Writer Doing Boating Research

[kluggers]

Hoping someone will be interested in helping :-)

In my book, my characters are taking a motor yacht from San Diego to San Francisco (crewed). The trip is scheduled for 7 days. How many ports can they hit along the way, and which ones would *you* hit if on this trip? What would the conditions be like on the Pacific in late August - foggy? Muggy? Hot? Also, what sort of things on a yacht (110 footer) might annoy a group of novice boat-travelers? If there were four crew members, six adults and three kids, would everyone be cramped?

Also, if any of you have made this trip, and have a particularly interesting story, comment or memory that you'd like to share, I would appreciate it!

Thanks so much! I hope I am not upsetting the group by posting here - I am just not having any luck on google :-)

Best!

[rebel heart]

If you want to do a lot of research and get it spot on, Fagan's book is the bees-knees of everything from SF to SD: Amazon.com: The Cruising Guide to Central and Southern California: Golden Gate to Ensenada, Mexico, Including the Offshore Islands (0639785801825): Brian Fagan: Books

Other things off the top of my head:
- novices on a 110 foot motor yacht will probably crash it, unless your four crew are professionals. two (or three) should be licensed captains, with one designated as *the* captain. you need one guy in the galley, and he can double as your deck hand. crap job.

- weather depends a lot on how far offshore they are and if they're hitting up any channel islands along the way. finding a place to tie up a 110' motor yacht will need to be done long in advance. you're not just going to stop into dana point harbor, pop over to the police dock, and get a slip for the night. most small harbors can't accommodate a vessel of that size.

- a lot depends on how fast they're going. 110' is plenty big enough to just motor the whole way at 20 knots, not stop for anything except maybe to add fuel in san pedro, and show up in sf.

[Astrid]

110' is a pretty large as. This link might give you an idea of a cruising motor yacht of that size:

Kaleen, 110 foot Broward motoryacht Charter Yacht - Chartering the Caribbean waters with 1st Class Yacht Charters

Off hand no one should feel too terribly cramped. The crew have their own spaces and quarters.

As to the route, there are a number of places to stop between San Diego and San Francisco: Santa Barbara, Monterey, Long Beach, Santa Cruz. The stops could be mostly for pleasure or sight seeing, as a vessel such as the Kaleen could make the trip in about 40 hours at 13 kts and still have just under half of her fuel left, so that leaves plenty of time for stops to sight see.

Weather-wise, temps can vary along the coast, but I would expect 60s to lhigh 70s on the water with chances for early morning fog at times. Humidity can vary widely as well, but might well feel muggy to someone not used ot it.

[Ishmael]

Originally Posted by Astrid

110' is a pretty large as. This link might give you an idea of a cruising motor yacht of that size:

Kaleen, 110 foot Broward motoryacht Charter Yacht - Chartering the Caribbean waters with 1st Class Yacht Charters

Off hand no one should feel too terribly cramped. The crew have their own spaces and quarters.

As to the route, there are a number of places to stop between San Diego and San Francisco: Santa Barbara, Monterey, Long Beach, Santa Cruz. The stops could be mostly for pleasure or sight seeing, as a vessel such as the Kaleen could make the trip in about 40 hours at 13 kts and still have just under half of her fuel left, so that leaves plenty of time for stops to sight see.

Weather-wise, temps can vary along the coast, but I would expect 60s to lhigh 70s on the water with chances for early morning fog at times. Humidity can vary widely as well, but might well feel muggy to someone not used ot it.

Capt. Peter Grocock?!?!?

[Thorin]

You just can not make that kinda stuff up! If your book is a comedy you really need to use that guys name! I wonder if he left a life in the porn industry to become a charter captain?

[kluggers]

Ha!!! This is a young adult novel, so I won't be able to get away with that.

[Charlie]

The California coast can be broken up into two distinct regions North of Point Conception and South of Point Conception. San Diego to Santa Barbara is for the most part easy. From there it gets hard going north. The winds, the fog and the waves can be really nasty.

[Thorin]

First Grocock, now Point Conception... You can get away with a lot of things in YA litt. If you add vampires. Not the direction you wanted to go I am sure, but you have to admit it sells books. Add something about anchoring the boat and having the anchor drag in a storm. Or the captain having a gun onboard just incase of mutiny or pirates. Both topics get a rise out of sailors here! Then again you could mention sea lions swamping boats in the marina. A 100+ footer would be pretty safe but they sink a few smaller ones every year.

[Astrid]

Actually from Point Conception on North to Seattle it can be dicey unless you stand out to sea in deeper water.

[osirissail]

As a children's book the sea lion angle mentioned above would certainly cause the youngsters reading to laugh and feel good. Or for a mystery version one of the female guests could be a famous pop singer and get pushed or fall overboard. Or she could be saved by the sea lions or passing dolphins. There is room for some fun in such an adventure up the coast.