Retirement trip

[Robcat]

Hello, we are planning a trip up the west coast from San Pedro to PNW after I retire at the end of March. We have a Meridian 490 pilothouse. We plan on taking our time and perhaps spend a month or so in the Bay Area/delta. We have no agenda and no time constraints. We plan on waiting for good weather and only traveling during the day. I am curious about what parameters people use for “good weather”. I generally think of wind less than 15, and waves less than 5’ with period at least 2 times height, but I’m afraid we will never get north if we are that limited.

 

[mvweebles]

Welcome to TF!

I spent close to 5-years delivering boats out of San Francisco. 80% of my runs were northbound from SoCal to PNW to escape California sales taxes.

I have a slightly different perspective.

First, April may not have the highest wind, but it is the most consistently windy month of the year. It can blow 20-25 knots out of the N/NW for days on end which really builds seas. Tough to make north bound progress. In May, summer pattern starts to kick-in. Winds are calm in the morning (sometimes a short blow early morning, shortly after sunrise). By about 9am, a breeze starts to fill-in. Small white caps start to form at around 17-kts of breeze - if these form before about 11AM, it will be a long day. If after 1PM, will be a great day.

Winds build to about 20-25 kts by late afternoon which brings 4-5 foot short chop for a couple hours. I used to move closer to the beach which seemed to knock-down a fair amount of the chop. At sundown, the wind dies off and I'd move into deeper water to run at night to avoid crab traps.

With your speed, I'd run early and hopefully get someplace by lunchtime if possible (which it may not be). For example, stopping into Morro Bay reqires some planning for high tide an slack current.

I tried to plan rounding Pt Conception/Arguello around midnight. I still got spanked a couple times, but was much better than late afternoon. Cojo anchorage is workable to stage departure.

So to answer your question, if you wait for a full day of calm winds, you might have to wait until October. But with some patience and a wee bit of courage, you'll figure out the weather rhythm of the west coast. You can usually manage to keep bumpy weather down to a few hours in the afternoon.

Good luck - congrats on impending retirement. Very exciting!!!

Peter

 

[Bmarler]

sounds like it would be a May departure from the bay area. Peter is right on with his assessment of wind patterns on the coast. there are always things that crop up, but there's usually ample warning. it definitely takes planning, as there's limited places to duck in for the night.
the good thing is that nautical twilight is starting to get pretty early around then. i use that as a guideline for morning departure. i'm not using the stars for navigation, it's just my guide for starting my day. if there's lots of moonlight i might set out even earlier. i love the calm early morning cruising.
depending on latitude and how deep into the month you'll have 6-9 hours before the afternoon wind starts to fill in. i'm more in tune with Washington/Oregon though, no experience off the California coast.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[mvweebles]

If you don't mind burning some fuel, leaving before daylight and getting in by lunchtime will let you lay down miles. Crossing bars can be a bit tricky, but not as difficult as many make it seem. Be mindful of big tidal swings though.

If you can find it, the book by Don and Reanne Douglass on cruising the Pacific Coast is the best by far. Much better than the other one (I believe the authors name was Fagan).

Peter

 

[ksanders]

I have the same boat as you, and have been in the same areas, currently in La Paz BCS Mexico.

I use a 15 knot hard limit for my go-no do decisions.

I have found that to make for a pretty comfortable ride in pretty much any sea direction, and it leaves room for inconsistencies between forecast vs actual.

I do not look at swell, as it is long period, and I don't have to worry about wind driven waves at those forecast wind speeds.

 

[Mako]

I like the new avatar photo, Kevin

 

[DW1979OA]

I used a weather forecaster when I brought my boat from Sacramento to Bremerton. Don't remember who I used. Think he was based in Hawaii. I found it money well spent. I was going to cross the Columbia River Bar just to say I'd done it, but he recommended I keep going. So I did. This was in early June 2017.
jp

 

[Darlin]

If you get a good weather window dont stop. Get 50 miles offshore and run straight from Bodega Bay to Westport WA. Recommend you have radar.

 

[Mako]

If you get a good weather window dont stop. Get 50 miles offshore and run straight from Bodega Bay to Westport WA. Recommend you have radar.

Concur. I ran about 34-36 miles out. You need lots of sea room in case “just in case” happens. BTW there were a lot of birds out there and even one big sea lion following us.

 

[Cold Duck]

All good advice. At least up to Pt Reyes don't be afraid to poke your head out and take a look. You can always duck back in. I wouldn't go to Morro Bay, bypass and anchor at San Simeon. Or better yet, if good Wx keep going past Pt Sur into Monterey or Sant Cruz. That run from San Simeon to Monterey is the longest run upto Pt Reyes with no good anchorages and can get ruff! You could spend half a year in the SF Bay and Delta area and not come close to seeing everything. Some really great boating but Wx up the coast will dictate what you want to do. Needless to say, tie everything down. Anything that can move will move while underway. Should be a fun trip with a little planning.

 

[Rsysol]

Hello, we are planning a trip up the west coast from San Pedro to PNW after I retire at the end of March. We have a Meridian 490 pilothouse. We plan on taking our time and perhaps spend a month or so in the Bay Area/delta. We have no agenda and no time constraints. We plan on waiting for good weather and only traveling during the day. I am curious about what parameters people use for “good weather”. I generally think of wind less than 15, and waves less than 5’ with period at least 2 times height, but I’m afraid we will never get north if we are that limited.

One thing I did was to start watching Windy.com for weather patterns. We did two south to north runs with SFO being our winter hangout. Amazingly, I saw some beautiful weather during February one year. We thought about going but delayed until late April and had some good and bad weather. Spent 14 days in Coos Bay and another 4 in Newport waiting for smoother seas. Never got them but didn’t really get too beat up.

Great advice here so far.

Take the runs when the weather is good, we did the entire Neah Bay to SFO run one time in glass seas. Four of the nicest days I’ve spent transiting.

 

[Goody]

There are benefits to boating these days.. the increased technology available to us all. The aides should help your decision making and make for a better trip. Best of luck and enjoy the ride.

 

[Lepke]

I commercial fished from SF north. Swells get higher and closer together as the come into shallower water. I usually run 25+ miles out and in deep water. It's safer to stay away from the coast. During crab season there are many pot lines and buoys to dodge inshore.
The bars aren't as bad as some say. Try to time your crossing to high tide, slack water. Keep an eye on the weather, make your decision to head to a port early.
Bodega Bay and Crescent City can be entered in almost any weather.

 

[fgarriso]

Welcome Aboard !

Have fun with the head seas coming from the North.

 

[Riff Raff]

600 feet

One comment worth making is always head to water 600+ feet. Seems to be max depth of crab and prawn traps). Much more relaxing not to have to watch carefully for those.

 

[DW1979OA]

Something else to keep in mind. What requirements might your insurance provider have. My prior experience was strictly in the Sacramento delta before transiting to the PNW. The insurance people wanted me to have a captain or someone with experience to be part of the crew. Was lucky to have a friend that met the qualifications. With four crew we made no stops and it took 4.5 days SFO to Bremerton at 7.5 kts.
We plotted a course that kept us at a minimum 400 depth and experienced no crab pots

It is a whole different feeling out on the ocean when you can’t see land any where around you. Did see a few whales and only a few commercial fishing boats