Newbie emergency! 911! All captains in Newport Beach!

[kentobin]

Sailing Evening Tide: Point Conception

Sailing Adventures of s/v Talos IV: Rounding Point Conception

Tritons at sea: Point Conception: What A Drag!

Bravery At Sea: Turning Towards The Dangerous And Unexpected - gCaptain
If Santa Barbara is the American Riviera, then Point Conception is America’s Cape Horn. Alternately lashed with ferocious wind and short periods of pea-soup fog, exposed to large ocean waves and encrusted with jagged rocks, this small stretch of coast has been the setting of countless shipwrecks. This section of coastline is so dangerous in fact that its most infamous story is not that an entire squadron of navy ships wrecked here, but that the wrecks were abandoned, any salvage attempt was considered too dangerous and futile.

[Nammy]

Okay so, update! We're just coming up to long point. The boat is on a port tack and motoring at about 41/2 to 5kt. The mother has been running on fresh diesel field three days now so, I'm hoping the filters won't need changing. I filled the second tank but, I may not use it just for the reason that that tank hasn't been used in forever. The captain is okay. He went to the emergency room and, now he's home resting. We should hopefully pick up a bit more speed as we turn the boat around the point to Redondo. All will end well if I can hit the slip without removing any gell coat.. Thanks for all the help and ideas. Glad I could being you together with an old friend, Zeehag. Day four, coming up!

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[Schooner Chandlery]

Good luck to you Nammy. I've sailed or motored around Point Conception many times. Going north we pick our weather if possible. Very good sailing too. Suggest you stay further from the PC and Arguello than most people do if you're relying on the engine and haven't checked out your sailing capacity on your new boat. Of course I would have started out with the sails and made sure they were good first before the engine 😚

You can anchor in Port San Luis even in the middle of the night when you arrive there. Suggest you do the straight through as Ann Cate suggested if you can though.

Too bad you're not going to sail around the Channel Islands a bit first to enjoy and learn the boat before heading to Morro Bay. Hope you'll take the time to do so or come back down soon.


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[Calif.Ted]

There's a loose wire in the engine room that kills everythin when it comes disconnecred, the regulator of for the alternator keeps letting the charge run wild, the windlass breaker went last night(that anchor is a heavy bitch!), it's running rich, the dingy is hilarious, and, the dingy motor is a no go with one oar... I feel brave and stupid at the same time.

At my ancient age I might be having some minor chest pains myself on your boat worrying the little stuff, but what's the worst that could happen ? Even if the Point lives up to it's name you reduce sail and retreat. Kinda general weather rule on central coast this time of year is "Three days of nice weather then a 24 to 48 hr blow".

[thruska]

Hello Nammy, best of luck to you!
Glad to hear the Captain is ok.
Sounds like you are doing fine, in spite of your "dilemma".
Your having a first mate to cook does help take the edge off, I know.
Please keep us posted, as to your progress and completion.
Fair sailing...

[donradcliffe]

Last year I helped deliver a W32 from Channel Islands to Moss Landing. The boat was new to the skipper, but he had just put a new Beta engine in which worked a treat. We waited 3 weeks for the right weather forecast, and were able to average 5 knots over the whole trip (never turned the engine off, and had a double-reefed main up for stability.

The new owner had only had the boat out 2 or 3 times before we left, and had become very nervous about docking the boat. I taught him that at low speeds the boat turns only when the forward prop wash hits the rudder, and the rudder doesn't do anything in reverse. Thus the way to maneuver is a burst of forward power with the rudder hard over to turn, then a burst of reverse to stop (leaving the rudder unchanged). He got the concept, and by the end of the summer he was happily going in and out of a tight docking situation. Of course the time to practice these maneuvers is when you are away from anything solid.

The boat is a tank with very square bows, and even a small head sea will stop it in its tracks. When we left Channel Islands in the afternoon, there was about 15-20k of headwind, and the boat was averaging less than 2k at full throttle. We worked our way over right next to the Santa Barbara coastline, and by evening the wind had died and were making good progress (6k with a knot of current behind us). The whole trip took about 48 hours, which is a bit over twice what it should take you to go from Santa Barbara to Morro Bay.

Looking at Sailflow for Pt Arguello, there is no weather window for rounding Conception before next Monday (there is tonight, but you aren't there). So work your way up to Santa Barbara and sort out some of the boat issues. If you run into some wind and waves getting there, you may be able to tell if the GF is an asset or a liability (gets seasick) before you go around the corner.

Does the boat have a working autopilot and a dodger?? If it doesn't, you are likely going to have to pay the delivery crew.

Plan on leaving Santa Barbara about sundown on a night when the Arguello forecast is for peak winds of less than 15k the next day. If you look at the hourly forecast on Sailflow, the minimum winds are between 5 am and 10 am and the maximum are between 4 pm and 3 am.

If the engine quits, go back. You will make less than 25 miles a day to weather in a W32, and any sane GF will leave you.

Have a great trip!

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by kentobin

Sailing Evening Tide: Point Conception

Sailing Adventures of s/v Talos IV: Rounding Point Conception

Tritons at sea: Point Conception: What A Drag!

