Sailing from Seattle

[Beancounter]

Has anyone sailed south to SF bay from Seattle in May or June? I am curious as to conditions. I have a Hanse 388 with a 6'9" keel. Thinking of hiring a captain to join me as my experience is somewhat limited. I am looking for alternatives to trucking it south as costs are outrageous.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Beancounter

Has anyone sailed south to SF bay from Seattle in May or June? I am curious as to conditions. I have a Hanse 388 with a 6'9" keel. Thinking of hiring a captain to join me as my experience is somewhat limited. I am looking for alternatives to trucking it south as costs are outrageous.

Did this run in August of this year on an Amel see https://share.garmin.com/WilliamHerrmann

Downloading weather twice a day is essential. Between the weather updates, radar and AIS delivery was almost boring.

[A la carte]

I made the trip from south to north a few years ago. Found consistent 20-30kt winds from NNW with a leeward shore. Enjoyed just a few calmer days and saw > 40kts on occasion. Not an over abundance of places to turn in but, they do exist. Found the bar reports helpful when selecting a provision stop. https://www.weather.gov/pqr/AllBars Though uncomfortable going north (for me), I would expect going south to much more enjoyable. The coast is beautiful. Pilot Charts tend to confirm my experience of stronger NNW winds in May and June. https://www.offshoreblue.com/nav/pilot-charts.php

[sv_pelagia]

You can harbour hop down the coast, taking your time and watching for weather windows,

Not as much fog in May/June, but Spring storms can come in, keeping you in port.

(I have done the Neah Bay to San Fran trip 2x, both offshore both in September.)

[mvweebles]

For 5 years, I was a full time delivery skipper out of San Francisco, though almost exclusively powerboats. 90% of my work was headed north into prevailing weather. Headed south should be straightforward, though winds from south are not unheard of north of Cape Mendocino.

Standard summer weather is fairly calm at night, with NNW winds starting late morning and building to 25 kts by mid afternoon, then dropping to calmish by sundown.

My suspicion is that it doesn't take more than a reasonably experienced sailor to get comfortable with offshore conditions along this coast. Of you're leaving from Seattle, decent chance you'll know if you've bitten more than you can chew by Port Angeles, certainly Neah Bay. Plan a stop at Grays Harbor and make final go/no-go from there. I think the biggest hurdle is getting comfortable with weather reports and sea conditions with what you'll actually see and experience. Afternoon winds mean you'll be sailing in a lot of 4-6 foot chop on 4-5 foot swells that seems positively attrocious but isn't bad once you get into them. Hardest part is simply leaving port.

It's an expensive book but Don and Reanne Douglass's Pacific Coast Cruising Guide is excellent with many tips.

[Baby tug]

I made the trip halfway twice this year once in March on a 31 foot fisher motor sailor and then again I think July on a 36 foot trawler , both trips from the Puget sound to the Columbia river ilwaco Washington About 300 miles give or take, , I’ve done Southern California to the Columbia River a few times , I got stuck in San Francisco for three weeks waiting on weather in the spring, Later in the year is always better July August even September but later in the year is always better, I would have to know more about your boat condition, Auto pilot etc., I don’t know how you are but I would probably do a lot of motoring just me , I wouldn’t hire a captain either , get a friend to go with you, I did most of my trips single-handed cat nap with an auto pilot, I prefer to go straight through anyways depends how much time you have , if you’re going to hire a captain just hire him to move the boat for you and skip the trip that’s what I would do , Or you could sell your sailboat by trawler and stay in the northwest , San Francisco sure is expensive ��