Pacific Coast transit best times

[Crime Pays]

Typically, what are the best and worst months to transit the Pacific coast from Seattle to San Diego, and from San Diego to Seattle. We have a 46' x 15' Performance Trawler and like 8-10 knots.

 

[AlanT]

Typically, what are the best and worst months to transit the Pacific coast from Seattle to San Diego, and from San Diego to Seattle. We have a 46' x 15' Performance Trawler and like 8-10 knots.

+! I am looking forward to the replies on this thread. We are planning the same voyages next year. We live in WA and coincidentally are currently in San Diego for vacation and checking out marinas etc. Checked out many ports of call on our car drive south.
~Alan

 

[Larry M]

We've done the trip twice from the PNW to San Diego. August and September seemed to be the best two months. The last trip we left in June and got stuck in ports more than we would have liked to have been. The first time we left on Labor Day and other than fog had the most settled conditions.

The worse months would be in the winter. The Pacific high has shifted and the Washington/Oregon coast can be dangerous. I'm not saying it couldn't be done but I wouldn't do it.

 

[DDW]

The NOAA pilot charts show the least frequency of gales (N. Ca. and Oregon coast mainly) in July and August. The normal wind is N, so northbound you are against it. There are occasional weather systems with several days of S, but usually in advance of a front so riding those can be dicey.

 

[rsn48]

I can tell you the sailboater answer from Hawaii up to Seattle or Vancouver. The latest you should leave Hawaii is very early in September. Most of the time, the majority of the time, you can leave latter but other times you can get caught in some nasty Pacific storms.

My dearly departed BMW 1997 5 series had the marine weather band in it. I would often leave it on when driving to and from my sailboat in Horseshoe Bay (BC). One nice fall day in late September I am driving home and as I am driving a Securite comes on, which isn't all the frequent on the weather band. The Securite is for two missing sailboats that left Hawaii and hadn't been heard or seen since their departure. One was heading to Vancouver or Victoria I believe and the other I think was Alaska bound, not sure, this occurred in 2005 or close to it.

Both boats were believed to have sunk. The trouble was they left in late September and it turned out to be a bad fall for nasty weather in the Pacific. Had they left at the beginning of September, they would have made it.

You want a wide weather window. By the way, one of the problems sailboaters racing the Vic/Maui race face is hitting the doldrums in the summer so it might be smart to time your journey with this race.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I would agree the "BEST" is July August,

That being said there are good days in April, May, June and a few days in October too. You just have to watch the weather. Some folks harbor hop, others do it non-stop. If you do it non-stop and don't plan to stop on the Columbia River, go out about 40-60 miles to avoid the influence of the Columbia River.

No experience on anything south of SF Bay.

Bottom-line watch the weather.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Typically, what are the best and worst months to transit the Pacific coast from Seattle to San Diego, and from San Diego to Seattle. We have a 46' x 15' Performance Trawler and like 8-10 knots.

I've done it as early as March and as late as November but I can't recommend that. I prefer to go sometime between mid July and late September.

At 8 - 10 knots you won't be making a lot of port calls, the runs are too long. As said up thread southbound is generally easier than northbound.

 

[Lepke]

I've made the trip many times in fishing boats, yachts and ships. As other have said, late summer is best for both directions. In the spring, the prevailing swells are from the NW or W between storms. Going south in the spring isn't too bad if you watch the weather. But usually there are many more bad days than good. It also depends on your tolerance of rough rides. After April, it gets better.

Stay in depths of 100 fathoms or more. Swells get much bigger and closer together in shallow water and near headlands. In my current boat I run at 10 knots and rarely stop at night. If you don't have experience in crossing bars, don't try to learn in bad weather. Keep an eye on the forecast and be in a harbor before the weather gets bad.

 

[Comodave]

We did the trip starting in June. Had to leave the boat in Eureka for a month and then finished the trip in July. The weather report that made us leave the boat was 60 knot winds and 20’+ seas in June.

 

[jungpeter]

The NOAA pilot charts show the least frequency of gales (N. Ca. and Oregon coast mainly) in July and August. The normal wind is N, so northbound you are against it. There are occasional weather systems with several days of S, but usually in advance of a front so riding those can be dicey.

The pilot charts don't tell the whole story. Yup, fewer gales in July and August. But a significantly (perhaps 100%) probability of clear skies, and extreme hot weather inland, particularly in the central valley of California, but Oregon as well. The result is unrelenting NW winds, mostly during the day in the summer, but often persisting well into the night. While the long-period ocean swells, driven by offshore winds, are lower in the summer, those pesky thermal winds form a short-period wind chop on top of the long-period swells. That wind chop is brutal going both directions. 20-25 kts is VERY typical, which can create wind chop that is sporty in ALL directions. And it never seems to align with the long-period offshore swell. Think washingmachine.

After multiple transits in both directions from SD to the PNW in 8-12 kt powerboats from 42-60', my opinion would have the favored travel months being April and May northbound, before the weather gets hot inland. And (assuming you have a tolerance for a wild ride down-swell in a breeze) can stretch into September. The late fall through winter (essentially mid-September through the end of March) are subject to very extreme offshore conditions driven by cyclonic storms in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. These come ashore as far south as the Oregon coast on occasion. And are an absolute don't-go for me, at least as a recreational owner/operator of the "trawler" genre typically discussed on this forum.