Bravery At Sea: Turning Towards The Dangerous And Unexpected - gCaptain
If Santa Barbara is the American Riviera, then Point Conception is America’s Cape Horn. Alternately lashed with ferocious wind and short periods of pea-soup fog, exposed to large ocean waves and encrusted with jagged rocks, this small stretch of coast has been the setting of countless shipwrecks. This section of coastline is so dangerous in fact that its most infamous story is not that an entire squadron of navy ships wrecked here, but that the wrecks were abandoned, any salvage attempt was considered too dangerous and futile.

Seems a tad dramatic.

Oh another heads up, nothing major but I have found going around Point Dume to Point Mugu there can be a northerly current along the shore of as much as a knot or so at times, you can avoid it going out a bit. here's another interesting site to bookmark,
http://hfradar.msi.ucsb.edu/realtime/index.php

[buzzstar]

Not dramatic in my opinion. Just accurate. Can also be beautiful, sleek, and smooth, sort of like you might find a momentarily happy tiger.

BTW, the train wreck of destroyers really did occur.

Just remembered, to OP: do not forget to contact PLEAD control re Vandenberg -at least I think it still operates.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

Not dramatic in my opinion. Just accurate. Can also be beautiful, sleek, and smooth, sort of like you might find a momentarily happy tiger.

BTW, the train wreck of destroyers really did occur.

Just remembered, to OP: do not forget to contact PLEAD control re Vandenberg -at least I think it still operates.

Well, yes they did run aground but as I recall it was due to a navigational error and fog and going 20 knots at the time. In any event it's an interesting place.

[zeehag]

nammy you will do fine..just dont be too close to shore-- is choppy. the southerly drift is 1-4 kts depending on locale.
make sure your weather is good for ye--- passage weather works.
keep us posted

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by JD-MDR

isn't that where the surfers hang out? I saw a bunch of small motor boats anchored there . I went up to Government point and felt much safer.There were several larger boats and some gov't mooring bouys. It was easy to find in the fog just about 1 mi or less east of the light house.

Yes, you are right, I've anchored there too, but the swells seem to bend around the point there but then peter out down by where the culvert is on the beach sometimes... in any case, the guide book (Brian Fagan) recommends off the culvert spot. Oh speaking of GF and seasickness, quick story, once, some years ago, coming down the coast in my little Columbia 24 I got there in the afternoon and, true to form, it was windy and seas were steep, breaking and doing a potato patch thing there for a few miles. Cojo was only a couple miles ahead and I was having fun scudding down the waves but my poor girlfriend was in the v-berth not feeling well. In the maelstrom a humpback whale surfaced close by. It was an amazing and stunning sight to see that big glistening black whale back rise up out of those waves and then disappear. Never seen that before or since. I hooted and hollered but she was even too sick to come up to see that and she was a whale fanatic. Great day for me though, one I'll never forget.

[JD-MDR]

I'm gong up there soon in a week or three. I'll try the culvert spot.I'm waiting for A NEW TILLER PLOT THE RAYMARINE ST 2000 LASTED THREE YEARS AND BROKE SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER ONE LAST MAY AND IT ALREADY BROKE. Warranty's gonna send a new one. I'm wondering if anyone else has a problem with that unit. I had it installed by the dealer so I don't think that is a problem

[Don C L]

So I just took the kids for a camping trip up at Gaviota 2 nights ago. Turns out the pier is still closed so if you were going to pick someone up there you'd need to use the dinghy, which is easy. Weather has been calm and swells small. Afternoon breeze there was W-NW 10-15, at night N 5-10 and by morning S at 5 or so, pretty typical for summer. Anchoring off pier is fine even though it may feel a bit exposed. Your boat would be fine, I'd pull out the flopper stopper for mine.

[yachtcowboy]

Hi Nammy,
Great advice from everyone. I just made the trip from N.B. To Sausalito. We were ( 2 guys) in my buddies 80 Cheoy Lee MY. We were in fog from about Point Buchan north, especially at night. We rounded Conception and Arguello between 0200 and 0400, calm but foggy. We were making a bigger wake at 12 knots than was out there all the way to Sausalito. I have made the trip past PC and Arg. 37 times in my sailing career. Nothing to trifle with, so stop for a few days and as the kids say get your s--t together. Spend time learning your engine space and all your thruhulls, I remember that WS has so hidden thruhulls. Check your ground tackle, buy an iPad with Navionics and a waterproof case, we had mine aboard and it was better/ as good as the brand new Furuno chart plotter. Install a 12 VDC outlet/ cigarette lighter in the companionway iPads are power hungry and you don't want it out of juice going into Morro Bay.
Enjoy the ride, stop at Coho and wait until you don't see white water up by the point. Leave the anchorage at 0100 to 0430 and motors ail up and away from Arg. Then enjoy the ride to Morro Bay and have a drink at the Morro Bay Yacht Club, the bar is 1/2 of a Rhodes 19.
All the best, don't forget; the most dangerous thing on a boat is a SCHEDULE.

[Nammy]

Well, I made it! Conception lived up to her reputation! I saw 9kts close hauled in the middle of the night! In San Luis now. Lost the engine 5 miles out. I am now a qualified sailor!

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