Iam a lake sailor looking to go to the ocean for the first time. I have a 89 wingkeel Cat 22 and my buddy has a Suan Juan 21. He is trying to get me to hookup with him for a trip to Catalina Island. I have looked up some web sites for the island and would love to go but I have three main concerns 1. can a trailer sailor safely make the voyage. 2. I live in Utah and don't want to drive there and watch the huge waves and stay at the dock and not be able to go. How can I access weather that will allow me to find a window to make the trip. I can leave with few days notice. 3.When is the best time of year to go. I keep reading about the Santa Anna winds and something called the Catalina Eddy If anyone has some info on this I would apreciate some help.
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Some Responses
1. Yes, trailor sailors make the trip all the time. Weather is your primary safety item. You should have a way to reef your sails, carry a hand-held GPS, a local chart book and at least a 5-watt handheld VHF with a way to recharge batteries. Avalon harbor monitors channel 12, the Isthmus harbor 09. 2. You can go to the NOAA weather website. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm You can even check a real-time bouy in Santa Monica Bay. Also, I find local NBC Channel 4 weather is good. http://www.nbc4.tv You can use Long Beach 90831 for similar weather to Catalina 90704. 3. The 'best time'? Probably September/October. Winter can be really nice. The thing you have to watch out for is Santana winds, typically between December and March. There is usually some warning. They often follow a wet low passing through. The front side of the island becomes a lee shore in those conditions, so you must monitor weather while you are there. You can go to Cat Harbor on the back side which is an all-weather harbor, but it is a longer trip and you must have ground tackle and a dinghy. Spring weather can be mixed. There is sometimes some fog. You go through some shipping lanes, so you'll want to have a radar reflector up. You may have to power a good part of the way over, so carry enough fuel to do the whole thing. Anyhow, not to scare you off, because it's done all the time. Just have some basic preparation. Enjoy. Rick D.
1. Yes, trailor sailors make the trip all the time. Weather is your primary safety item. You should have a way to reef your sails, carry a hand-held GPS, a local chart book and at least a 5-watt handheld VHF with a way to recharge batteries. Avalon harbor monitors channel 12, the Isthmus harbor 09. 2. You can go to the NOAA weather website. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm You can even check a real-time bouy in Santa Monica Bay. Also, I find local NBC Channel 4 weather is good. http://www.nbc4.tv You can use Long Beach 90831 for similar weather to Catalina 90704. 3. The 'best time'? Probably September/October. Winter can be really nice. The thing you have to watch out for is Santana winds, typically between December and March. There is usually some warning. They often follow a wet low passing through. The front side of the island becomes a lee shore in those conditions, so you must monitor weather while you are there. You can go to Cat Harbor on the back side which is an all-weather harbor, but it is a longer trip and you must have ground tackle and a dinghy. Spring weather can be mixed. There is sometimes some fog. You go through some shipping lanes, so you'll want to have a radar reflector up. You may have to power a good part of the way over, so carry enough fuel to do the whole thing. Anyhow, not to scare you off, because it's done all the time. Just have some basic preparation. Enjoy. Rick D.
Catalina ok for Catalina
Our favarite times are in the spring and fall. there are less people and the weather is great. With the right weather it should be no problem I have sailed my Santana 20 there severel times. Unless you are a die hard sailer the wind is usualy light to medium and we ended up motoring some of the time to get there before dark. the Santa Ana winds can be a problem but are easy to predict with the weather forcasts. They usualy occur late Fall to through winter. The Catalina eddy is no problem it just means fog in the summer. You will also be crossing the shipping lanes so a radar reflector is a good idea
Our favarite times are in the spring and fall. there are less people and the weather is great. With the right weather it should be no problem I have sailed my Santana 20 there severel times. Unless you are a die hard sailer the wind is usualy light to medium and we ended up motoring some of the time to get there before dark. the Santa Ana winds can be a problem but are easy to predict with the weather forcasts. They usualy occur late Fall to through winter. The Catalina eddy is no problem it just means fog in the summer. You will also be crossing the shipping lanes so a radar reflector is a good idea
Catalina Very Forgiving