And the related topic of harbor-hopping vs. a 24/7 "delivery" to make this transit is long and tortuous, and worthy of a seperate thread. For what it's worth, my favored method is run 24/7 until you can't. Then go into port for respite and/or fuel, and get back underway ASAP you're comfortable with the local conditions. If the salmon trollers are inbound, that's a good hint to find shelter.

Regards,

Pete

 

[mvweebles]

Wx delivery skipper here who has run this coast a hundred times.

First, there are three distinct weather zones. Southern California south of pt conception. Middle coast up to Cape Mendocino. And the upper coast to the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

SoCal is a non-issue. Many options that are well known.

Leaving aside big winter storms, coast is dominated by NW winds and seas. Heading north is much more difficult than heading south. There is only one predictable seasonal wx window - sometime in mid September through early October, an enormous high pressure settles over the central valley and pushes all weather out. You'll see land temps spike in San Francisco - it's the only time of year that residents would use AC if they have it. Seas are flat.

Otherwise, along the central coast, outside of storms, expect diurnal weather pattern of NW winds building to about 25-30 kts in the afternoon, with short seas building to 5-6 feet or so. More or less Force 5 conditions. It does usually lay down at night so there are benefits to running overnight. I respectfully disagree with Lepke about running well off the coast. I used to run 1.5 nms off the coast in the afternoon winds to reduce the impact. In late afternoon, I'd move well offshore to avoid crab traps at night. Heading south along the coast is relatively easy in the conditions. Power cat might get kicked around a bit on a following sea, but I've never run one in those conditions so I can't say for sure.

April is a consistently windy month - it just doesn't pay down at night. Tough month to head north.

North of cape Mendocino the winds are often from the south. Water is actually a few degrees warmer. Heavy weather is more influenced by gulf of alaska which can spin some big water. But forecasting is good within reason. My experience is that when the weather is bad in the north, it's dangerously bad. But the average weather is better on average and the afternoon winds aren't as bad.

If I wanted to cruise PNW for the summer, then come south in fall, goal is to be in PNW by June. I'd leave SD early May and just suck it up. I'd leave with a reasonable (not perfect) 48 hour window and see how it goes. I would not bring my wife with me. Usually, the afternoon doesn't last more than 6-8 hours, but sometimes it can go all night which is tiring. But it's not dangerous, just uncomfortable and a bit scary if your stuff isn't secured well.

Good luck. It's a great trip.

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

The pilot charts don't tell the whole story. Yup, fewer gales in July and August. But a significantly (perhaps 100%) probability of clear skies, and extreme hot weather inland, particularly in the central valley of California, but Oregon as well. The result is unrelenting NW winds, mostly during the day in the summer, but often persisting well into the night. While the long-period ocean swells, driven by offshore winds, are lower in the summer, those pesky thermal winds form a short-period wind chop on top of the long-period swells. That wind chop is brutal going both directions. 20-25 kts is VERY typical, which can create wind chop that is sporty in ALL directions. And it never seems to align with the long-period offshore swell. Think washingmachine.

After multiple transits in both directions from SD to the PNW in 8-12 kt powerboats from 42-60', my opinion would have the favored travel months being April and May northbound, before the weather gets hot inland. And (assuming you have a tolerance for a wild ride down-swell in a breeze) can stretch into September. The late fall through winter (essentially mid-September through the end of March) are subject to very extreme offshore conditions driven by cyclonic storms in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. These come ashore as far south as the Oregon coast on occasion. And are an absolute don't-go for me, at least as a recreational owner/operator of the "trawler" genre typically discussed on this forum.

And the related topic of harbor-hopping vs. a 24/7 "delivery" to make this transit is long and tortuous, and worthy of a seperate thread. For what it's worth, my favored method is run 24/7 until you can't. Then go into port for respite and/or fuel, and get back underway ASAP you're comfortable with the local conditions. If the salmon trollers are inbound, that's a good hint to find shelter.

Regards,

Pete

I agree in two counts. First, if the pilot charts say July, they are wrong. The high pressure over central California lays down the weather in September or October.

Second, running 24/7 is strongly preferred by me. First, I like it. Second, getting in and out of harbors wastes a ton of time. And finally, as mentioned in my precious thread, winds usually lay down at night so it's smoother sailing.

Peter

 

[tiltrider1]

You can get Insurance to make the trip in April but I wouldn't.

May can be a very good month but some years it just isn't.

June is not a very good month but very doable if you have 3 weeks and can handle sitting in port for days at a time

July - August are the best times.

September is usually a good month but like May some years it just isn't.

If I was planning to spend my summer in San Diego I would for sure plan to leave May 1st but I would allow a 3 week window and I wouldn't fight the weather. Then I would return September 1 under the same time schedule.

If I was planning on going down one year and returning a different year then I would make the trip the last week of July.

If you have a very fast boat and an unlimited budget and no schedule, then April and October can be done comfortably but I'm not interested in doing it any slower than 20kts.

 

[klee wyck]

I need to make this trip soon, except for me, it looks like San Diego is halfway home to the PNW home dock for Domino. June has a conflict so have been looking at May or July, leaning toward July. If July, it will sure be hot getting her commissioned down there and also getting into hurricane season. Still July looks better unless I do Mexico to SD in May and then SD to Seattle in July.