Sailing out of Moss Landing, CA?

[NC-C320]

Is there anyone on the list who routinely keeps a boat at Moss Landing, CA? We are considering keeping our Catalina 22 there (there is no other place nearby at a price that we can afford and we can't wait 5 years for a slip in Monterey). I've seen lots of posts that describe the entrance channel as a treacherous place, suitable only for large boats and even then, dangerous. Lots of power needed and an entrance procedure that requires you to keep the boat in between and off the crests. There was even a story of a boat that didn't make it and was swept ashore through the breakers.

On the other hand, the dockmaster there said that she had a 22 ft. Santana there for 5 years and that it is not problem for a 22 footer as long as you don't go out in storms. A charter service in nearby Monterey posts that the average wind in summer is about 11 kts, which would be idea. The same charter service proudly advertises a Catalina 22 as one of its rental boats. NOAA data for nearby Monterey airport suggests winds around 6 kts (day and night average) year round and relatively few days with high winds...maximum being about 29 kts, gusting to ~37 kits.

What is the real story? Sometimes embellished sea stories get in the way of the truth and it's hard to know what the real situaion is. Thanks.

 

[Stu Jackson]

No other replies on your last post?

I sorta figured that's what you'd hear. What I passed on to you earlier was based on input from friends of mine who sailed out of Santa Cruz for many years.

I hope someone answers you here. If not, consider your alternatives: perhaps do a season in Monterey and sail over to ML a few times in snotty weather and see if it works for you. You could also just bite the bullet and GO to ML and work it out from there.

Remember, average wind 11 kt. doesn't mean squat if it blows 15 to 20 every afternoon from 1300 to 2100 and light air the rest of the day and night.

Good luck.

PS - added later: the Santana 22 is a completely different boat than the Catalina 22. The Santana was specifically designed to race in the high winds of San Francisco Bay. It's weight may be the same, but its freeboard is lower and the keel is deeper. Don't think that you can compare a C22 and an S22 in the type of seas I suggest you will encounter entering ML.

 

[N-CC320]

Stu,

Yours was the only one, so I decided to repost on "Ask All Sailors". I understand that the Santana 22 is different. Also, as I understand it, the winds do typically pickup after 3-4 pm in the afternoon. What is so puzzling is the extremes that seem to get reported. I saw a video of a boat leaving ML just by chance....guess what, it was a C22. Unless one wants to trailer or go on a mooring buoy (share with the seals and sea lions), the only slips that are available in Monterey are pushing $5K per year for a 20 ft. slip. That's just a little strong for this boat. Before we make the final choice, I plan on going to ML and see exactly what's docked there....if there are a lot of 21-24 ft. boats, we'll take a chance. I've been to that area perhaps four times, and I've never seen anything that would cause a problem...but didn't get a close up on the ML channel to sea connection,....and that leaves only about 360 other days to check the conditions. Thanks for your input, and I too would prefer Monterey over ML, but 5 yr. waiting list is too long for the city marina.

 

[Alex]

Santa Cruz

There are slips available in Santa Cruz. No waiting list and way better than Moss Landing. The entrance to Moss Landing is a lee shore and can be fairly knarly. Also there is a lot of Sherrif's activity at Moss... not the safest place! Last year they busted a meth lab on an old trawler. Lots of edgy live-aboards and rip-offs.
Good luck.

 

[Phantomsailor]

We stopped at Moss Landing last September on our annual California coastal cruise. We were coming from Stillwater Cove and had south westerly winds at about 20 true (great when coming north). Moss Landing was fogged in and we had to use our electronic tools (radar & GPS) to get into the harbor. The entrance is fairly narrow, the breakwater rock walls intimidating, and I can see how it could get gnarly in a typical winter storm. The bottom comes up sharply from 100s of feet of depth to 30 or 40 feet. Once inside, the harbor was calm & protected. There is plenty of room to sail inside the harbor between the north & south marinas.

When we left for Half Moon Bay the next morning, the harbor was clear as a bell, seas calm and we had light southerlies all the the way to HMB. That will never happen again ;-) The Elkhorn Yacht Club was extremely friendly and helpful.

[Edit] I just popped over to the C-22 forum. I second Stu's opinion of the harbor. The waves were pretty gnarly when we went there in September. I was pretty happy to be in my C-42.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I started a post yesterday, but it got lost

and I'm glad, because I said you already made up your mind. Silly me for not thinking of the obvious: Santa Cruz. I made mention of the fact that my understanding of the ML limitations were from a good friend who had had his boat in SC for many years before moving up to The Bay. Santa Cruz is SUPERB. I highly recommend you consider it, since ya can't get into Monterey, and ML just doesn't sound right for all the reasons we've been throwin' atcha.

 

[N-CC320]

Thanks guys. I know Santa Cruz or Monterey either one would be much better than Moss Landing. Actually, I drove past Moss Landing on a previous west coast trip and had just a brief look, but in reality, it didn't look so great compared to either Santa Cruz (seen only from the highway) or Monterey. Also looked at the SC web site and Google satellite images of Santa Cruz. It's much more to my liking. However, if I read the website correctly, the South Marina (needed for mast height) still has a waiting list, but North Marina (limited to 18 ft height) is open with no waiting list. I also talked with my son, who is my partner in this issue, and we are going to delay the C22 move to CA for a while...some other issues at play that need to work out. But when we do move it, we'll go for Santa Cruz if we can't get into Monterey. Santa Cruz also has a relatively narrow entrance, but I assume that it's position is oriented enough different so that one doesn't have to go directly through the surf like at ML....it obviously is a much more manageable situation judging from all the boats I saw there and shown on the satellite image.