T&T: Coast-hopping from British Columbia to Southern California ? (Long)

[Adam]

My first piece of advise would have to be don't do it now.   :-)   We 
are having some real storms in the PNW, 55 knots in my slip.  (wind 
speed, not hull speed :-) )

There are several good stops along the way but if 300 miles is your 
outside limit you might want to re-think.  Grey's Harbor in Washington 
is a good place to stop, Astoria if you don't mind going over the 
Columbia River Bar (Sometimes over-rated sometimes not) is a great place 
to provision.  In the summer at least, there is a trolley that will take 
you from the marina to downtown and back.  You can ride it all day for a 
couple bucks.   Newport Oregon is not bad if you time it right, Coos Bay 
is the best bar on the Oregon coast, that's not to say it can't be 
impassable at times.  In theory you can get in and out of Gold Beach but 
you probably don't want to, go on to Crescent City California. (If I 
were leaving Coos Bay I would go on to...) Eureka California is do-able 
but you could get stuck waiting to get out.  That's true of any port on 
this coast.  It's a stretch to Bodega Bay and I have never stopped 
there.  San Francisco is big, tumultuous, crowded and hard to get into 
or out of but there is nothing like cruising under the Golden Gate 
bridge in your own boat.  You can cruise the delta and the rivers for 
years.  There a several harbors from SF to LA most are great in good 
weather, not so much otherwise.  Once around Point Conception it is 
usually like a bathtub from there to the Mexican border.  Boaters in 
that area would probably take exception to that but I spent about ten 
years cruising down there.  I didn't know what weather was until I came 
to Oregon.  Getting around the capes on this coast can be tricky some 
will try to be as far out as they can be, others will hug the coast.  I 
am a coast hugger and have been lucky so far but I tend to be a fair 
weather sailor and don't mind waiting for the right conditions.  I never 
like to have a schedule if I can avoid it.

Cruising on this coast is getting from one safe harbor to another safe 
harbor.  Everything in between is staying alive :-) .  I have made the 
trip several times and I don't do it for fun any more.  It can be 
beautiful with fair winds for days on end but that is the exception.  
There is no shame in turning back and I have done it more than once.  It 
is generally easier to go south in the summer and north in the spring or 
fall but there are always exceptions.  Travel after October or before 
May is pretty chancy, on the northern end anyway.  You do your cruising 
up here in weather windows, some are longer than others.  When one comes 
along you grab it and hope it stays open like the weather people say it 
will.

As the old saying goes that is my humble opinion and your mileage may 
vary.  Hope it helps.  A good coast pilot or cruising book is a big help 
also.  Sorry this went on so long, it is stormy tonight and there is 
nothing else to do. :-)


Adam

Sven wrote:
> A trawler/troller-novice question, from some very experienced small
> boat coastal cruising sailors.
>
> Over the last 45 years we've done lots of coastal cruising in
> sailboats from 23 to 35 feet and currently "cruise" a 23 foot Ericson
> sloop 1000+ nm/year.
>
> We don't belong to the bicycle-helmet and elbow pads for sidewalk
> transit crowd,  but we also do not take stupid risks.
>
> Gasp, we're thinking about a small-boat (25' Albin ?) diesel sail
> from Canada down to the Mexican border !
>
> Assuming we're talking about a cruising range of 300 nm per
> provisioning stop, what are some good references for planning a coast-
> hopping cruise down the Pacific Coast ?  References for emergency
> shelters along the way,  re-provisioning,  worthwhile land stops,
> mechanical and other services, ... anything else I should have asked
> about ?
>
> This is question number one from a couple of system engineers who are
> literally, if not figuratively, "rocket scientists".  Many more
> questions are bound to follow :-)
>
> Helpful suggestions, advice and references will be truly appreciated.
>
>
>
>
> -Sven
>
>
>
>
> 	"A prince who is not himself wise cannot be wisely advised
> 	good advice depends on the shrewdness of the prince who seeks it."
>
> 							- Machiavelli, The Prince
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