San Diego to San Francisco

[Don C L]

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Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Threads that are helpful to trip planning

[gamayun]

I made that trip once now. A friend with good weather skills helped call it for me. It turned out to be flat calm around Pt Conception around 7 AM when we came up to it from Santa Barbara and even flew the spinnaker for a bit onnourbnext stop to Half Moon Bay. Everyone had told me to either trailer my 10-ton boat or take it to Hawaii first to do the Clipper Route. The rest told me how Pt Conception nearly killed them. Only one person said it had been a great trip for her. I guess we were the two lucky ones [emoji6] just do your due diligence on weather and equipment and be willing to turn back, if necessary, to try again if you're not making headway. It's a sailboat after all. Just be hyper aware of the potential hazards and have a bail out plan in your back pocket because I've also salvaged parts on a couple boats that never made it and had to be sawzall'd in tiny pieces to get them off the beaches...

[dhillstrom]

I think your new sailboat should sail through the Golden Gate from the West, rather than arrive in the Bay Area on the back of a truck.

The first thing you should do is sail her in Southern California waters and determine her sailing characteristics. How high can you point? How much chop can she handle? Do you feel comfortable on board when going to windward?

The trip along the California coast is upwind and against the current, making it a very long voyage. It is grueling. Some would call it miserable, but that is a matter of attitude. As an experienced sailor, you know what you like.

Break it up into multiple legs, as many as you wish. Do it on weekends and take the whole summer, if necessary. The longest legs are Santa Barbara to Morro Bay, and Morro Bay to Monterey. For those legs, plan to motor-sail through the night, which is when you are most likely to find light air and flatter seas.

If you get into an unexpected blow with a nasty chop and find yourself unable to make headway, you can always drop back to the nearest harbor South of your position.

Here's another thought: Sail her as far north as Santa Barbara or Ventura, and then decide whether you want to continue on the water for the much more vigorous portion of the trip. Happy sailing!

[Whosails]

Try to find a trucker that is doing a return to his home station. They are usually pretty happy to have something on the trailer to take back with them. They will charge you less for the trip.

[seaamigo]

Just a few questions. Was your boat home built or factory? If home built how good of workmanship? Running gear and sail condition? What is your navigation and communication equipment and skill level using it? Radar? The shipping folks aren’t always on the lookout and there are a lot of them out there! Do you have someone who could help crew with you? Meteorological experience? Like an instrument pilot you may be sailing on gauges in the dark or fog. How is your health? If you are blown off shore and cannot get in can you stay alert 24 to 48 hours without sleep? North of Point Conception can be nasty at anytime. I’ve made several northbound trips to Eureka and have spent hours motoring into head winds/seas and gone nowhere. Lots of gas onboard for the outboard...? In my opinion, if you value your life and your crew mates, any offshore point to point voyage on the California coast requires as much preparation, experience and skill as a circumnavigation.
If you bought the boat to sail on SF bay and are not comfortable sailing offshore, then my recommendation is to find someone who will rent you an appropriate trailer. You can rent a truck that will handle the weight. It seems that you can do both for a few hundred dollars and a round trip.
PS: I have seen the British Admiralty charts going back to the 1800’s and it is Cape Mendocino that is referred to as the Cape Horn of the North.

[NavPak ECS]

Somebody here mentioned the Clipper Route, and that would be my strategy. I have a 24' gaff rigged sloop. It actually does fairly well to windward, because I had the mainsail cut for windward performance. Also it is light construction with a high ballast to displacement ratio. These attributes help to windward. Also I keep the decks clear, and stow heavy things like anchors and chain low and near amidships.

When I first launched the boat, I put on a long shaft Seagull out board on a lift bracket. That was completely useless in any kind of a chop, so it was only good for maneuvering around the bay. After floundering around in that for a year or two, I installed a diesel inboard. I used a slim 2 bladed sailing prop, so the performance under power in a chop was still not so good, but more importantly I was able to eliminate that weight hanging off the stern, so the windward performance noticeably improved.

When I installed the diesel, I also built a self-steering wind vane and learned how to use it. I'm now so spoiled by the wind vane that I would not want to go anywhere without it. If there is enough wind to sail, then there is enough wind for the wind vane to work, so I only hand steer while under power. After playing around with the wind vane for a couple of years, I added about 2 feet to the bow spirit, and now she sails and self steers much better in a wider spectrum of wind speeds.

Having said all that, I would not hesitate to sail it from SD to SF. I have done much longer windward passages.

In summary, I would do it in a boat that has an inboard, or no engine, good self steering, plenty of supplies, books, DVDs, celestial navigation equipment and plenty of time. Also check Pilot charts for shipping lanes, then Just tack offshore.

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Is that what you really meant?


