Passage planned from Victoria, BC to HMB, Ca Any tips for trip in July-2017

[Nic.A.Wil]

Hello,

I planned a passage from Victoria, BC to Half Moon Bay, Ca on a Defever 49' Pilothouse (twin Lehman power boat). Scheduled for July 15th 2017 and am looking for information to make trip as safe and sound as can be. Anyone out there give me some pointers on weather, coordinates, and locations recommended to stop off along the passage.

I really appreciate all the support to prepare for the trip ahead.

Thank you,
Nicholas

[Flyingriki]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-a-185640.html

A guy doing it now.

[wedivebc]

Originally Posted by Nic.A.Wil

Hello,

I planned a passage from Victoria, BC to Half Moon Bay, Ca on a Defever 49' Pilothouse (twin Lehman power boat). Scheduled for July 15th 2017 and am looking for information to make trip as safe and sound as can be. Anyone out there give me some pointers on weather, coordinates, and locations recommended to stop off along the passage.

I really appreciate all the support to prepare for the trip ahead.

Thank you,
Nicholas

I live on Vancouver Island. Anything I can help you with?

[Paul L]

I'd cross the Straits and clear in at Port Angeles so you don't have to deal with it anywhere that you decide to pull in on the way down. I suspect fueling there would be cheaper than Victoria also.

[Lepke]

I use to commercial fish the West Coast...
Going south, I clear customs at Port Angeles. Neah Bay is a good jumping off point and place to watch the weather for starting south. There's a big area to anchor and transit dockage is available. Primary customers are fishermen so dock prices are reasonable. There's a good market, but at the end of the supply chain so grocery prices are higher.
I like to travel about 25 miles out to miss the ground swell and freighters. Until Crescent City, every port has a bar to cross. The only one I avoid is Eureka. Most bars are closed in really bad weather. But I could always get into Crescent City. The next place always open is Drakes Bay, 25 miles NW of San Francisco.
Some nice places to stop if the bar isn't bad is Newport, Oregon and Fort Brag, CA. Both have easy fuel and several restaurants.

[Paul Elliott]

Do get familiar with the summer weather, especially the persistent "crunch zone" between the offshore high and the inland low. This generates gales and big seas, and can last for weeks at a stretch. It usually sits 20-100 NM offshore, between Cape Blanco in southern Oregon, and Cape Mendocino in northern California. It can stretch as far south as Monterey, and everyone seems to have a slightly different story about this. Here's mine: The Friday Harbor to San Francisco Delivery in Pictures « VALIS

I like this NOAA webpage for conditions and forecasts along this coastline: Ocean Prediction Center - Pacific

Here's a site with WA and OR harbor conditions: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/marine/BarObs.php

[Astrid]

Agree with Paul. I did the trip some years ago from Vancouver to San Diego. Stand well clear of Honda Point when entering the Santa Barbara channel on your last leg before San Diego. There is a considerable potential for fog in that area.

[Capt Phil]

First, let me mention that traveling aboard a DeFever down the coast is like driving a Winnebago on a smooth freeway! We purchased our DeFever in Northern WA State and spent about 6 months cruising all my old haunts on the BC coast as far north as Rivers Inlet and points in between.
We then headed down the coast to San Diego stopping in Fort Bragg(Noyo River) and San Francisco. We left Port Townsend and went directly to Neah Bay where we awaited a weather window. As Lepke mentioned in a previous post, do not try and make the turn south too soon even though you may be in a washing machine 20-30 miles off Flattery. We made our turn at around 40 miles out and had a following sea on the quarter the whole way. Turning south later than sooner also avoids the Columbia River entrance which can be messy. We stopped in Fort Bragg because bar conditions were problematic in Humbolt Bay(Eureka) and weather out 50 miles or so off Cape Mendocino was stinky. Stopped in San Francisco because a couple of crew wanted to go sightseeing.
Straight shot from SF to San Diego and rounded Point Conception about 3:00 am in calm seas.
We left Port Townsend in mid-October but July should be fine except for the fog. You will find small craft and a lot of junk in the water out 10 miles, commercial fishermen out to about 20 miles and cruise ships between 20 and 30 miles out. 30-50 miles out you will find the Tanker traffic from Alaska. The other traffic crossing your course will be Asian freighters from China, Japan, Singapore as well as car carriers primarily from Japan. Further south you will have tankers carrying Minos crude from Port Morseby.
There is some conjecture about whether to stay far off shore or gunkhole close in. I have delivered boats both north and south for many years and normally opt for the offshore route. There is a mild northerly current during the fall months south to north about 5-8 miles off shore at .75 knots but only sailing vessels take advantage of it, normally.
Have a fun passage downhill! Phil

