Tips for single-handing out of San Francisco Bay for the first time?

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patrickkidd

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Nov 15, 2015
268
J J/30 Seward, AK
I've had my Catalina 30 inside the San Francisco Bay for about a year and a half. In that time I have been sailing about every 2-3 weekends and the bay's crazy currents, fog, and swell continue to teach me more than I would have learned back home in Alaska. I am feeling pretty comfortable in the bay's conditions now, for example being able to quickly throw in a single or double reef in main and jib easily and figure ways out of situations like when the jib sheets get terribly tangled around each other in 30kts of wind. The boat is at least outfitted comfort wise for overnighting (power, fridge), and I have been staying in the bay's shallow anchorages.

So I am starting to think about what I need to do to prepare for going out of the bay to Drakes Bay or Half Moon Bay or a trip around the Farallons. Is the ASA blue water course sufficient, and worth the money? Other than wind and wave height and distance I am not familiar with what to watch for weather wise. It's weekends like the next one where windy.tv is showing a pleasant 15kts of wind from the west between here and Half Moon Bay and 85F up the delta (too hot for me) that get me thinking about it.

I will have my dinghy inflated and on deck, use an inflatable harness and jackline, hardline VHF and handheld floating VHF with GPS and MMSI distress, plenty of 12v via solar and 375ah bank. I don't have radar or any other nav equipment.

What are your tips, what else do I need to learn or install on the boat?

Thank you all!
 
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Allan12210

Allan12210

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Jan 22, 2008
1,655
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
One thing I could suggest if you are not a member of a yacht club is to join one of the sailing clubs. San Jose Sailing Club or California Cruising Clippers are good. They are relatively small, inexpensive and you can make good friends while learning about the area and having fun.

ASA is always good to further your knowledge. My wife and I did that 30 years ago (on several Florida vacation s). That really helped us a lot around the SF Bay.

Half Moon Bay is a good inital trip out the gate. The best time is Labor Day when many Yacht Clubs go out for the end of summer and the winds are lighter. We've led numerous cruises there as well as to Monterey. If you PM me I will send you one of our criusing packets that you might find helpful. In general you sound to be well set up for the trip. We don't have radar either and have gone to HMB maybe 50 times and Monterey about 15 times in all conditions. There's not that much traffic that you can't see well enough in advance to avoid.

Enjoy the area.

Allan
OYC
 
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Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,782
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Allan12210 said:
Half Moon Bay is a good inial trip out the gate.
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Good advice. It's closer and has a nice anchorage as well as docks. I suggest not deploying your main at all and run downwind on jib alone if the wind is up or predicted to be so.

Leann the harbor charts and the entrance buoys - by heart.

Did you buy Kimball Livingston's book Sailing The Bay?
 
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patrickkidd

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Nov 15, 2015
268
J J/30 Seward, AK
Stu Jackson said:
Good advice. It's closer and has a nice anchorage as well as docks. I suggest not deploying your main at all and run downwind on jib alone if the wind is up or predicted to be so.

Leann the harbor charts and the entrance buoys - by heart.

Did you buy Kimball Livingston's book Sailing The Bay?
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How is the coverage for routes outside the bay?
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

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Jan 22, 2008
1,655
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Connect the dots frm the gate to R8, R26 off Montara, G1, G3 into the breakwater at HMB.

I edited my previous post. I can provide more info.

Allan
 
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Johnb

Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,421
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
Know where the no go zones are. Be very clear that if you get into the shallow banks outside the entrance (potato patch) there can be dire consequences. Also know clearly how to approach Pillar Point Harbor and Bodega Bay for example, both of which are hazardous from the wrong direction. I would suggest copying and marking a chart with waypoints and then putting a matching set into at least 2 GPS units. Do a whole lot of reading and listening and study the charts as part of you preparation.

The coastal pilot is available free
https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot_w.php?book=7
 
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markwbird

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Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
Sail out past channel marker #8 before you turn South to Half Moon. As you may already know there is a large horseshoe shaped sand bar that kind of encircles the entrance to the gate. It has about a 5 mile radius and a channel is cut through it for the ship channel. When you sail over it the depth is about 30ft. This can cause rogue breaking waves that will roll a sailboat. They do not happen very often but they do happen. Anyway, sailing out past Red #8 before turning left gets you in the clear.
 
