Cabrillo to Isthmus under sail ?

[Sven]

We'll be heading over on Wednesday and I'd like to get a feel for what we should expect wind direction wise ?

It looks as if the wind is typically right on the nose (from the SW ?) as you leave Angeles Gate so we'd start out with a tack south ? Does the wind turn more W as you get out towards mid channel ? Is it enough so that one tack might be enough as it might hook from S to SW ?

I suspect that is all wishful thinking but it sounds nice

Thanks,



-Sven

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Hi Sven,

I have rarely had a good reach for the Isthmus right away. The only time I remember is when I did a night crossing. Left at about 7 pm. Usually what I do is depart around 10 am and motor sail up past Pt. Fermin to try to get a better reach. Once past Pt. Fermin I just head for the Isthmus motor sailing and I often don't get a really good reach until a quarter of the way across the Channel or more. Especially in the Spring and Summer. I have never really tried heading South first because I know it would take more time and I want to get to the Island before all the good moorings get snatched up. Avalon from San Pedro is another story. I have had many trips to Avalon where I only had to fire up the engine once I got there. If you are not in a hurry to sail over and want to tack to the Isthmus I would sail out about 4 to 6 miles and then tack back up to say around the middle of the peninsula and then you should get a better reach. I actually did something similar to that on Saturday. Sailed South East about 3 miles and then tacked up to Portuguese Bend so I could sail back wing on wing to try out my new preventer system on Saturday. Nice light winds until about 2 pm, when I got back in the Gulch it was hitting close to 25 knots again.

The reason it's often hard to get a reach directly from Angles Gate to the Isthmus is the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Once you are well clear of it you can get a nice reach.

Have a great trip!

 

[Sven]

Hi Jeff,

I just checked the wind direction plots (from that site you gave me before the "Gathering") and it seems to agree with what we are both saying.

We'll try going south and see if the wind swings around enough to let us head SW before we are down in Avalon

Have a good trip up north !



-Sven

 

[Sven]

Now that I've looked at it a bit it does indeed look like an evening sail could be a straight shot. I guess the problem is that by 2300 the wind would probably have died down. Otherwise setting out at 7 PM seems like a pretty good idea.


-Sven