Travelling from Victoria BC to Cabo San Lucas

[EricMN]

Newbie forum member here.
I am looking to transit our Offshore 54 Pilothouse from Victoria BC to Cabo San Lucas in the late Fall. I’m looking at a departure date from BC around mid-November. Anyone have any thoughts on the departure date, anticipated trip challenges, etc.?

 

[alfamike]

Victoria BC to Cabo San Lucas

Here is some general info & recommendations on you're trip as you explained it. Do this trip in 2 separate trips or steps as explained below. Local weather & forecasts allowing.

Well, for the first step, north east pacific coast of Washington, Oregon & California down to Ensenada, MX here is my recommendation:

July & August as your first jump are my general recommendations of good dates.

Stay in San Diego or Ensenada, MX. till November 1st, then leave for Cabo then.
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Do the trip in weather window steps. Your talking just to get to Ensenada a 1,400 miles trip.

I never leave San Diego or Ensenada before November 1st to go south.

Remember, he said, hurricane season technically begins June 1, it peaks in September/October. -- No insurance company will cover you if you leave much before that. I hope your not thinking of running without insurance, as you will be liable my friend. Be careful what you get tangled into.

You leaving Seattle now in July, August to go down to San Diego is doable today in summer time weather.

Here is the approximate mileage break down for going south out of Seattle.
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Seattle entrance to Port Townsend entrance -- 40 miles

Port Townsend to Cape Flattery -- 86 miles

Cape Flattery entrance to Grays Harbor entrance -- 96 miles

(There also is "La Push" which I wouldn't recommend going into. Can be tricky and not much space.)

Grays harbor entrance to Columbia River light ship --44 miles

Columbia River light ship @ outer entrance to Tillamook - 40 miles

Tillamook entrance to Newport entrance - 55 miles

Newport entrance to Coos Bay entrance -- 77 miles

Coos Bay entrance to Port Orford entrance -- 51 miles

Port Orford to Crescent City entrance -- 65 miles

Crescent City to Eureka entrance -- 60 miles

Eureka entrance to Shelter Cove to entrance -- 54 miles

Shelter Cove to Bodega Bay entrance -- 117 miles

Bodega Bay to Pt Reyes -- 23 miles

Pt Reyes to SF bay entrance -- 28 miles

so there is 1st part of your trip from Seattle to San Francisco in a nut shell. -- or Approximately 836 miles.

I try to leave Seattle in July or August, period-!, - head down Pacific Coast & then plan to lay over in Ensenada, MX. till November. The go south after November 1st, weather allowing.
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Next 2nd part of the trip south :TRIP: San Francisco Bay, CA to Channel Islands Harbor near Oxnard, CA.

I have done that trip both ways many times.

so, next - on Recent Last trip took me 2 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes - and we went straight through with no stops.
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San Francisco Bay to Half Moon Bay - 24
Half Moon Bay to Monterey bay- 62
Monterey bay to Morro Bay to - 102 - longest unprotected coast.
Morro Bay to Port San Luis to - 21
Port San Luis to Cojo Anchorage - 51
Cojo Anchorage to Santa Barbara to - 35
Santa Barbara to Channel Islands Hbr to - 27

total - harbor entrance sea buoy to sea buoy - 322
*In harbor mileage extra
All distances in Nautical Miles

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Next from Channel islands to Ensenada,

if your have enough crew you can do the 200 miles to Ensenada straight through. or a bit longer trip with stops along the way - (234-miles) -BTW - Checking in to the country of Mexico when in Ensenada is the best port in Mexico to do that in. You will need to get your "TIP" - temp import permit - recommended - before you leave San Diego - which can be done on-line.

if you like to stop to rest & make it a three jump trip --
1st stop in Catalina Twin harbors, 64 miles
2nd stop - jump next to San Diego - i recommend Chula Vista marina, 80 miles as Chula Vista is at the back of San Diego bay.
& then jump the last trip & go to Ensenada. -- 90 miles.

Good luck - timing of your departure is critical & do not do this trip at the wrong time.

Get the two books recommended by CamoPirate.


https://www.landfallnavigation.com/c...rican-rte.html

https://www.landfallnavigation.com/m...ing-guide.html

Any questions or help needed let me know.

Alfa Mike

IMHO - NOW is NOT the time to be south of Ensenada, MX, going south as it is hurricane season.

do it in these two or 3 steps & check weather before you leave , you should be good to do.

alfa mike

 

[mvweebles]

Newbie forum member here.