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markwbird

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Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
By the way. The Berkeley Yacht Club is doing a cruise out to Half Moon right around labor day. You should join us.
 
jssailem

jssailem

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Oct 22, 2014
21,146
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
markwbird said:
The Berkeley Yacht Club is doing a cruise out to Half Moon
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That sound like the best idea I have heard for a sail into unexperienced waters. All of the adventure with new friends that can help is you get in a jam.
 
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JohnShannon

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Jan 4, 2010
1,037
Farr 30 San Francisco
Sailflow has weather predictions that are pretty good. I wouldn't go if it is foggy. AIS receive radio is $200 or so and really improves your situational awareness. Next to HMB is Mavericks you don't want to be near that on a sailboat. North of the main shipping channel is 4 fathom bank (potato patch) waves will break there earlier than other places. Best to stay just outside the shipping channel you have the deeper water and no ships. Go with a group is an excellent idea. Paper chart JIC. Have fun
 
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patrickkidd

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Nov 15, 2015
268
J J/30 Seward, AK
markwbird said:
Sail out past channel marker #8 before you turn South to Half Moon. As you may already know there is a large horseshoe shaped sand bar that kind of encircles the entrance to the gate. It has about a 5 mile radius and a channel is cut through it for the ship channel. When you sail over it the depth is about 30ft. This can cause rogue breaking waves that will roll a sailboat. They do not happen very often but they do happen. Anyway, sailing out past Red #8 before turning left gets you in the clear.
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I have heard the tip about marker #8 before, but doesn't that still put you inside the shoal? The charts show the outer #1 and #2 as being outside the shoal.
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

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Jan 22, 2008
1,655
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
patrickkidd said:
I have heard the tip about marker #8 before, but doesn't that still put you inside the shoal? The charts show the outer #1 and #2 as being outside the shoal.
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This time of year on anything from slack before the flood through the flood is ok to cross the bar at number 8. We've done it on an ebb with the wind up to about 20 knots (by mistake) and the waves got pretty tall real quick. They weren't breaking, but we realized we wouldn't go that way again. And we never have. Transiting out of the Gate on a really windy day with an ebb is very difficult anyway. You might think the current will suck you right out, but it doesn't. With the wind pushing back against the waves they are the biggest at the Gate and keep smacking into you practically stopping your progress. Best to wait for slack tide under those conditions.

During Labor Day time frame with the lighter air it is easy to cross the bar turning at R#8. If you get there and the surf is running, then go to R#2. During that same time of year we actually turn the corner much earlier than R#8 when we have a clean shot at marker CR 26 off Montara. You might want to wait until you have more experience or go with a buddy boat before you try that.

I'm still not sure if we are going with our Club (Oakland Yacht Club), but there is a cruise out to HMB that weekend. You could tag along as well.

Allan
 
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patrickkidd

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Nov 15, 2015
268
J J/30 Seward, AK
Allan12210 said:
This time of year on anything from slack before the flood through the flood is ok to cross the bar at number 8. We've done it on an ebb with the wind up to about 20 knots (by mistake) and the waves got pretty tall real quick. They weren't breaking, but we realized we wouldn't go that way again. And we never have. Transiting out of the Gate on a really windy day with an ebb is very difficult anyway. You might think the current will suck you right out, but it doesn't. With the wind pushing back against the waves they are the biggest at the Gate and keep smacking into you practically stopping your progress. Best to wait for slack tide under those conditions.

During Labor Day time frame with the lighter air it is easy to cross the bar turning at R#8. If you get there and the surf is running, then go to R#2. During that same time of year we actually turn the corner much earlier than R#8 when we have a clean shot at marker CR 26 off Montara. You might want to wait until you have more experience or go with a buddy boat before you try that.

Our club (Oakland Yacht Club) is going Labor Day weekend. We have a good friend with a new to them Catalina 320 who want to go for their first time. We will Shepard them down and back. If you are interested, you can join us as well if you would like.

Allan
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What a great reply combined with the others, thank you. Looks like both Berkeley and Oakland are headed out. I'll put it on my calendar!
 
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