And it's not the weather, it's the sea state. The weather and wind could be gone and the Potato Patch and southern bar can still be knarly up to a few days later

On my last sail south cut the turn too close after leaving the Gate. Relatively easy sailing, no reefs, 130 genoa, wind out of the NW and no big ocean swells. Thought I was well offshore to make the turn out of the shipping channel though eyeballed it and wasn't't paying attention to the channel buoys. Out of nowhere was hit by breaking vertical 10' plus seas the would have rolled the boat if taken on the beam. Fortunately was able to head up into the waves and just got wet. It was a very small patch of dangerous conditions but definitely scary as I've never been in steep breaking seas like those before. No matter how benign conditions going in or out the Gate stay well offshore before turning into the ship channel. Seems like every year a boat gets in this patch of crap and sinks.

[Stu Jackson]

Very good advice, also echoed in Kimball Livingston's Sailing The Bay, an excellent book which the OP ought to have for when he does get to SF!

Originally Posted by roverhi

On my last sail south cut the turn too close after leaving the Gate. Relatively easy sailing, no reefs, 130 genoa, wind out of the NW and no big ocean swells. Thought I was well offshore to make the turn out of the shipping channel though eyeballed it and wasn't't paying attention to the channel buoys. Out of nowhere was hit by breaking vertical 10' plus seas the would have rolled the boat if taken on the beam. Fortunately was able to head up into the waves and just got wet. It was a very small patch of dangerous conditions but definitely scary as I've never been in steep breaking seas like those before. No matter how benign conditions going in or out the Gate stay well offshore before turning into the ship channel. Seems like every year a boat gets in this patch of crap and sinks.

[JPA Cate]

Wind against the tide and leftover swells, less wind than sea. Yuck.

Ann

[Buzzman]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Details for Flicka Flicka Trailer

OK, so SD to SF is 500-ish miles. That's around 10 hours non-stop or, with traffic etc, call it a weekend.

Buy that trailer in the post above for $2200, spend $500 on fuel, food and a motel overnight, and get the boat home for less than $3K in two days.

Borrow a pick-up if you don't own one. Pay a friend a cuppla hundred on top of fuel to do the tow with you if you cna't find someone to loan you a truck. Someone, somewhere, would do it for a cuppla hundred over fuel. And you'd probably still be inside $3K. And own a trailer to keep it on into the bargain.

Big advantage (esp if you own or are willing to buy) a pickup is that the boat can live on your driveway, not in an expensive marina. Maybe drop it in for the sailing season over summer and then haul it home and save boat bucks on unnecessary marina fees rest of the year.

The cost of the trailer would be amortised in those savings in a year or two.

It's a no-brainer. Trailer it.

[Jim Cate]

Somebody here mentioned the Clipper Route, and that would be my strategy

Umm... we are talking to and about a chap who has just bought a boat, unfamiliar to him and with no known self steering system. He is inexperienced and unsure of himself, to the point that he seeks advice about what is an upwind but coastal passage with anchorages scattered along the way and places with services nearby.

And you think he should take off on what would end up being a ~5000 mile ocean passage? I think not...

Jim

[JPA Cate]

Just to remind everybody, we're talking a twenty foot Flicka, here, with a shorter waterline, which severely limits hull speed, with an outboard of unknown antiquity, and the need to store the fuel and oil for the o/b. The OP has little experience with the vessel, and limited time.

He could truck the boat to Half Moon Bay, launch there, and have the sailing into SF under the GG bridge experience. Wonder how long that would take in benign conditions, sailing, or even motor sailing? and how much fuel?

Ann

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

1. Just to remind everybody, we're talking a twenty foot Flicka, here, with a shorter waterline, which severely limits hull speed, with an outboard of unknown antiquity, and the need to store the fuel and oil for the o/b. The OP has little experience with the vessel, and limited time.

2. He could truck the boat to Half Moon Bay, launch there, and have the sailing into SF under the GG bridge experience. Wonder how long that would take in benign conditions, sailing, or even motor sailing? and how much fuel?

Ann

1 So true and a great summary for those with reading comprehension challenges. Thanks.



2. IIRC it's about 18 nm south of the GG, so let's say 20-25 to the bridge. I've done it dozens of times. 1 gallon per hour on an outboard, 4 knots. Do the math. 5 hours, 5 gallons, and then miles of smiles when he sails under the bridge. Priceless. Add the maybes ands I would double the fuel reserve.

[s/v Beth]

The Cates are dead right on this one.
The lee shores of the PNW are my playing ground. Small boats die here all the time. You do not want to be one of them.
Here's a picture of a 40 foot made to go against the wind ocean boat out there. My wife took the wheel so I could get a break.
Notice the heel. And the emersion suit. And she is still freezing her buns off. And that is in something twice as long and 4 times the displacement.
You want to still like your boat after the journey?
Trailer it.

[merrydolphin]

Ive made this trip a number of times. Plus delivered a few to SFO. Not an easy trip. One of the biggest advantages of this boat is that it IS trailorable; a huge advantage. Take advantage of it. Sail DOWN the coast sometime. Up the coast in that vessel? Can it be done? Sure, eventually. Wait for ever for a weather windows, get beat backwards. Run out of gas. Is it a total PITA yes! Would I want to do it? No. Sounds like 4K to trailer it is a lot. Check further on that. Good luck.

Capt. Fred.

Nice boat. Not many can go to weather at 50+ kts! And then be a comfy little ocean cruiser once to weather.