# Sailing up Coast of California



## UOSailer6 (Mar 22, 2012)

My buddy and I are thinking about Sailing up the coast of California, we were wondering how long it would take to sail up the coast from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay?


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

UOSailer6 said:


> My buddy and I are thinking about Sailing up the coast of California, we were wondering how long it would take to sail up the coast from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay?


It all depends. What model and size of boat do you have? Does it have good sails? A strong engine? How experienced are you? What time of year are you considering for this trip? Are you planning on sailing, motor-sailing, motoring, all of the above?

In general, you'll be sailing upwind and into the California current most of the way. North of Point Conception it will probably feel like you're sailing "uphill" most of the time. Also north of Point Conception safe harbors are few and far between, although there are several hidey-holes here and there.

Don't be fooled by the distance; it may be only 500 miles or so, but it could easily take a couple of weeks. Many years ago I helped a friend sail and old Ericson 35-2, with very tired sails and an Atomic 4 that was really an Atomic 2-and-a-half, from LA to SF. We got to Port San Luis in a week. But it then took three tries to get from PSL to SF.


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## Fstbttms (Feb 25, 2003)

UOSailer6 said:


> My buddy and I are thinking about Sailing up the coast of California...


You and your buddy are gluttons for punishment, huh?


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## benajah (Mar 28, 2011)

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SlowButSteady said:


> It all depends. What model and size of boat do you have? Does it have good sails? A strong engine? How experienced are you? What time of year are you considering for this trip? Are you planning on sailing, motor-sailing, motoring, all of the above?
> 
> In general, you'll be sailing upwind and into the California current most of the way. North of Point Conception it will probably feel like you're sailing "uphill" most of the time. Also north of Point Conception safe harbors are few and far between, although there are several hidey-holes here and there.
> 
> Don't be fooled by the distance; it may be only 500 miles or so, but it could easily take a couple of weeks. Many years ago I helped a friend sail and old Ericson 35-2, with very tired sails and an Atomic 4 that was really an Atomic 2-and-a-half, from LA to SF. We got to Port San Luis in a week. But it then took three tries to get from PSL to SF.


I'm interested in learning more about sailing north along the CA coast as well. I sail on SF Bay but am not from here originally and don't have experience on the CA coastline (east coaster, GA, SC, NC background) Seems sailing south is easy, but coming back up can be pretty tricky. If anyone knows of an information source to give me a good education on the subject I would appreciate it.


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

Amazon.com: The Cruising Guide to Central and Southern California: Golden Gate to Ensenada, Mexico, Including the Offshore Islands (0639785801825): Brian Fagan: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51zlYA8hmDL

Probably the best place to start researching.


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## oldsalt89 (Feb 6, 2011)

I,ve never made the trip myself, but you,ll be fighting the current,prevailing winds, and personally my prevailing principles. good luck...JHB


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## rbrasi (Mar 21, 2011)

Someone said in a similar thread- trailer it up, sail it down. Or in your case, vice versa.


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## medicrene (Feb 20, 2012)

I have made this trip and it is not too bad. Realisticly it takes 6 days of sailing. However, you may not get six days of time you can sail and you will need rest between each leg if you are going solo. Plan on motoring. Each leg of the journey is:

San Diego to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Santa Barbara or the Cojo Anchorage south of Point Concpetion.
Santa Barbara, around Point Conception to Avila Bay or Morro Bay (Avila is easier to get into in marginal weather and Morro Bay closes when surf is coming straight into the mouth of the harbor.
Avila Bay to Monterey Bay - a long trip that may take more than 24 horus depending upon current and wind. Do not go into strong winds for this leg our your ground speed may be less than 2 knots per hour.
Monterey Bay to Santa Cruise
Santa Cruise to Half Moon bay, or skip half moon Bay and add an additinal six hours and arrive in San Francisco.

No problem

the Witchdoctor


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## dabnis (Jul 29, 2007)

Not a good time of year. Seas generally start to lay down a little about the first of June or so but can be rough at any time. As mentioned earlier it is a long way between shelter.

Suggest you use these or equivelent:

Marine Forecast for Latitude 39.66°N and Longitude 124.52°W

Northern California NOAA/CDIP Buoy Data

On the forecast page just type in the area you want to know about.