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Lepke

Some nice places to stop if the bar isn't bad is Newport, Oregon and Fort Brag, CA. Both have easy fuel and several restaurants.

The Ft. Bragg fuel dock closed a few years ago. Only way to get fuel there is to order it from a truck. Not so handy. I was there in August 2016.

[Stu Jackson]

See this:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...la-185936.html

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

Do get familiar with the summer weather, especially the persistent "crunch zone" between the offshore high and the inland low. This generates gales and big seas, and can last for weeks at a stretch. It usually sits 20-100 NM offshore, between Cape Blanco in southern Oregon, and Cape Mendocino in northern California. It can stretch as far south as Monterey, and everyone seems to have a slightly different story about this. Here's mine: The Friday Harbor to San Francisco Delivery in Pictures « VALIS

I like this NOAA webpage for conditions and forecasts along this coastline: Ocean Prediction Center - Pacific

Here's a site with WA and OR harbor conditions: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/marine/BarObs.php

The crunch zone you mention has been present some where along that section from S OR to Cape Mendicino each of the 4 times I've been down the coast in Aug and Sept.. Lots of people like to talk up the weather charts with human interaction over just using GRIBs. In all 4 times neither the GFS GRIB or the NOAA charts called the conditions. The predictions might be 20 NW and you'd get 30-35 gusting low 40's for 12 hours. The NOAA forecasters are sitting in their office in Eureka just around the corner from these Capes, you'd think that they would get these predictions closer. I was told that the Navy GRIB model picks these cape issues up better, but I didn't see it the last time we passed Mendicino.

[CLady]

Hi Spouthbounders!
In mid July 2011 'did a delivery from Anacortes to San Pedro on a 41 foot sailboat. With a keen eye to the weather PX, left Anacortes and flew out the Straits on an ebb tide rounding Cape Flattery at night in predictions of okay seas and less than 15 knots of wind. During the night lightning appeared to the West and the wind freshened a bit. The smell of rotten eggs intensified with lightning now upon us and hail piling up on the deck 5 inches deep. This happenend three times--unbelievable hail and lightning. The wind didn't become a real problem, and the seas didn't kick up that bad although it was pretty bumpy 10 miles off shore. This weather system was NOT predicted at all. This freak storm made the front page of the Seattle Times the next day which I read in Westport where we ducked in for a rest. (I checked with Lee Chesneau after getting to San Pedro to check what happened--he said 3 little discrete lows got together for a little weather bomb).
The next day headed south again for a lovely sail to Pt. George off Crescent City where I had to duck in for 3 days for a Gale to pass througfh.
VERY DENSE fog enshrouded San Francisco Bay entrance but south of there, nothing particularly remarkable all of the way around Point Conception and on down to San Pedro.
11 days total including 3-day layover in Crescent City.
The Oregon coast was spectacular.
CLady

[Paul Elliott]

Just to remind folks about those "crunch zone" gales, here's today's 96-hour wind/wave forecast. Cape Mendocino: 40 kt wind, 19 ft waves (average of the highest one-third, there will definitely be bigger ones)

[Nic.A.Wil]

Hello All,

Thank you for all your past experiences and recommendations. This will all be with me for the trip. Much appreciated!

Cheers,
Nicholas A. Wilson