Victoria, BC to the Sea of Cortez

[ksanders]

Who are the naysayers you keep referring to?

Without getting into specific people, or even specific threads... The "naysayers" are those that have indicated that it takes a boat with off shore, all weather capability to safely make this kind of trip.

If these nice folks had for example posted prior to their departure that they were going to make the trip in a 34' single engine decades old TT, there would have been a flury of posts warning them of the foolishness of their dream, and that they need a much more capable boat to make the trip.

The great thing is they didn't ask, they just went for it! For that my hat is off to them!

They , and every other person that coastal cruises long distances, in budget friendly boats show others that it can be done without spending a mint on a expensive passagemaker.

Other people considering the same type of trip, in similar boats can read of their safe adventures and know that their dreams, on their budget, in the boat they either own or can actually buy, are possible.

That is more powerful, especially to new members who come here with a dream than anyone could ever imagine.

 

[VicTrawler]

Going to the Sun?

Yes, off to Mexico in about a week or so.

 

[VicTrawler]

I don't think he was referring to anyone specifically on TF, but there are plenty out there in the real world who worry about doing just that...including me sometimes. I know it's important to pick your weather and not have a strict schedule, but it's good to see it done with relative comfort, ease and fun.

If you'd like this thread's title to be changed, let me know and I can change it.

Great job on your journey so far and thanks for taking us along.

Our pleasure! And yes please, replace San Diego, CA with "the Sea of Cortez."

 

[Britannia]

...
If these nice folks had for example posted prior to their departure that they were going to make the trip in a 34' single engine decades old TT, there would have been a flury of posts warning them of the foolishness of their dream, and that they need a much more capable boat to make the trip.
...

Actually that's exactly what they posted (read the first two paragraphs of post #1 in this thread.) The only flurry of posts was from well wishers telling them that their plan to take it slowly and wait for the weather windows was a good one.

Richard

 

[mahal]

If these nice folks had for example posted prior to their departure that they were going to make the trip in a 34' single engine decades old TT, there would have been a flury of posts warning them of the foolishness of their dream, and that they need a much more capable boat to make the trip.

I doubt the above would would happen. Please stop minimalizing the OP's vessel, as if it were a small lightweight planing go fast boat - it is a 34' heavy trawler that is built for the kind of cruising they are doing (not crossing an ocean). My boat is similar and I have no doubt it is capable of doing long distance coastal cruising. Let's not derail this nice thread with this "naysayer" business.

Getting back to the thread: Great job Victrawler!!
If you stop in Ensenada, Hotel Coral Marina is nice. You can use the hotel facilities (indoor & outdoor pool, spa, gym, ping-pong table, pool table...) as a marina customer.

 

[Hawgwash]

Please stop minimalizing the OP's vessel

Good grief.

Kevin was their biggest, prettiest cheerleader from to git go.

 

[ksanders]

Good grief.

Kevin was their biggest, prettiest cheerleader from to git go.

Thanks!

and yes, I have been a fan from day one!

 

[ksanders]

I doubt the above would would happen. Please stop minimalizing the OP's vessel, as if it were a small lightweight planing go fast boat - it is a 34' heavy trawler that is built for the kind of cruising they are doing (not crossing an ocean). My boat is similar and I have no doubt it is capable of doing long distance coastal cruising. Let's not derail this nice thread with this "naysayer" business.

Getting back to the thread: Great job Victrawler!!
If you stop in Ensenada, Hotel Coral Marina is nice. You can use the hotel facilities (indoor & outdoor pool, spa, gym, ping-pong table, pool table...) as a marina customer.

Mahl I am not minimizing their vessle, quite the opposite.

But, since you brought it up I see no difference between their 34' "trawler" and the 34' twin diesel "go fast" Bayliner that I used to make the 1500 NM trip from Seattle to Alaska many moons ago, for coastal cruising.

Thats the point, it does not taske a specific type of boat to cruise along a coastline. What it takes is the time to do it, and common sense when to go and when to stay in port.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Many thousands of skippers have crossed Dixon Entrance and thought or said "hey that was easy".

Kevin,
If the weather woman (or man) is wrong and the seas are 20' and building and breaking the type of boat under your feet may be suddenly very important. A mater of life and death perhaps.

 

[Hawgwash]

I see no difference between their 34' "trawler" and the 34' twin diesel "go fast" Bayliner that I used to make the 1500 NM trip from Seattle to Alaska many moons ago, for coastal cruising.

Ah yes, weren't those fun days and fuel at less than a buck a US gallon to boot.

 

[ksanders]

Many thousands of skippers have crossed Dixon Entrance and thought or said "hey that was easy".

Kevin,
If the weather woman (or man) is wrong and the seas are 20' and building and breaking the type of boat under your feet may be suddenly very important. A mater of life and death perhaps.