Suggest a couple of short uphill trial runs before trying the whole thing. not a trip to be taken lightly. A dirty tank plus heavy weather can result in clogged filters.

Let us know how it goes.

Paul T


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## dabnis (Jul 29, 2007)

dabnis said:


> Not a good time of year. Seas generally start to lay down a little about the first of June or so but can be rough at any time. As mentioned earlier it is a long way between shelter.
> 
> Suggest you use these or equivelent:
> 
> ...


Forgot some info. Not sure about your experience level so my apologies if this is "old stuff". Suggest you have a full set of paper charts:

Pacific Coast NOAA Nautical Charts

My experience if from SF, Monterey area north, however I have read that getting around Point Conception can be very difficult. Have also seen videos of Morro Bay entrance breaking big time. Half Moon Bay has reefs to the south and west. When coming into SF suggest you stay off shore in at LEAST 60 feet and come down the ship channel, keeping to the edge as close as possible. Keep a very close watch BEHIND you. The ships will close on you very fast and you WILL be run down if you are in their way. Don't even think about cutting the corner and going around Seal Rocks, many boats have been lost doing that. Also, don't pass between the south tower of the GG Bridge and shore. Just my opinion, offered at no cost, and FWIW.

Paul T


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## GMFL (Jun 9, 2010)

I'll second Brian Fagan's book as well. I'm planning the reverse trip this summer, SF to Newport, that book has been very helpful in planning the trip.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

FWIW, my wife's cousin and his wife sailed their Catalina 42 from Santa Barbara to S.F. - took them 8 days and she said she will never sail out past the Golden Gate again.  

Not a trip to be taken lightly.


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## jaime_marian (Jul 18, 2013)

We did this trip in July 2011, we took a small 1985 Catalina 27 from the SDYC in San Diego to the Oakland Yacht Club in Alameda, in the heart of the SF Bay.
We had a crew of three at all times, four for some specific legs of the trip.

My main recommendation, look for a time/weather window where the Pacific high has been active for a few days (and located somewhere between SF and Hawaii) and is forecast to be for a few more. This will bring fog to the CA coast and light winds as pressure between the inland valleys and the Pacific ocean is equalized. Under these conditions you may find days of very light winds along the coast. 

Our trip took exactly 7 days and we overnighted in Ventura, Morro Bay, and Monterey. All the other nights were spent at sea. We crossed Pt Concepcion early in the morning under thick fog and glassy conditions. We then hit rough seas from Morro Bay all the way to Monterey, and then on from Monterey to Half Moon Bay. Prepared to beat up against the wind under engine power and to get very wet (at least on small boats like ours). We had a single-reefed mansail up almost the entire voyage, it really helps stabilize the boat against the wind.

Jaime


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## n0w0rries (May 17, 2009)

I'd go to Hawaii first. Gentlemen do not sail to weather!


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## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

I did this trip last month with 2 experienced friends in my "new" 38' sailboat from San Diego to Pillar Point Harbor. It took 77 hours total so you probably would have to add another 8 to get to SF. We watched the weather very closely and lucked out. We got southerly winds for part of the trip, and sailed without motor for about 7 of those hours. It was glassy around Pt Conception, which everyone will tell you is a beast and can be dangerous if not rounded at the right time. I had to leave the boat in SB for 2 weeks before we got a good weather window. We then left Santa Barbara at 2 am to hit it at the right time, but had really confused seas before we got to the point about 6 hours later. Between San Diego and Santa Barbara (33 hours), the only stop we made was to refuel in Two Harbors on Catalina Island. The only reason we did this was because I didn't know how quickly we'd burn it. Turns out my engine (Yanmar 27 HP) is pretty efficient and my tank is large enough. We had also brought along 3 jerry cans, just in case. I had also cleaned my fuel tank, had extra fuel filters, did a lot of work on the boat before we set sail. You'll want to know how to stay away from the kelp beds leaving San Diego. Off Big Sur, I think we made sure there was at least 150' under the boat to avoid the kelp. I'm originally from the Gulf Coast...the Pacific along this area of California is nothing like anywhere on the East Coast. For example, I've heard there can be so many ships moving through the shipping channel around LA that it can be difficult to cross. I wouldn't think that would be good to do at night. There are oil rigs; service vessels that run back and forth between the rigs; there are long-liners and other fishing vessels; the water is cold; the harbors are few and they can be difficult to access. Be very careful of the reef around Pillar Point Harbor...

