Long Beach To San Francisco

[Rearsteer]

Shortly we will be sailing from southern Cal to San Miguel Island and then on to Port San Luis or Morro Bay. I may head from San Miguel to Cojo and then up. I like the idea of giving Point Conception and Pt. Arguello a wide berth hence the Miguel on up shot. If the weather is bad we will lay off Miguel and wait. After San Luis, up to San Simeon, Moss Landing or Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, and then up to San Francisco. We are under no time table, so if the weather is bad we will waite it out. Thoughts, ideas? Thanks.

[Maddog]

Check the weather. Currently it blowing 30+ knts from the NNW w/ 10'+ swell. Enjoy the trip.

PS. Lay the hook at Little Scorpian at the east end of Santa Cruz. You'll be happier and maybe get some sleep.

[Bash]

My preference would be to go from Cuyler Harbor (San Miguel Island) north as far as I could get--at least to Port of San Luis or Morro Bay--without doing Cojo. Cuyler gives you the chance to get as far offshore as possible before dealing with Pt. Conception. From Cuyler, head offshore on starboard tack until you've laid Morro Bay, remembering that the current is running south 1 knot.

Better to get away from Conception than to be able to see it. Most of the folk who wait at Cojo end up motoring rather than sailing.

[Rearsteer]

Little Scorpion is a good spot but we plan on putting in at Smugglers to meet up with my son out of Ventura. Then up the back side of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa to Tyler Bight at San Miguel Island. Thanks for your thoughts, The offshore route sounds good now but… once out there plans change. Thanks.

[Maddog]

Smuggler's would be my second choice. Last time I was there, we had a pretty good wavw surge rebounding off the shore. A little farther out would have been better for us.

Not trying to scare you or talk you out fo your plans. Just keep an eye on the conditions. This is not unusal for this time of year.

Synopsis...AT 09Z...OR 2 AM PDT...A 1028 MB SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WAS CENTERED ABOUT 800 NM WEST OF POINT CONCEPTION...WHILE A 1006 MB THERMAL TROUGH WAS LOCATED OVER THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN. ACROSS THE OUTER WATERS...MODERATE TO STRONG NW FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. ACROSS THE INNER WATERS...WEAK TO MODERATE W FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY.

Today: NW wind 30 to 34 kt, with gusts as high as 45 kt. Sunny. Mixed swell...WNW 6 to 8 ft at 9 seconds and SSW 2 ft at 17 seconds. Wind waves 7 to 8 ft.

Tonight: NW wind 32 to 34 kt, with gusts as high as 40 kt. Mostly clear. Mixed swell...WNW 9 ft at 10 seconds and SSW 2 ft at 17 seconds. Wind waves around 8 ft.

Friday: NW wind 34 to 38 kt, with gusts as high as 45 kt. Sunny. Mixed swell...WNW 9 ft at 10 seconds and S 2 ft at 17 seconds. Wind waves around 8 ft.

Friday Night: NW wind 33 to 37 kt, with gusts as high as 45 kt. Mostly clear. Mixed swell...WNW 8 ft and S 3 ft. Wind waves around 8 ft.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...on=-120.497000

[Rearsteer]

We picked up our Morgan 382 and got her home. This was our first cruise north of Point Conception so that’s why I asked for info. Funny thing was we had all the bad weather down south, three days of gale winds with gust to 50 knots. The boat did great, even with me as cap. On the 29th of May we passed a sailboat race coming out of San Fran I think. It was fun seeing those guys flying down wind. The new standing rigging worked great, the 20 plus year old sails not so much. We made a repair to the main sail that saw us home. Hand stitched, but it worked.

[Realtime]

Thanks for the update, and I'm happy to hear things went well. I'm thinking about a similar trip. I'd be interested to hear what worked for you and what you'd do differently next time. A lot of people tell me sailing north along the Pacific coast is just too hard.

Bob
S/V Realtime

[sarafina]

someone on here recently offered up personal experience on making the northward journey. Maybe someone remembers it?

my recall was that he goes north west way far out and then broad reaches back to the coast. He says it's usually much easier sailing than the coastal route. I'll see if I can find it if no one else remembers it...

[Randyonr3]

Last time up, about a year ago we caught a southerly and road a tail wind and following seas to Montery.. CoJo is at conception, so if your there, your committed..
We've rounded Conception in both direction a number of time and always set the time to arrive early in the morning as the sun is comming up, and still staying a few miles off..
Odd about the California Coast, the winds uasally, and I say uasally drop in the evening and pick back up the next day.. Cant tell you how many times I've been doing a race down the coast and ran out of air off of Montery or SantaCruz in the middle of the night..

[Rearsteer]

We bought Fagan’s book for San Fran to Ensenada and a chart book to keep us out of trouble. The chart book fit’s the nav station better than rolled charts. There are a lot of off laying hazards, but Fagan’s book with the charts work good. There are good anchorages and ports to put in if you want to stop as we did. San Simeon and Carmel are both nice spots to stay on the hook. Yes, sailing the north coast of California can be harder than down south, but I have seen plenty of rough stuff in So Cal as well. If you have sailed to Catalina and or Santa Barbara Island in a small craft warning your trip up north should be fun. Know your boats capabilities as well as your own and stay within those parameters. If we always sail in smooth water we won’t know what to do when a storm comes. If you want to sail up north, do it. Stay safe, have a plan ready should things go bad. Give your through- hulls a good once over and know where your plugs are, both wood and foam. Cheers