I am looking to transit our Offshore 54 Pilothouse from Victoria BC to Cabo San Lucas in the late Fall. I’m looking at a departure date from BC around mid-November. Anyone have any thoughts on the departure date, anticipated trip challenges, etc.?

Mid November departure is a bit late but not impossible. Daylight hours are pretty short by then.

Your big decision is whether you want to run day-trips such as Alfamike describes which could take many weeks, or put down miles on a 'delivery' schedule that could go as quickly as 2-weeks if weather gods cooperate. A quick Google shows the Offshore 54 carries 1000g diesel and should make +200 nms/24-hrs with comfortable range of 750-850 nms between fueling. Weather is predominantly from the NW so mostly on your stern, though can vary widely north of Cape Mendocino.

It's around 2000 nms from PNW to Cabo. Fuel stops in Crescent City (roughly 500 nms), stop somewhere in SoCal for cheap-ish fuel (exchange rate in Mexico is killing diesel prices right now), then Ensenada for fuel and clearance, then Cabo (725 nms, you may have to slow up a bit to extend range).

If you can move-up departure to late September through mid October, there's a monster high pressure dome that settles over Central California that brings incredibly settled weather along the entire California coast. For San Francisco locals, it's known as SFs 3-week summertime when temperatures reach into the 80s in SF. It's a great time to transit the coast if schedule permits, though heading south with weather astern, you have a lot of options too.

Good luck with purchase.

Peter

 

[Bmarler]

Mid November is likely to be trouble in terms of weather. Rougher bar conditions when ducking inside too.
I would anticipate having to wait for weather windows that time of year.

I should mention that I’m talking about the north coast, not cali south.

 

[mvweebles]

Mid November is likely to be trouble in terms of weather. Rougher bar conditions when ducking inside too.
I would anticipate having to wait for weather windows that time of year.

I should mention that I’m talking about the north coast, not cali south.

There is definitely more chance of unsatisfactory weather in Nov . But on the plus side, when the weather is settled, it's really settled. Swells can be fairly big but no wind waves on top. I know 12-footers sounds awful, but if they are spread out without much wind, it's what I affectionately call the '54 Buick Roadmaster ride on an old country road. But Bmarler is correct - 12-foot swells will close many bars even in otherwise calm conditions.

View of the Pilot Chart is helpful. Overwhelming predominance of Force 4 conditions from the North/NW. The heavy RED lines indicate percentage of time where seas are >12-feet (note the 10% line is further west in October than November). Perhaps most importantly, OP is traveling southbound. Northbound would be a different trip. Also, as Bmarler states, the tougher part is north of Cape Mendocino - average conditions improve south.

Pilot Charts for North Pacific:

NOVEMBER: https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16693989/SFH00000/108nov.pdf&type=view

OCTOBER: https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16693989/SFH00000/108oct.pdf&type=view​

Peter

 

[tiltrider1]

Number one issue. Will your insurance be willing to cover you for that time of year.

Number two issue. Can you afford and can you find a delivery captain that can dedicate enough time. Weather windows are few and far between that time of year. When they show up you need to go and run around the clock.

Regardless, you are looking at a bad idea and you should investigate other possibilities.

 

[ksanders]

My opinion...

If you are not able to leave BC until November, wait till next spring.

As others have posted, summer is the perfect time to enjoy the pacific coast to ensenada.

Wait in ensenada until the last week in october and head south from there.

Take your time and enjoy the trip.

 

[EricMN]

Thank you all for the posts. Very helpful and much appreciated.

 

[Caballero II]

Newbie forum member here.
I am looking to transit our Offshore 54 Pilothouse from Victoria BC to Cabo San Lucas in the late Fall. I’m looking at a departure date from BC around mid-November. Anyone have any thoughts on the departure date, anticipated trip challenges, etc.?

Or, consider joining the CUBAR fleet, leaving San Diego in late November with the goal of getting all boats in the fleet into La Paz by Thanksgiving. Great organization, and lots of help getting the boat in shape, Mexican paperwork ready, fuel planning, accommodations, etc. We did it once and they made it way easy for us. The organize each two years (I think?) out of the San Diego Yacht Club.

 

[EricMN]

Great tip. Thx!!

 

[Bmarler]

There is definitely more chance of unsatisfactory weather in Nov . But on the plus side, when the weather is settled, it's really settled. Swells can be fairly big but no wind waves on top. I know 12-footers sounds awful, but if they are spread out without much wind, it's what I affectionately call the '54 Buick Roadmaster ride on an old country road. But Bmarler is correct - 12-foot swells will close many bars even in otherwise calm conditions.

