Santa Barbara to San Diego

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Don C L

BTW report back and let us know how it goes! Keep an eye out for Santa Anas.

If Santa Ana's are in the forecast, would you wait for the north westerlies to return before leaving Santa Barbara?

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by magentawave

If Santa Ana's are in the forecast, would you wait for the prevailing north westerlies to return before leaving Santa Barbara?

Yes. And check the different forecasts for the position and movement of the high, the jet stream, and where the offshore flow is predicted to come out. It may not be bad in SB, just really calm, while it could be blowing 50-60 offshore further south.

Yellowbanks vs. Smugglers, no major difference, if there is a south swell, both will be rolly but in a tri you don’t care about that.

Still curious, will you be motoring?

[magentawave]

I was telling a kitesurfer friend from Ventura about this trip and he said that instead of making a beeline for Santa Cruz Island that I should hug the coastline from Santa Barbara to south of Ventura and then head for Catalina because the seas will be so much calmer inside. I know there's real ocean up there compared to San Diego area, but I'm thinking "land is not my friend." What do you think?

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Yes. And check the different forecasts for the position and movement of the high, the jet stream, and where the offshore flow is predicted to come out. It may not be bad in SB, just really calm, while it could be blowing 50-60 offshore further south.

Yellowbanks vs. Smugglers, no major difference, if there is a south swell, both will be rolly but in a tri you don’t care about that.

Still curious, will you be motoring?

Sailing. The boat has a good 9.9 high thrust Yamaha outboard on a sled though.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by magentawave

I was telling a kitesurfer friend from Ventura about this trip and he said that instead of making a beeline for Santa Cruz Island that I should hug the coastline from Santa Barbara to south of Ventura and then head for Catalina because the seas will be so much calmer inside. I know there's real ocean up there compared to San Diego area, but I'm thinking "land is not my friend." What do you think?

Ah, I see you mentioned the engine above. Sorry not paying attention here. Yes it will be calmer usually inside but the water is fairly shallow closer to Ventura/CI so if there is a swell running from W or NW it will be more bumpy closer in. The better wind is out in the Channel. If I were you I’d take advantage of as much of the wind as possible and go down close to the shipping lane on either one side or the other, and if you’re staying at smugglers then on the west side. If we have 15-25 in the afternoon then that’s good for you running down and the seas if they are 4’ or so should not be too much trouble for you. Still, motoring in the morning along the coast and then going out like your friend says will mean you avoid the bigger seas, yes. I’d just recommend in there to cross the shipping lane quickly below CI and then head down.

[Don C L]

Personally I would not worry about seas in that area, the bigger ones are farther west and lately they aren’t much. If you want to sail, you’ll need to get out in the wind. It’s often pretty calm in the Channel this time of year. Even still plan on motoring at least half the day. You may not have to, but plan on it anyway.

[Don C L]

So thought I’d amend what I said earlier. Strong Santa Anas are definitely to be avoided, but if an offshore flow like seen in this image is predicted, it could be a good time to go if it helps blow you out to the NW winds. Sometimes offshore flows like this will be called Santa Anas but they are relatively weak and short lived. This one is for the coming Sunday. If you look at Windy for example for the next few days you’ll see there is a good deal of wind predicted west of Anacapa and Santa Cruz, but it is calm in close to shore almost all the way down. That’s fairly typical until a high builds over the southwest. Since I really don’t like flopping around becalmed I find those green and yellow zones attractive for running!

[JPA Cate]

The OP probably already knows to do this, but there may be someone out there who doesn't know. This is a new boat for the OP. He will want to make sure he understands how to reef it, before leaving. If the prediction Don posted is correct, he will be able to turn inshore to get out of the stronger winds, if he wants to. If he is flying along on course, and knows he can reef the boat going downwind, he may have a really fun trip. Since he has to take the whole five days, he will probably get a mixed bag. If he suddenly finds himself with too much wind, he can drop the main entirely, and the autopilot will probably be able to handle the boat quite well under a small jib.

Make sure and do a radio check before you leave, too. It is that you just never know with boats that have been waiting for new stewards what it is that will quit working. That's why delivery skippers bring tools with them and insist the owner provide spares, like a spare impeller for the water pump. ...and whatever else would really inconvenience you on a sailing holiday. Humble suggestion to check the nav lights and anchor light, as well, before leaving Sta Barbara, where you can still replace them beforehand. You may want to bring your gear for going aloft, too.



Ann

[magentawave]

Wise words, JPA, and everyone else. Thank you!

