boat/marina friendly, very expensive and not a great gunk-holing local. Plus, it just a little too far. I want to be able to fly their easily.

Am I missing something? If I cast a wider net, is there another great year round location? I think the Med is too cold in the winter, the South Pacific has Cyclones and Asia is ??? Come to think of it, I know nothing about SE Asia.

This thread makes me appreciate the Sea of Cortez but we do have an insatiable cruiser's wonderlust.

[markpierce]

For all-year-round weather it's hard to beat San Francisco Bay and its connecting waters.



Although the PNW has many more miles of protected waters it would be uncomfortable in an open cockpit for much/most of the year.

[Agility]

Originally Posted by markpierce

For all-year-round weather it's hard to beat San Francisco Bay and its connecting waters.

Where do you go gunkholing in the bay area?

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Agility

Where do you go gunkholing in the bay area?

In the immediate SF Bay there are anchorages at Richardson Bay, several at Angel Island and the Tiburon Peninsula, and more. There are the Petaluma and Napa rivers, and the hundreds of miles of rivers, sloughs, and channels in the Delta all the way to Stockton and Sacramento and beyond.

[zeehag]

sea of cortez is a great beginning point... as is san diego-- but these places also encourage the wanderlust, as there really is no perfect cruising ground for year round cruising that i have seen so far. start in sd, sail southward and find places that are unique and different and fun to explore.
i havent gone up the sea of cortez--not certain i will, although there are some really good places to hang and discover and provision.
there are points south that have beauty and great weather. hurrycames only come in the HOT season, so is easy to avoid em-- just sail someplace they arent coming into.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Agility

Am I missing something?

Well Brazil seems to meet all your needs hot and decent cruising and no hurricanes.

Thailand comes quite close. It does get cyclones but lots of boats stay year around.

North Island (Bay of islands) of New Zealand is semi tropical with decent cruising year around.

[Dkdoyle]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

Well Brazil seems to meet all your needs hot and decent cruising and no hurricanes.

Thailand comes quite close. It does get cyclones but lots of boats stay year around.

North Island (Bay of islands) of New Zealand is semi tropical with decent cruising year around.

From first post:
find a place (marina/city) in the US/Central America/Carib

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Dkdoyle

From first post:
find a place (marina/city) in the US/Central America/Carib

if there were only ONE place, then everyone would be there and would no longer be best, now, would it.......

[Agility]

Originally Posted by zeehag

if there were only ONE place, then everyone would be there and would no longer be best, now, would it.......

I totally agree. I've been throughout the Caribbean and Med and loved them both. I'm really just looking for the NEXT Best cruising ground that I don't have to move the boat from too quickly since I don't get on the boat as ofter as I like.

[zeehag]

do the mexican riviera, here on pacific side--mazatlan is a good hurrycame hole, and there truly is sailing here all year round. life is good... marina is cheaper in summer -- and a/c is affordable, and only temporary....up into puerto vallarta, there is a good hidey hole, if you enjoy spending many many dollars....marina maz is good, pricing is good, shopping for provisions is right here with better prices than the bigger store one must ride a bus to get to, and .....

i swarez it aint cold.

[markpierce]

Why don't more people post/share pictures of their favorite cruising waters? People talk about going to exotic/interesting locations, but don't share evidence. Are they "for real"?

San Francisco (Sept. 12 2011), all-year sailing:



Cape Horn (January 2009 -Southern Hemisphere summer), not year-round sailing:

[imagine2frolic]

I post them all the time, and have a galllery. The S.F Bay is a great sailing venue, but as far as gunkholing it lacks what most are looking for. White sandy beaches, gin clear water, and great snorkeling & diving.

Angel Island is a fantastic place, but it cost money to take a mooring, and no anchoring unless you want the swells of the east side, and freighters. Summer is cold, and winter can be awful wet & cold. Although some of the nicest sailing is a sunny winter day. With that all typed I can't wait to sail back under the gate, and get in some sailing there on Imagine........i2f