Eric, of course in 20' seas things are different.

Only an idiot would go out in 20' seas in any boat designed for coastsal cruising. Thats the cool thing about coastal cruising. You get to stay in port in bad weather and enjoy all the port has to offer.

I won't even go into the "this boat is more seaworthy than that boat" argument except to say that in bad conditions you should stay in port, in any boat.

People talk about being caught in bad conditions, but what they are talking about is uncomfortable conditions, not life threatening conditions. With that in mind I think it is safe to say that you can coastal cruise safely in any boat, if you are smart enough to stay in port during life threatening conditions. The wether forecasts are not that wrong, and an experienced prudent captain will poke his head out and evaluate the situation himself. Dixon entrance is an easy one, Tongass narrows on the north and Prince Rupert on the south. Both offer ample opportunity to turn around if conditions are other than expected.

Please remember that I have made the passage from Washington to Alaska twice, in my own boats, including crossing all the fabled rough water areas along the way including the big kahuna of North America, the Gulf of Alaska over 200NM of open ocean with nowhere to hide.

Both trips were in Bayliners, one a 3488 Bayliner in 2003 an d one a 4788 Bayliner in 2012

 

[sunchaser]

Well Vic, now that the naysayers have been dealt with, I'm still curious as to oil leak. As best I understand it just went away or ??

 

[VicTrawler]

Well Vic, now that the naysayers have been dealt with, I'm still curious as to oil leak. As best I understand it just went away or ??

I wouldn't say it went away, but I haven't emptied the container I'm using to catch the oil, since... Morro Bay, and it's only half full. Most of that oil came from the trip around Conception which was quite rough. I have fresh oil leaking from under the fuel lift pump which was always suspect. I'm thinking that, in rougher seas, the sloshing of the oil allows more of it to leak past the fuel lift pump and down the side of the flywheel housing.

I have a new pump which I'll be installing this week. I will continue to monitor...

I'm definitely burning more oil in rough seas. There's actually an entry in the maintenance log from over 10 years ago that said "ran hard in 6-9 foot seas, added 1/2 quart of oil." So maybe that's normal for this engine.

 

[ksanders]

So, how do you like your new watermaker? I thought you bought one Rich at Cruise RO, if memory serves correctly.

 

[VicTrawler]

So, how do you like your new watermaker? I thought you bought one Rich at Cruise RO, if memory serves correctly.

It's 99% installed. I fired up the DC boost pump and it worked great but there's something wrong with my wiring on the AC HP pump. Once I get that sorted it should be operational.

 

[ksanders]

It's 99% installed. I fired up the DC boost pump and it worked great but there's something wrong with my wiring on the AC HP pump. Once I get that sorted it should be operational.

On the AC pump there is a T1 and a P1 lead

They are wasy to get ass backwards. Yery small writing.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Good grief.

Kevin was their biggest, prettiest cheerleader from to git go.

Welllll.........

Not sure about the prettiest......he is from Alaska and all Alaskans know they are butt ugly!!!

 

[ksanders]

Welllll.........

Not sure about the prettiest......he is from Alaska and all Alaskans know they are butt ugly!!!

haliBUT ugly that is!

 

[CeeBee]

So here we are in San Diego. We accelerated the plan a little in order to get in before last night's blow.
We'll probably stay in San Diego for a couple weeks to get our final preps sorted out for the border crossing into Mexico.

Hey Mark, congrats to you and Eden! Glad we could help out and get together with you guys in Alameda and then round the point together, that was #classic.

Hopefully next time we pass like ships in the night WE will be downhill passing you guys on the Up

CB and Emily

 

[VicTrawler]

Hey Mark, congrats to you and Eden! Glad we could help out and get together with you guys in Alameda and then round the point together, that was #classic.

Hopefully next time we pass like ships in the night WE will be downhill passing you guys on the Up

CB and Emily

Thanks, friends! It's a big ocean, so to have someone you know on the other end of the VHF in the middle of the night during a sketchy passage was awesome!

 

[FlyWright]

hey mark, congrats to you and eden! Glad we could help out and get together with you guys in alameda and then round the point together, that was #classic.

Hopefully next time we pass like ships in the night we will be downhill passing you guys on the up

cb and emily

thanks, friends! It's a big ocean, so to have someone you know on the other end of the vhf in the middle of the night during a sketchy passage was awesome!

TF Rules !!!!!!!!!!

 

[grahamdouglass]

I've been reeding your post since the beginning. I have a single FL 120 in my 1981Marine Trader 41.
I really admired your cautious determined manner in plotting your way down the coast and dealing with your oil leak. I'm thinking of printing out this whole post and reading it to the wife. One day, although I'm 62, I hope to follow your steps and sail to the Sea of Cortez. Congratulations on a job well done!!!

