San Francisco-To-Ventura

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xcyz

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Jan 22, 2008
174
Hunter 376
Anyone care to share their "real" life experiences (including log data) regarding their voyage from San Francisco Bay down towards Ventura or further south? I will be attempting this journey toward the end of May in a Hunter 460 and would like to learn from others what they would do differently to ensure a faster, safer and comfortable trip.

Thanks,
-R
 
Oct 9, 2008
1,742
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
send a note to Calif.Ted. He did it last year in a Catalina 320. All the way to Dana Point.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
We made the trip UP the coast from Dana Point to SF about 3 years ago in a Hunter 376. The only real rough part of the trip was from Santa Barbara to Morro Bay (6 ft seas every 6-10 sec). Going south is normally not bad. Obviously you need to pick your weather window to avoid and inclement weather.

We did some harbor hopping. Dana Point -Santa Barbara, SB-Morro Bay, MB-Monterey Bay, MB-San Francisco. We did this trip in September.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,982
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Had a friend sail his C34 down. Told me a story that when the winds built around Pt. Conception they had to furl their main, which was the only sail up at the time, in heavy seas and found it difficult to turn around to drop it. Why anyone has a main only up going downwind is beyond me.
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,926
Catalina 320 Dana Point
Came out the gate at high noon on a slack tide no wind in the bay but somehow there's a 15 knot headwind right under the bridge and the only chop of the day, couldn't ask for a better passage of the bar.
Did it in late August, light winds until Morro Bay where I waited outside at dawn for the extreme dense fog to lift a little, they always seem to be dedging and I won't go in there blind. Coming out of MB steady 10 kt winds, overcast, good visibilty to 3 to 5 miles. Forecast was 5-15 winds with 4 to 6 ft waves, approaching Pt. Arguello late afternoon wind went from 10 to 20 quickly. While putting in the first reef wind kept going to 30, dropped main and went under a gale sail. Winds were 30-35 with higher gusts until about 3 am when dropped to 25 and I finally got to go below for awhile. Waves were maybe 10 to 14 with breaking sections along the tops, little visibility literally blowing like snot. Due to some crew deficiencies I had the watch most of the nights and it was much colder than anyone could expect. I had several layers and foulies overall and would have gone for more if I had them.
Went into Channel Islands next AM (i think) where I laid over a couple days to recover and re-crew (release the seasick ones and get my wife to replace 2 men, and a good trade it was).
 

rfrye1

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Jun 15, 2004
589
Hunter H376 San Diego
About 5 yrs ago I crewed on the Alaska Eagle (http://www.occsailing.com/alaska_eagle) on a trip from SF to Newport in October. It was a pretty mild trip the whole way down, only saw 20 kts. Stopped in Morro Bay, Channel Is and Catalina Is. Highlite was sailing out of SF under the Golden Gate about 7-8pm watching a full moon rise up over the city and the bridge.
 
Jun 1, 2004
125
Catalina 30 MKII Channel Islands Harbor, CA
I've done that trip twice Southbound and once Northbound. As long as you watch for appropriate weather, you should have no problem. We've stopped in Morro Bay (the MB Yacht Club is well known for its hospitality) and also gone non-stop. Winds and seas were strongest along the Big Sur coastline on both Southbound trips. We just reduced sail area and had a great ride. Surprisingly, our Northbound trip was the easiest of all (go figure). We left Channel Islands Harbor at 8:30 p.m. and tied up at Richmond 47 hours later. At one point off Monterey we were actually running wing and wing -- while headed North! I'm in the owners' directory of this site. Send a private message if you have more specific questions. We keep our boat in Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard. Get in touch if you find yourself down there or in Ventura.
 

rfrye1

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Jun 15, 2004
589
Hunter H376 San Diego
I also have Fagan's book. Bought it a long time ago. Has it ever been updated? Does anyone know? Its good, but things do change.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,982
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Not much along that coast. Really. Santa Barbara to Morro Bay to Monterey? What changed? Detailed harbor charts and harbor information is updated in the Coast Pilot and on the internet. The beauty of Fagan's book is the area covered.
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,926
Catalina 320 Dana Point
I seem to recall Brian retired about the time of the last update (2001?) with no intentions of updating his cruising guides but he did have some other projects in mind which escape me now, maybe something in the natural history line.
While I wouldn't rely on any phone numbers in the guide as Stu pointed out most things remain unchanged, and the explanations of weather patterns and passage tips, tricks, and shelter and most valuable.
 
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