Catilina Island? What size boat?

How is a 24 ft. Sailboat in the ocean? Is it the right size to take over to Catilina Island? Whats a good size to look at?

Hopefully, our sailboaters will jump in. Where are you sailing from? Santa Catalina is a great destination (head for Avalon Harbor, call the harbor patrol, and pick up a mooring). If you don't have a dinghy, they have a water taxi that will pick you up at your boat and ferry you to shore.

If the Santa Ana winds are forecast, they empty out the harbor.

We would be sailing from Dana Point. What do you think about that size of a boat on open waters?

Personally, I wouldn't go that far offshore in less than 30 feet but if the weather forecast is favorable, Catalina is certainly not out of range.  Be sure to get some experience close to shore in handling your boat before tackling open water if you're not experienced sailors, which you aren't based on your other posting.  Take some lessons, they will pay for themselves in short order.

I have spent a lot of time out on the ocean in boats. I used to live in Ventura County and went out to Anacapa Island to go scuba diving hundreds of times. Most of the time it was in a 45 foot power boat. We got caught in a storm once and I felt the 45 footer was too small. I wouldn't venture out of the harbor in a 24 foot sail boat. The weather can change there in a heartbeat. 8 to 10 foot waves can come out of nowhere. But don't worry, if you capsize then the Coast Guard will probably come and rescue you. Just make sure you have a good life preserver.

24' is fine for Catalina island. You will need ship to shore radio, flares, flotation devices, gps, a radar is important because of fog,. You should
go over with a boat buddy is knows the ropes. Most important, watch the weather and leave in the morning at first light.  The water is calm in the morning but starts to get rough by early afternoon. Let someone know when you are leaving and when you will be back.  Good Luck.
Its a fun trip.  ;D

I regularly go 45 to 50 miles off shore looking for tuna in a 25' center console boat.  Of course it has 2x200hp Yamaha outboards on it.

Great advice from some seasoned sailors.

Last time we visited Catalina it was in our 48' power boat. We were harbor hopping down the coast from San Francisco Bay to Ensenada. We left Marina Del Rey that morning, and had calm seas all the way. But I was grateful we'd previously been to Catalina aboard someone else's boat.

Earlier in the same trip, we'd had to head for a port of refuge because the weather forecast was wrong, and seas swelled to 28' that afternoon. The commercial fishermen came into port behind us, all caught by surprise due to the incorrect weather forecast.

Here are a few pictures we took entering and leaving Avalon Harbor:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3004.0;attach=17293;image

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3004.0;attach=17295;image

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3004.0;attach=17291;image

Tom,

Nice photos of Avalon harbor.  One question, you listed seas of 28' and I wonder were they actually 28' from trough to crest, that's amazing??  No wonder you headed for a protected harbor. 

JerryF

Thanks Jerry. Avalon is a nice harbor and a neat place to visit for a couple of days.

I was too busy to get out the tape measure for those seas. I have no idea what they were when, with conditions getting bad in a hurry, we decided we weren't going to make Monterey, and to head for shelter at Half Moon Bay. The forecast was for things to turn ugly overnight and, since we left Alameda at 7.00am, we expected to be in Monterey (normally, 4 hours from the Gate at our cruising speed of 28 knots) long before the weather turned. Instead, we made it safely into Half Moon Bay around 3.00pm, although I wasn't looking at my watch.

We were so confident when we left that morning, that we hadn't bothered to put on our anti-seasickness bands. But, with the captain laying on the floor of the bridge, and yours truly now at the helm, I was glad I'd installed a redundant 10" chart plotter at the helm. This was our first time into this harbor, and there are reefs near the entrance. I was also concerned we'd capsize as we made the U-turn into the channel, knowing we'd be taking the bad stuff broadside. Our planing hull (51' LOA, 50,000 lbs displacement) was being picked up and thrown around like a matchstick.

A number of commercial fishermen returned to port, and all told me what I already knew - that the forecast was wrong. The following morning, one fisherman in a 60' boat told me he was caught out at the Farallon Islands and was convinced he was going to die before he could make it back to port. He arrived around midnight.

