Panama to San Francisco offshore non stop route

[jonbuilder]

Thank you for your clear and detailed reply Zzmeyer: I just thought Puerto Rico being a US territory a good place to refuel and provision no need to stop there I could head straight to Panama, it is a delivery my wife will be counting every day home alone I plan no stops from Panama to San Francisco when I will have plenty of sailing to weather time. Hey it is a Morris 46 a very comfortable and capable boat.

[A CheeseHead]

In June 2015, I helped sail a Stevens 50 from Cabo San Lucas north, intending to go to San Francisco. We contemplated what the Californians call the "Baja Bash", the sad duty of crew charged with returning a boat from any of the downwind races to Mexico.

I say "sad duty", because sailing N along the coastline means sailing upwind nearly all of the way, and against current. That means lots of motoring, and not many places along the way (until one gets to California) to refuel.

So we decided to do the 'clipper route', sailing SW out of Baja mostly reaching, until we got the knock and hang a right. If the circulation out in the Pacific is 'right', then (the manual says) you're good to get to San Francisco. We were five days out when the main's top panels decided they were too tired to do their job. So we turned right and sailed as close-hauled as genny & staysail would permit. Got a nice shift about 330 nm W of Isla Cedros, and flew the chute for a bit, then put in at Ensenada. Soon after we motored along the coast to Newport Beach, where we managed to find an acceptable used main.

The boat's now in Sausalito, on the market, and the owners are swallowing the anchor. The owners are good friends, former competitors of mine in the Intl. 470, people with whom I've spent the last decade, cruising from Greece to this side of the pond.

I am not ready to hang it up. Anybody needs someone who can hand, reef, and steer, who's been racing dinghies since 1967 or offshore since 1971, I'm your boy.

[ussvdharma]

Strongly suggest you consult two items....Vessel Passage Planner (VPP.COM)
and NOONSITE.COM.....if you have extra money get a copy of
British "sailing routes of the world"


STRONGLY suggest VPP.Com....it is free or I think to register is $20.oo I used it for many years cruising the south pacific. de W7KFI es 7Q7M

[J. Greg]

If you are sailing your new boat to Galveston you may want to look into having it loaded onto a flatcar and shipped by rail. While I have not confirmed this information, I have been told that, depending upon length and beam, a boat can be loaded at the docks in Houston and dropped in the water in the East Bay of SF.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by jonbuilder

I am looking at buying a morris in Maryland and sail it to San Francisco via Panama.
once through Panama seeking the best non stop route
planning on passing through Panama canal March 2021

I have little to no experience on trucking.
Going through Panama I heard is a $2000 fee, with intention going up to $3000 in 2020.

Just an idea: sail south down the North Atlantic ocean, enter the Gulf of Mexico. Haul out in Mexico and truck for cheaper.

Then decide to relaunch around Baja Calafornia, or truck across the border straight to California final destination.
Or launch just south of California border in Mexico and sail around to US. If that is a strain, sail to Houston, haul there and truck to CA as suggested by previous poster. Should be a litter cheaper.

Save a few weeks beating the Pacific conditions and the Panama fees.

[Zzmeyer]

I'd be interested in the cost of shipping a Morris 46 by truck. I researched trucking and found boats over 40 feet and 12 foot beam to be quite expensive. My first choice for a delivery would be truck if available. I did get quotes to ship my boat (a 50 foot cat with 26 foot beam), by ship from Fort Lauderdale to Ensendada (just south of San Diego) and from Goflito, Costa Rico. Much less than half from Costa Rico even though it was shipped more than half the distance. The third option is to bring it yourself, but I'd bet you find the canal fees a pittance relative to your total cost. Fuel, provisioning, repair, country fees etc can add up. Would be interested in learning from someone what their total cost was (there are some good vlogs on cost of a transit). For the transit, I believe you have to quarantine 14 days before getting measured after you arrive.

[oregonian]

Hello Jon, I did that passage non-stop, single-handed a few years ago, delivering a Westsail 32. Actually it was Costa Rica to Eureka, California. The boat was 100% stock. The passage was exactly 30 days and the distance 4000nm. My route was the classic "clipper route". I paralleled Baja, about 450 miles off. The route then turned more northerly and closed with the coast at about Cape mendocino. A longer boat, of course, should be a little less time. A different factor is that my trip was in November/December. For what it's worth, The boat had no self steering of any kind for 17 of those days. That's how long it took me to fix a broken AP. A Westsail is easy to balance though just by tying the helm. Good Luck with your adventure and let us know how it all turned out.

[Pukakai]

I have recently completed two Baja Bashes: the first began last October in Mazatlan on a Cal39 and the second started from Puerto Vallarta on an Island Packet35 this past August. I’ve also made a Hawaii to Port Townsend sail that started in September of 1999 on a Herrershoff Marco Polo 55. All three deliveries lasted about a month, partly due to mechanical problems and partly due to weather. Also, both the Bash boats had been sitting and had not been being sailed for roughly four years so lack of maintenance was the main reason for the mechanical problems. I highly recommend getting a copy of “The Baja Bash II” by Captain Jim Elfers (MANDALAY MARINE Certified Marine Surveyor For San Francisco - Alameda - and the Bay Area - HOME) as he’s had much experience delivering yachts up and down the Baja Peninsula and presents the information in a very readable and often humorous manner.

Up to date weather information played a major role in all three deliveries but in significantly different ways. For the two bashes, we were able to hunker down several times to let strong winds dissipate ahead of our route but we still had to motor sail most (90%) of the way. In the crossing from HI to Port Townsend and due to only having a VHF radio, we could only guess on the position of the Pacific high pressure area that lies off the US West Coast and was a significant factor in the abnormally long transit. We started out from Kawaihae on the NW side of the Big Island and sailed north far enough to get us above the last known position of the high pressure area. Unbeknownst to us, as we sailed north, the high press shifted to the north as well. When we turned east, we ran smack into the windless high pressure zone and had to motor to within a few hundred miles of Cape Flattery on the Olympic Peninsula. So, up to date weather data is a must so that informed decisions can be made.

And, by the way, please let me know if you need crew for your ocean delivery.

[TBW]

Originally Posted by jonbuilder

I am looking at buying a morris in Maryland and sail it to San Francisco via Panama.
once through Panama seeking the best non stop route
planning on passing through Panama canal March 2021

Jonbuilder
I have a Morris M36 in Cambridge Md. Probably too small for what you need.
I did have it trucked from Toronto to Md by a Canadian trucking company. They were first rate. If you are interested, I can look them up. Do not know how the Canadian border situation would affect their ability to move a boat in the US across the country.
All the Best
TW