[C38] Attn. West Coast sailors

Wed Mar 3 16:44:03 EST 2010

Joe,  Point Conception and Point Arguello can be very tough, but you pick
your day and time.  You anchor in the little protective cove just south of
the point and leave at 0200 with a possible  slight east wind and be clear
of Point Arguello by day break.  What really concerns me lies north of San
Francisco.  Our boats are not really suited for punching into head seas- you
punch into water over the bow and you stop!  I've made a rough day light
trip back from Ensenada, wind on the nose, making only 2-3 knots with sails
and motor going.  After that trip we changed our departure from Ensenada to
2000 for a all night trip north and the water is as smooth as glass,
usually.  I spent 2 years on smaller  aircraft carrier, in my youth, and
they the, US Navy, don't pay to much attention to Mother Nature- they just
go.  Again my great concern is North of San Francisco.  If I'm going to be
punching to seas on my nose days upon on end- forget it.

Thanks for your input, Steve O
  -----Original Message-----
  From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
[mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org]On Behalf Of Joseph Launie
  Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 1:22 AM
  To: hlhowell at pacbell.net; Catalina 38 Listserve
  Subject: Re: [C38] Attn. West Coast sailors

  I do not want to rain on anyone's parade but leaving from Oceanside you
have to go around Point Conception before you get to SF and the playground
north of there. They do not call Conception the Cape Horn of the Pacific
because of its shape. It can get really gnarly there. The aircraft carrier
Abraham Lincoln sailed from Santa Barbara to Bremerton, Washington a couple
of years ago. On the way, they took a wave on the flight deck. The only
thing remarkable about that is the flight deck is 90 feet above the water
line. I talked to a number of people who took that trip and they said it was
really rough (on a 1,100 foot carrier). Joe Launie/Macavity

  Les wrote:
I'll second the close to shore approach.  There is a patch outside long
beach called the potato patch, where on the calmest days you can hit
30kts of wind and confused seas with sharp edged chop that will cast
foam and get you chilled.  Further on, you get to Point Dume which is
west of Malibu, and the anchorage is about a mile offshore just outside
some kelp, where it can be really nice if the wind is from the north, or
a real ride if the wind is from the WSW or farther south.

Oh, I almost forgot, check the charts and notice to mariners.  Sometimes
the oil fields just north of Point Arguillo bubble up some of that
coarse crude (crud is more like it), and it is a mess on your boat, and
flamable, sometimes with raw natural gasoline in it.

At this website you can get NON_NAVIGATION looks at the charts of the
Pacific:
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/PacificCoastViewerTable.shtml

North from there, you go on up to Ventura, and still farther to Santa
Barbara.  The winds here are the coastal winds, funneled in shore by the
Channel Islands.  It can be really nice or pure evil.  15knots is
typical, and a lot higher on several days a month.

That is about as far North as Nancy and I have gone.  As you go past
this area, the harbors tend to spread out as the mountains run down to
the sea.  The harbors that are there tend to have sand bars outside or
large rocky upheavals, so make sure your charts are up to date and that
you ask and listen to the locals.  It is BEAUTIFUL though, and I love
driving the northern coast along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH as it is
called.)

Check Latitude 38 frequently also as they often have articles about the
various ports.  Also check the various harbors websites to see if they
have Links to the local edition of the LOG which is a series of
newspapers that discuss local conditions and issues.

Enjoy your trip.  This stuff only means its good sailors don't like
land.

Regards,
Les H

On Mon, 2010-03-01 at 18:37 -0800, Joseph Launie wrote:
  Steve,
    I would talk to several professional skippers. One who I have
discussed this with says to keep one foot on the beach - go up close
to shore because it gets a lot worse further out.  I would harbor hop
up with a lot more stops than you have mentioned. Joe Launie/Macavity

ssorton at sbcglobal.net wrote:
    This summer during July/August I'm contemplating sailing our boat
from Southern California North to Puget Sound- some 1450 miles.  The
distance actually traveled could be twice the point to point
distance due head winds.  My question to the Cat 38 group is, does
anybody have experience making this trip?  Do you follow the coast
putting into 3 or 4 ports, or sail westerly and make a right return?

Thank you for any advice,  Steve Orton (Santa Susanna- # 304)

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