North to Alaska

[Keith]

In preparation for going to Alaska next year we made the first of our sure to be many short off shore trips last weekend. We took the boat to Monterey from San Francisco leaving Thursday evening and returning from Monterey on Sunday, about a 200 mile round trip. Being a life long sailor, I didn't really know what to expect from a power boat going out the Golden Gate which, can be quite exciting at times.

We hit the Golden Gate at high slack water but, there was still a large swell running and a confused wind wave of between two to four feet. Our 50' Hatteras shouldered her way through all but the largest with ease. I on the other hand had a death grip on the wheel and my crew had already assumed the fetal position on the floor of the main salon. My plan was to go to the last entrance buoy and turn left which puts the seas and wind on the stern or certainly aft quarter. The pounding we were taking made me make my turn at the second from the last buoy because by this time someone had spilled the large bag on M&M peanuts on the main salon floor which is teak, not carpet, so they racket of 100's of M&M's rolling around on the floor plus the mysterious sounds coming from the galley area was enough to drive me to distraction! The left turn smoothed out the ride considerable and I set the auto pilot giving me the chance pick up all but one or two of the M&M's, the two broken glasses on the galley floor, check to make sure water was not gushing in someplace down below and to get my self a cup of coffee.

We had a great stay down in Monterey at Break Water Marina. We woke up Saturday morning to find a seal pup sleeping on our swim platform. To round out our water experience, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, probably one of the coolest places to visit if you are a water lover.

Sunday morning we left Monterey harbor and began beating back to San Francisco. A wild ride to say the least with water spraying over the fly bridge almost the entire trip. Again, coming into the Bay through the Golden Gate is always exciting. Usually there is a fair amount of freighter traffic and this day was no different plus the added excitement of the following seas slewing the boat back and forth. All but one of the crew took their seas sickness medication on the way back. Of course the one who choose not to had the dry heaves the entire day!

It was great to get back into the quiet of our slip, dissolve the huge salt crystal the boat had become and enjoy a double adult beverage.

Next trip - north to Bodega Bay.

Keith
Lady J

 

[John Dickson]

Ahem....

Powerboats do not "beat "

Shame Shame

 

[Keith]

You're right John - I did say I was a life long sailor and my terminology has yet to make the complete change over. Still working on it. I'm just happy not to have to crank winches anymore.

Keith
Lady J

 

[GJH]

Glad you had a fun time Keith; that is a pretty typical version of that trip this time of year. People out east don't understand the Pacific, with it's big swell and wind created waves on top of that. You may remember some posters saying you wouldn't spill your beer when you were considering making the trip in worse conditions a month or so ago.

You really have to look for weather windows during the summer, in this case the screaming west and north west winds that stir up in the afternoons. The issue going up the coast is there are very few and far apart places to duck in for cover. Robert Beebe, the pioneer of taking a recreational type boat around the world, author of "Voyaging Under Power", said that the worst conditions he face on the entire trip were coming down from Cape Mendicino in the summer.

Bodega is a pretty fun trip. You can get some shelter in Drake's Bay if needed, but when it is bad you cannot get into Tomales (and shouldn't go in there on anything but slack and after having called the Coast Guard. Once in Tomales, it is some lovely gunkholing, with some of the warmest water on the coast. In Bodega Bay, I'm not up to date (though I drove through there jus a few weeks ago, on whether you can tie up or over night at the Tides wharf or any of the other wharf/marinas other than Spud Point, which is a long walk to any of the restaurants. You should call ahead. Stay inside the markers in Bodega! Call the CG or Spud Point for advice before entering. You don't want to end up like "Happy" the sailboat!

You will want to plan the trip up to Alaska carefully, particularly between SF and the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. Maybe even consider a professional captain who specializes in that route.

 

[Will]

Local knowledge is a great advantage on a trip like that so you should seek out people who have made the trip. Coast Pilot 7 along with a number of books regarding Pacific Coast voyages provide a great deal of help as well.

Regardless of going in or out, I prefer passing through the Golden Gate on the flood. You mentioned heading out at High Slack. Regardless of what the tide books say, it's all but impossible to run through there without running through current running in one direction or the other. I just like to be sure it's flooding to avoid problems with the Westerly winds peaking the waves.

Soon you will be one of those with local knowledge.

I envy your plans.

Will

 

[GJH]

The only issue with going out against the flood and the afternoon wind is that it is like boating through quicksand; right up there with going out through Hell Gate in NYC against peak ebb, amongst other places. Coming in the Gate is a nice ride if your boat can handle the following sea; my Hatt would be "interesting" to try under those conditions.

This is making me homesick! Well, only a little. Overall, east coast boating totally rules over the west coast, not even close IMO, until you get up to Puget Sound and north.

 

[mike]

Keith, did the trip south from Vancouver to SF in our 53'MY, it was exciting to say the least. Given your sailing experience I am sure you know going north will require as already mentioned, watching the weather windows and not being in a hurry. There are not a lot of safe harbor options along this coast, and all require crossing dangerous bars, planning is key. When the north coast shuts down your best option is to stay offshore and not risk bar crossings, making fuel management very important. It also helps to have stabilizers to dampen the ride. Our worst experience was off the Columbia River, having the filters load up with both engines going silent and ending up beam-to in heavy seas. Not fun, and a real testimonial for dual-switchable filters and clean tanks. We learned the boat can take a lot more than we can. However, the trip is well worth the effort, we will also be going north next year spending time in the PNW. Enjoy the Bodega Bay trip and watch out for the low-lying rocks and sometime breakers at the entrance. The CG station is right inside the entrance for local conditons and bar info.

 

[Keith]

I have planned our trip up to Puget Sound in about 100 mile hops - Bodega Bay, Noyo Harbor, Humbolt, Cresent City, Brookings, Coos Bay, Yaquina Bay, Grays Harbor, Neah Bay. I installed dual Racor 1000 filters on both engines because I have had fuel problems in the past but was able to raise the sails, obviously, not the case here. Since this is a retirement cruise, we don't care if it takes weeks to get up north and the Admiral prefers a smooth ride whenever possible...

We have cruised in the San Juan Islands on four different occasions charting boats out of Bellingham. Each time I wanted to stay longer but work got in the way. It is definitely beautiful up there. My son just returned from two weeks of working on a boat in Elfin Cove, Alaska and he says it is even more beautiful in that area,

I have 9 1/2 months to finish getting the boat ready. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks for all of the input.

Keith
Lady J

 

[GJH]

Keith,

Well planned, you are in for a lot of fun. A fun and useful bit of preparation would be to take a car trip and check out those harbors before hand, talk to the locals and CG etc. You don't know what conditions or time of day you may have to attempt entry, so getting a visual beforehand (with pix) can only help. Make sure to see the potential alternatives if one of the bars is closed (standing off off shore is usually best if it's that bad.. Or heck, who knows you might want to try and run Depoe Bay! The side benefit is they are all in beautiful areas and it's a great car trip. Marinas.com and Google Earth are ways to do it virtually, too.