I have been sailing to Catalina for 16 years and cannot remember the last time a Santa Ana realy blew hard - I remember when I arrive in 1987 - a news report of boats blown onto shore at Two Harbors but not since. The only time not to go is when one of those big storms out of the Pacific Northwest comes rolling in and you can track them for days. We usually take our first trip in early May and our last trip in late October, however my partner did November last year. If you leave in the morning you may have wind - may not. Most summer crossings in early morning are relatively calm and no wind, however we sailed from the LB light to Long Point leaving @0600 for Cruisers Weekend on 10/22 - no engine the whole way. To me the best time to go is late August-early September - the water is usually the warmest but more pressure on moorings. We only venture to Avalon once every four years or so - its very nice but will require one night stay in the outer moorings before coming in to the main haror throughout summer. If your coming from Utah - I would plan a 5-7 day cruise. Catalina and So Cal are probably the easliest places to sail - no sand bars no shallow bottoms, best weather in US, very predictable winds and as stated above - they will give you a Santa Ana wind warning. I'm told harbor patrol will make you leave morrings and ghead towards home if a bad conditons is coming - although never have seen one. Over in Catalina we moor our C36 some 10 feet from the rocks in C-row Forth of July Cove - our favorite spot - away from the noise, good diving, but close to town. Emerald Bay is worth two nights, Whites Landing, Isthmus, Long Point, many other spots with anchor and if you time it right a day or two in Avalon is fun - until the cruise ship drops anchor - it really has changed in the time I have been going. I would not advise taking a 22 footer around the back side unless you make a quick run to Cat Harbor but for a first timer you don't want to mess with that - to far away from everything - especially in a 22 footer. I owned a C-27 for my first 14 years - it was a great Catalina boat - see plenty of 25 footer and a few 22 footers. There is a nice boat landing at 2nd street and PCH over by Alamitos Bay - the closest landing would be out of San Pedro a Cabrillo Beach - Al Bay is nicer area. I've gone on to long - Love Catalina - Most people here don't even know its there - thats a good thing.
I have been sailing to Catalina for 16 years and cannot remember the last time a Santa Ana realy blew hard - I remember when I arrive in 1987 - a news report of boats blown onto shore at Two Harbors but not since. The only time not to go is when one of those big storms out of the Pacific Northwest comes rolling in and you can track them for days. We usually take our first trip in early May and our last trip in late October, however my partner did November last year. If you leave in the morning you may have wind - may not. Most summer crossings in early morning are relatively calm and no wind, however we sailed from the LB light to Long Point leaving @0600 for Cruisers Weekend on 10/22 - no engine the whole way. To me the best time to go is late August-early September - the water is usually the warmest but more pressure on moorings. We only venture to Avalon once every four years or so - its very nice but will require one night stay in the outer moorings before coming in to the main haror throughout summer. If your coming from Utah - I would plan a 5-7 day cruise. Catalina and So Cal are probably the easliest places to sail - no sand bars no shallow bottoms, best weather in US, very predictable winds and as stated above - they will give you a Santa Ana wind warning. I'm told harbor patrol will make you leave morrings and ghead towards home if a bad conditons is coming - although never have seen one. Over in Catalina we moor our C36 some 10 feet from the rocks in C-row Forth of July Cove - our favorite spot - away from the noise, good diving, but close to town. Emerald Bay is worth two nights, Whites Landing, Isthmus, Long Point, many other spots with anchor and if you time it right a day or two in Avalon is fun - until the cruise ship drops anchor - it really has changed in the time I have been going. I would not advise taking a 22 footer around the back side unless you make a quick run to Cat Harbor but for a first timer you don't want to mess with that - to far away from everything - especially in a 22 footer. I owned a C-27 for my first 14 years - it was a great Catalina boat - see plenty of 25 footer and a few 22 footers. There is a nice boat landing at 2nd street and PCH over by Alamitos Bay - the closest landing would be out of San Pedro a Cabrillo Beach - Al Bay is nicer area. I've gone on to long - Love Catalina - Most people here don't even know its there - thats a good thing.
the west wight potter people do catalina annually
Never been over to catalina,but am rather new to sailing. hope to do it someday. I did read about the adventures of the So. Cal Potters club that go every year over to catalina. They are 15 to 19 ft long,most of them. I too have heard that the winds can be calm in the mornings going over. you might try the archives here or try trailersailor.com and do a search there for more info. If the weather is bad or beyond your capabilities, you could go over on one of the many boats that go over to the island. I know it wouldnt be sailing... but Hope your trip goes well....
Never been over to catalina,but am rather new to sailing. hope to do it someday. I did read about the adventures of the So. Cal Potters club that go every year over to catalina. They are 15 to 19 ft long,most of them. I too have heard that the winds can be calm in the mornings going over. you might try the archives here or try trailersailor.com and do a search there for more info. If the weather is bad or beyond your capabilities, you could go over on one of the many boats that go over to the island. I know it wouldnt be sailing... but Hope your trip goes well....
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