Good point. No disagreement on the technicality there but that mark is regularly passed by sailboats well to landward. It is over 100 feet deep at the buoy and shoals to about 60 feet 2/3rds of the way to shore. The only navigational danger to other than large commercial craft is the kelp. I pass it on the inside or the outside depending on the wind direction but being well aware to stay out of the visable kelp on the inside.
Decades ago (ok, make that many decades ago!) I used to sail over there in a Rhodes 19. That was a boat with a keel. Looking back on it, I think I was foolish to do that, because the boat was not self-bailing. However, capsizing it was not a major consideration, and I did live to tell the tale.
“Local knowledge” is a marvelous thing to have. I have, of course, seen many boats transiting around, or past, Pt. Vicente on a lay inshore of the buoy. And as I think we agree, a first-timer should be both wary and cautions of potential hazarads, especially well-marked ones. It’s been a favorite “trick” of mine for several years to follow the locals into San Diego Bay, whenever they are about, through the Pt Loma kelp bed into the channel. It’s a shortcut. But an unwary newbie likely would soon be fouled in kelp trying such a shortcut, perhaps hopelessly so. The “standard visitor” goes WAY AROUND to G3, sometimes G1.
Absolutely.
It’s like what I offered in my first post, #6, that the boat as we now see is the CB model if that is germane at all, is a daysailor for use principally in protected water. If one is in conditions in the SP channel sufficient enough to capsize the boat then, frankly—and forgive me, I would question whether any amount of prior practice would prove effective in righting it in the relentless oncoming seas, and then keeping it on its feet. But, if it’s not going to capsize (is self-righting), then not an issue.
Yes. OK—but what I meant is that if sailing inshore of “R10PV” to round or pass by Pt. Vicente, you will be within the boundaries of the marked Danger Area (zone) until SW of Pt Vicente. I’m looking at the chart.
I'm not trying to change your opinion on this, but for the sake of more information being more useful: the Mariner is built on a Rhodes 19 hull (you can still buy a Rhodes 19 from the same manufacturer). The Mariner has a cabin on top and the cockpit is now self-bailing and meets the MORC standards for self-righting. The Mariner is also packed with foam, for positive flotation, and because mine is a Stuart-built boat, the foam is not waterlogged styrofoam. I've also plumbed in a bilge pump.
I am. The Mariner is a first class, full, and real sailboat, the CB version as well as the keel version. Her design is very well tested and her reputation among those who sail her is impeccable. In a well maintained Mariner, I'd not hesitate to sail from Miami to Bimini, which I hope to do some day. If I do, I'll keep going to Puerto Rico. What a trip. Catalina Island is a significant and serious sail. The CB Mariner can handle it. As everyone on here is in agreement with, it's the sailor that we worry about more. Jack is taking all the right steps to insure a great trip. Don't worry about the boat, just make sure you're prepared.
Thanks for this info. It's not as bad as it could be, then. I still wouldn't do it, but I respect that people vary in their risk tolerance.
Check the NOAA zone forecast, but keep in mind that it covers a wide are (Pt. Mugu to San Mateo Pt.), and so you might not get an accurate read on the San Pedro channel specifically. Also look at forecasting tools that will give you more accuracy in the localized area where you will be. Windfinder and Windy.com come to mind for starters.
There’s a NOAA service called “Dial a Buoy” that I use with my cell phone when I cannot get internet reception and do not wish to listen to the VHF version. Call up and enter your station number when asked, which is #46025. That’s the Santa Monica Basin offshore buoy. You can get current conditions, which usually apply to the SP Channel, updated every 15 to 30 minutes, I believe. Also, you can hold on for the zonal forecast (press #1) which is updated every 6 hr. So, if you leave b/f 0800 you’ll get the 0200, or so, forecast update at that time. You can check again around 0800 for the next one if still within cell tower range, etc. The Dial-a-Buoy number is 1-888-701-8992. Try it out!
So that’s a bit of a loaded question since as we know, the skipper always makes the call. I doubt that I’d wish to leave to cross the SP Channel in your boat if there were a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) issued in our forecast zone, OR leave from Isthmus Cove for home. However, there are “nuances” that years of experience provide as to whether a zonal SCA forecast would actually much affect one’s specific transit.
, etc. This in part speaks to John’s point above about “schedules.” If you wisely decide to stay in when SCAs are about, and you are at the island, you might be there longer than you “planned.”
The picture the OP posted makes it appear at first glance to be “open” because of the large cockpit, but a Iook at other pics on-line shows that it is not fully so. And the OP has since pointed out (post #46) that the boat has a cabin top (sealed with hatch boards?), is self-righting, self-bailing with cockpit scuppers, and carries a mainsail that can be reefed (post #16), etc. It appears similarly capable as a Cal20, but weighs less by about 500# and has a centerboard rather than a fixed iron keel.
Scott, you may be justifiably galled, or you may be misunderstanding the amount of experience my son and I do have in the Pacific, based on the tone of my posts. I don't know. I think it's typical for people on the internet to overstate their skills, and in this post I tried deliberately to come at this particular trip in a way that I felt would lead to me learning more rather than less. But it might have led to a tone in this thread where I was a sailing neophyte.