So now that it is over, I am so glad I did the trip, but happy to have it done. It was great to test my boat and she did great. We had a pod of humpbacks one night in which we barely caught glimpses of them but could hear them breathing and calling all around the boat. We saw pilot whales, porpoises, shearwaters and murres. The sunset leaving San Diego and passing Point Loma was one of the most memorable. I highly recommend that you time it for a good weather window and bring someone who's done the trip before. Others I have talked to who have done the same trip can tell you how miserable it was for them. Of all the people I talked to about making this trip, there were only two who said it was great for them, but it can be done with patience.

Here are some of the links we used:

Sailing Weather - Marine Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers - PassageWeather (free service gives wind, pressure and wave height for a region)
Marine Point Forecast for Latitude 34.45°N and Longitude 120.47°W (NOAA forecast for Pt Conception)
GRIB.US > Home (free software download to read the NOAA GRIB files. We primarily relied on this for the wind.)
National Data Buoy Center (wave height at specific buoys)


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

This is one of the times you need to listen to this ;

" If you are asking this question you are most likely not to be ready for this passage."

Sure it is doable if you can wait for good weather windows. Doing it on a schedule in a smaller [ sub 40 ft ] boat may well result in at best a very uncomfortable trip and at worst a broken boat.

Watch this video, 



 it is from the USCG at Morro Bay which is one of the places you might enter if you planned to day sail up the coast.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

" If you are asking this question you are most likely not to be ready for this passage."
I wholeheartedly agree!
I spent my youth working on commercial fishing boats between SD and Alaska and we rarely, if ever had a pleasant trip between Point Conception and Seattle; one of roughest and most dangerous coasts with places to get out of the weather, safely, few and far between. I have also sailed it several times and would never, at any price (as a delivery captain) do it again, even on a 100 footer. As the man said; go via Hawaii.
Certainly not a voyage to be undertaken lightly.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

TQA said:


> This is one of the times you need to listen to this ;
> 
> " If you are asking this question you are most likely not to be ready for this passage."
> 
> ...


I learned early on to not sail where birds are walking or surfers are waiting.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

Since point Conception is so nasty and so is the Big Sur coast, what is the flaw in sailing south towards L.A. first, skirting around the Channel Islands and then heading out on a north west tack - staying on that until you can tack over and fetch S.F.?

Must be something wrong with the idea since no-one seems to do it but I don't know what.

Cali sailors?


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

SloopJonB said:


> Since point Conception is so nasty and so is the Big Sur coast, what is the flaw in sailing south towards L.A. first, skirting around the Channel Islands and then heading out on a north west tack - staying on that until you can tack over and fetch S.F.?
> 
> Must be something wrong with the idea since no-one seems to do it but I don't know what.
> 
> Cali sailors?


Some folks do just that. One problem is the North Pacific High - if it sits too far southeast one could be bobbing around for quite a while. This is part of the reason racers going from California to Hawaii stay well south of the Great Circle route. But if the wind patterns cooperate the scheme you mentioned is very doable.


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## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

SloopJonB said:


> Since point Conception is so nasty and so is the Big Sur coast, what is the flaw in sailing south towards L.A. first, skirting around the Channel Islands and then heading out on a north west tack - staying on that until you can tack over and fetch S.F.?
> 
> Must be something wrong with the idea since no-one seems to do it but I don't know what.
> 
> Cali sailors?


From what I understand, you'd have to go a few hundred miles offshore and still catch the weather right (something about the highs behind the lows or vice versa) and then you'd also need a really sturdy boat. The clipper ships used to do it. Latitude 38 had a news article about this being done recently (in April, I think) on the 82-ft schooner Seaward. They did it in one tack....1,600 miles.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

SloopJonB said:


> Since point Conception is so nasty and so is the Big Sur coast, what is the flaw in sailing south towards L.A. first, skirting around the Channel Islands and then heading out on a north west tack - staying on that until you can tack over and fetch S.F.?
> 
> Must be something wrong with the idea since no-one seems to do it but I don't know what.
> 
> Cali sailors?


Isn't the prevailing wind on the Ca coast NW?


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

there is a very very good reason this trip is known as the BASH. wind and current are on bow entire way. 

have fun and good luck.


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