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I've been reeding your post since the beginning. I have a single FL 120 in my 1981Marine Trader 41.
I really admired your cautious determined manner in plotting your way down the coast and dealing with your oil leak. I'm thinking of printing out this whole post and reading it to the wife. One day, although I'm 62, I hope to follow your steps and sail to the Sea of Cortez. Congratulations on a job well done!!!

Don't wait! Get going soon. That is what I most admire about Mark and Eden as they are living the dream while they can!!

 

[VicTrawler]

I've been reeding your post since the beginning. I have a single FL 120 in my 1981Marine Trader 41.
I really admired your cautious determined manner in plotting your way down the coast and dealing with your oil leak. I'm thinking of printing out this whole post and reading it to the wife. One day, although I'm 62, I hope to follow your steps and sail to the Sea of Cortez. Congratulations on a job well done!!!

Thank you! Your boat is more than capable, and I hope you can embark on your journey soon. Thanks for following along.

 

[hollywood8118]

Hey all,
Just got back from Cabo San Jose last pm, I was fortunate to meet up with Vic Trawler in San Diego.. He is a very nice fellow who is living the dream most aspire to do .. and doing it on a reasonable boat.

We made the jump in two legs to Cabo S.J. with a nice quiet overnight in Bahia Santa Maria.. made the trip in 4.5 days. Fantastic weather and fishing.

in Cabo S.J I met a N46 owner that did Victoria to San Diego non stop.. as a new to the boat owner no less! talk about jumping in with both feet.

F.Y.I.. the N46 had a average fuel burn that calculated out to 2 gph @ 7kts for a total burn of 210 gal for a 3.5 k.m.p.g average.. including about 40 hours of genset time..

Happy Turkey Day,
HOLLYWOOD

 

[VicTrawler]

Attempted to leave San Diego this morning at 0400. Rain aside, the forecasted conditions were quite benign. When we cleared Pt. Loma it turned out not to be the case at all and we immediately turned back towards San Diego. Forecasted swell was 1-3ft at 9s and wind waves two feet or less with 10kts variable wind. Instead I'd say we saw 4-5ft swell, very short period, with 2-3ft wind waves and 20+ kts of wind. We even had a hard time steering back towards the channel due to the beam seas.

I suspect that yesterday's conditions hadn't quite settled as quickly as expected. I think things will be a lot calmer tomorrow when we make our second attempt for Ensenada. For now we're safely back at Sun Harbor Marina eating popcorn and watching movies in bed.

This was our first "abort" of the entire trip. I'll have to see if I can pull weather data from additional sources from now on - maybe buoy data or something else.

 

[FlyWright]

Does the USCG provide real time reports of the sea state and wx conditions?

 

[BandB]

This was our first "abort" of the entire trip. I'll have to see if I can pull weather data from additional sources from now on - maybe buoy data or something else.

It's interesting to watch your journey and the learning experiences which we all can benefit from. Changing plans, even during the middle of a day's trip is part of it and you retreated well. The second thing you point out is multiple sources of weather data, both forecast and current actual. We look at all the varying forecast tracks on hurricanes and see the disagreement between the most knowledgeable there are. We joke about the inaccuracy of weather forecasts where we live. Well, you see this conflict in marine forecasts. We've found sometimes the resources you'd least expect are more accurate than those you trust. In some areas you'll find local reports too, often early morning. Also, when in doubt, calling the destination can supplement the information.

 

[VicTrawler]

Does the USCG provide real time reports of the sea state and wx conditions?

Unless there's something I'm not aware of, there's no realtime weather available except from buoys/weather stations which can be found online.

 

[VicTrawler]

It's interesting to watch your journey and the learning experiences which we all can benefit from. Changing plans, even during the middle of a day's trip is part of it and you retreated well. The second thing you point out is multiple sources of weather data, both forecast and current actual. We look at all the varying forecast tracks on hurricanes and see the disagreement between the most knowledgeable there are. We joke about the inaccuracy of weather forecasts where we live. Well, you see this conflict in marine forecasts. We've found sometimes the resources you'd least expect are more accurate than those you trust. In some areas you'll find local reports too, often early morning. Also, when in doubt, calling the destination can supplement the information.

Our new buddy boat, S/V MonArk from Vancouver (met them in Morro Bay) (The Happy Monarch - Our log of life on a sailboat) left four hours before us and we intended to R/V with them in Ensenada around 1600. I just heard from them and they encountered two squalls on the way down, both 30+ kts. I suspect we got hit by one as we passed Pt. Loma, which explains the sea conditions and the driving rain at the time.

There's no rain in the forecast tomorrow so at least the chance of a squall is diminished. Calling the destination is a good idea. I just checked the forecast for Ensenada and it's sunny, light wind, and no chance of rain; same as San Diego.