The weather report said that seas had built to 28' that afternoon, and they reported 43' surf outside the harbor the next morning. We were sure glad we'd made it into port before the worst arrived, and that the harbor has two sets of breakwaters for protection. We saw a TV crew capturing the picture when we went for a walk. Needless to say, we waited out the storm for IIRC 4 days.

Ned said:

Personally, I wouldn't go that far offshore in less than 30

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I went to sea on a 20ft boat once, changed my whole perspective with regard to ocean vs boat.......in my opinion, Hawaii is too small to be in the middle of ocean  ;D

[quote author=Dave Stringham] Hawaii is too small to be in the middle of ocean[/quote]

Dave, does that mean it's too small a target?  ;D

Our boat can't carry enough fuel to get us there, and there aren't any fuel docks on the way  

Tom said:

Dave, does that mean it's too small a target?  ;D

Our boat can't carry enough fuel to get us there, and there aren't any fuel docks on the way  

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I think the island is big enough to be a target, I just think the place is small enough that a good size wave could toss everyone around and beat the place up a bit ;D

Ah, got it Dave, thanks.

The (Avalon) harbor Patrol told me that, when the Santa Annas are forecast, they empty all the boats out of the harbor. I guess that the wind and the waves just stomp right in there.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine and I went out to sea from the Port of Ventura in his 20ft boat.  It wasnt too bad until we got a ways out, the wind came up a little and there were a ton of container ships coming into the Port of Los Angeles so we got into some of their wake.  Between the choppy waves and the wake, that little 20ft boat felt like a cork bobbing around on the water and slamming down pretty hard between waves (we put a small crack in the hull).  It was a that point in my life I decided I was never going on the ocean again unless I was in a BIG BIG REALLY BIG boat.  After further consideration, I was undecided if there was a big enough boat and them came to the conclusion Hawaii was not big enough to be in the middle of the ocean.   ;D

Tom said:

Ah, got it Dave, thanks.The harbor Patrol told me that, when the Santa Annas are forecast, they empty all the boats out of the harbor. I guess that the wind and the waves just stomp right in there.

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Santa Anna is a blowin right now, has been a couple days. I haven't looked but Catalina is not a popular destination right now I bet.

Aye, Avalon Harbor is wide open.

Catalina is no place to be in Santa Ana weather.  The whole mainland side of the island turns into a lee shore and winds can gust to 50 knots.  When my daughter was a Sea Scout she and her fellows on the Scout's old 40 foot picket boat pulled a number of sailers off the shore.

Catalina is not a good Sept.-Oct. destination.

By the way, I have done Catalina in a 20-foot cuddy cabin power boat -- in good weather.

I used to bowl with a guy that said he used to make regular trips out of Long Beach to Avalon in a little 16 footer.  His secret was he would leave just before the crack of dawn, stay all day and spend the night and reverse the trip the next morning.  He did say that the container ships would make a tremendious wake if you got behind one though.  I beleived him, he was just a little nuts.  Not something that I would try though. 

SargeW said:

I used to bowl with a guy that said he used to make regular trips out of Long Beach to Avalon in a little 16 footer.  His secret was he would leave just before the crack of dawn, stay all day and spend the night and reverse the trip the next morning.  He did say that the container ships would make a tremendious wake if you got behind one though.  I beleived him, he was just a little nuts.  Not something that I would try though. 

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Indeed, any big ship -- container, tanker or what ever --- has a big hole in the ocean behind its stern.   A small vessel approaching too closely can get sucked into that hole which is a very bad place to be.   Moreover, the big boys have massive inertia:  they slow and make turns in terms of miles not feet.   All craft are advised to stay well away.

Warships have additional hazards.   For one thing they are fast -- some of those things at flank speed can crank along at 35 knots (40 mph).  Most small craft would be hard pressed to get near that speed on the ocean.  And yes, they do crank it on in the Catalina Channel once they clear the harbor entrances.    For another thing, you are not supposed to be with in 150 yards of them at anytime by law.  Let them go by.  Things with 5" autoloading cannon and multlple 20 mm have the right of way.