I’ll have two full days in SB to fiddle with stuff and get familiar - including practicing reefing and maneuvering under power.

I will be leaving SB on 11-1 and I am a little nervous about all the extended Santa Ana weather we are having now. I realize 11-1 is a long way off but would there be any circumstances that you would take off during Santa Ana’s? Obviously dropping the hook the first night at Smugglers or Yellowbanks on Santa Cruz is out if it’s east. What about making a beeline for Cat Harbor? Again, I’m doing this solo.

[Zzmeyer]

I would be cautious of Santa Anna forecast. I once had 0 to 50 knot wind change in 10 minutes between Catalina and the mainland with a Santa Anna. Too much uncertainty. Predict Wind says winds will be light on the 1st, but still too far out to be credible. Cat Harbor is a great place in a Santa Anna, but you have to get there first.

[Don C L]

Doing the math, at 5 kts it’ll take 16.5 hours Sb to cat harbor 82.3 miles. Long day, but certainly doable. Start at 2am and you can be in cat harbor before dark. I’d plan on at least 20 gallons of gas if you have space for it.
We do have a pretty strong Santa Ana event right now. It will probably last for 36 hours. We saw it coming about 3 days ago pretty well. That gives some idea of how to measure it.
Currently, though we are going to get gusts up to 50 or 60 mph in mountains and passes, currently gusting to 45 mph where I am inland, it is still in the tens near the ocean and 3.5 kts at Avalon. BUT, these next 2 days would be a good time to be anchored in the lee of a big mass, certainly. As was mentioned by zzmeyer, when the Santa Ana shows up, it happens pretty fast. We are still a ways out from your departure date. It could be fine for your week.

Edit: so if you look at Windy.com and at the NOAA forecast they have a gale warning up but predicting gusts off the coast of Malibu area up to Oxnard up to 35 kts (that may rise tonight) Forecasts look like the event is pretty local with the main blast headed out to Anacapa with not much north or south. It looks like it will peter out tomorrow afternoon. (You’re probably looking at the same thing, but it gives some idea of the pattern.)

[magentawave]

This isn't my ideal sail from Santa Barbara to San Diego later this week, but if the Santa Ana's are blowing, or if the models in PredictWind are all over the place, then what do you think about hugging close to the coast where the winds and seas will be calmer like this...

DAY 1) Santa Barbara Harbor to Channel Islands Harbor - 27 NM.

DAY 2) Channel Islands Harbor to Marina Del Rey - 41 NM.

DAY 3) Marina Del Rey to Newport Harbor - 44 NM.

DAY 4) Newport Harbor to Oceanside Harbor - 33 NM.

DAY 5) Oceanside Harbor to Mission Bay - 28 NM.

DAY 6) Mission Bay to San Diego Harbor - 13 NM.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by magentawave

This isn't my ideal sail from Santa Barbara to San Diego later this week, but if the Santa Ana's are blowing, or if the models in PredictWind are all over the place, then what do you think about hugging close to the coast where the winds and seas will be calmer like this...

DAY 1) Santa Barbara Harbor to Channel Islands Harbor - 27 NM.

DAY 2) Channel Islands Harbor to Marina Del Rey - 41 NM.

DAY 3) Marina Del Rey to Newport Harbor - 44 NM.

DAY 4) Newport Harbor to Oceanside Harbor - 33 NM.

DAY 5) Oceanside Harbor to Mission Bay - 28 NM.

DAY 6) Mission Bay to San Diego Harbor - 13 NM.

Sure! Totally doable. And you'll get to know all the local harbors! Still plan on motoring but if you do those legs in the afternoons you may get lucky and have afternoon breezes to give you a boost. The only thing is you'll be paying for visitor side-ties, better check ahead that they have side ties available. They probably do, but I'd check. You have a lot of good options, and aside from the Santa Anas it is a calm time of year.
I was out yesterday and it was calm during the middday and then a nice onshore breeze picked up at dusk.
So far, as you probably know, Windy is predicting a calm week for you.

[Don C L]

Well, as I am sure you can see from the forecast we are going to get hammered tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday it will continue into the midday, but for you, for Friday through Wednesday, the forecast is looking fine. You must be living right!

[Don C L]

Now that's a first for me... I took the main off the boom and stowed it.. The forecast for tomorrow is 50 mph at the coast between Ventura and Oxnard. For Nov. 1 to 5 is still looking fine, but tomorrow you'll get a good look at a real Santa Ana, though SB is not scheduled to get too much. This is one of those rare times when it will be much windier at Anacapa than out at San Miguel!