View of the Pilot Chart is helpful. Overwhelming predominance of Force 4 conditions from the North/NW. The heavy RED lines indicate percentage of time where seas are >12-feet (note the 10% line is further west in October than November). Perhaps most importantly, OP is traveling southbound. Northbound would be a different trip. Also, as Bmarler states, the tougher part is north of Cape Mendocino - average conditions improve south.

Pilot Charts for North Pacific:

NOVEMBER: https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16693989/SFH00000/108nov.pdf&type=view

OCTOBER: https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16693989/SFH00000/108oct.pdf&type=view​

Peter

Thanks for the pilot chart links Peter, that’s a nice visual indicator of the average. There’s typically a big difference in the weather patterns up here when you go from October to November.

 

[mvweebles]

Thanks for the pilot chart links Peter, that’s a nice visual indicator of the average. There’s typically a big difference in the weather patterns up here when you go from October to November.

I find it helps to look at the month of travel and the one after and average the observations somewhat. The 10% red line for >12-foot seas moves quite a bit closer to the coastline in November for example.

Your original observations were good - north of Cape Mendocino is a different weather system. I probably wouldn't turn the corner around Tatoosh unless I had a reasonable shot of making Crescent City, a reasonably all-weather port (vs Eureka).

This trip is doable in November, at least in my opinion. But you should make haste when weather permits. Daylight hours are pretty short. It takes a bit more strategy and patience but totally doable.

Peter

 

[EricMN]

Thx Peter. Excellent info!

 

[mvweebles]

If you decide to go, check back in if you'd like wx thoughts and passage planning.

Nice boat, BTW

Peter

 

[EricMN]

Based on all the input received to date,(special thanks to Peter and those pilot charts!), here is my latest thinking. As always, I would be very appreciative of any further comment positive or negative.

First leg

Depart Victoria B.C. no later than October 12th with a delivery captain and push as hard as is possible and practical to get south of Cape Mendocino. Then a further, less intense run down to San Diego. Leave the boat moored there for a month.

Second leg

Depart San Diego and slowly cruise south to Cabo and beyond.

 

[EricMN]

I would be looking to depart San Diego around November 15th

 

[tiltrider1]

That is a much more reasonable plan. However, start checking with your insurance company to see if they will cover such a late departure.

No good having a plan and no insurance.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Lots of experience off the coasts of BC, Wa and Or year round. I'd want to leave earlier than Oct 12. Somewhere around Oct 10 the weather windows seem to get shorter and less frequent.

 

[Wild Blue]

Here's some info regarding the Offshore 54.

In 2008 I crewed on a friend's 1999 Offshore 54 from Anacortes to Marina del Rey, CA. We left in early September.

Our cruising speed was between 10 and 11 knots. The boat had active stabilizers which keep the boat flat as the seas built, and the boat surfed nicely.

This particular Offshore 54 lacked the one-way scupper covers. When big seas broke just off the swim step, water flooded into the cockpit, and into the lazarette. The deck hatch drains couldn't keep up with the the flood. We had to bucket bail from the laz into the E/R bilge, to manage the flow, as we headed to Port.

We fashioned two scupper covers with starboard material. We duct taped each cover over the scupper, hinging open for cockpit outflow only.

As I recall the trip took about 9 days with about 3 days in Port.

I've done the same trip 3 times in heavier Selene 53 and 57 trawlers at 8 knots. I found the down wind, down swell, and down wave 10-knot ride of the Offshore 54 more comfortable than the heavier trawlers.

Have a great cruise.

Alex

 

[CamoPirate]

Depart Victoria B.C. no later than October 12th with a delivery captain and push as hard as is possible and practical to get south of Cape Mendocino. Then a further, less intense run down to San Diego. Leave the boat moored there for a month.

Second leg

.

I am currently delivering a nordhavn 76 from Florida to Australia with Captain Nickolay from San Diego Captains.com Seattle to San Diego to Panama is their bread and butter and i have done dozens of winter time PNW deliveries with them. Drop them a email to discuss but don’t wait to long as they are often booked months in advance.

Fwiw, as most here are advising, winter PNW runs are not for the inexperienced,
I would never suggest someone try it because we do it on a regular basis, it takes a tremendous amount of local weather knowledge to safely pull off. Also cape Mendocino is certainly a hurdle but don’t underestimate the rest as being a cake walk, you can breath easy once you clear Point Conception.