Southern California in Fall and Winter?

[A-1 Boss]

I hope to do alot of sailing in Southern California this Fall and Winter. I bought Fagan's book that had alot of good info in it but wanted to hear from some of you all who live there and sail there often. The internet and Fagan's book make the Santa Ana winds seem pretty scary. How often do the actually hit? Are they forecast in advance pretty well? Any other pointers of info about sailing from Ventura to San Diego and Catalina will be much appreciated. I'm in the Air Conditioning business so I have a hard time getting away in June, July, or August. I also realize these areas have been talked about in other posts but I just wanted to get some new opinions and ideas going.

Thanks!

[BOAT]

It' starts getting dicey in March - April and May can be treacherous, then it settles down in June and the rest of the summer all the way through November. Summer ceremonially ends on Thanksgiving day in Southern California but the colder weather does not really hit until January. We often sail right through December. Come February our sailing starts to diminish and the sea begins to change - we can feel it. Most folks just stay out of the water for March and April.

Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard is a good place up there. It is the place to launch Santa Rosa and so forth. That area around the islands is a bit dangerous.

The next really good place is Los Angeles Long Beach - it's HUGE and you can sail ALL YEAR LONG because it has a massive breakwater like three miles out. Tons of ramps and a bazillion places to go.

San Diego is very good too - no swells, and lots of nice beaches.

Newport sucks because there is no ramp for the sailboats - Dana point is "okay", small, but at least it has a decent ramp. Oceanside is very tiny and treacherous even in good weather. If you get into trouble trying to get south it's a great place to duck in and wait out a front, but there are not a lot of amenities. Oceanside is too tiny for sailing around - we just motor in and motor out because there is no room for much anything else. Oxnard is a bit larger with more "stuff" but it's not really a place to "sail around" either. The best places to "sail around" in the harbor are San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, and Newport.

I recommend Long Beach as a good place to explore So Cal because it's also the best launching spot to get to Catalina. Avalon and the Isthmus are both very close to the LA/Long Beach Marina Complex. The areas around Catalina island are not dangerous at all. It's very nice sailing there. In the winter Catalina can get horrible waves that can pound right into the harbors but usually there is warning.

[A-1 Boss]

Thanks You BOAT. So Oceanside is sketchy? I was hoping to maybe stay there a couple days in a guest slip if the fishing is really good like it was last year. In sept of last year we chartered a fishing boat with crew in San Diego and instead of heading to Mexico like they always do we headed straight up to Oceanside becauase the fishing was better there because of El nino. Thanks again for the info.

[BOAT]

Thanks You BOAT. So Oceanside is sketchy? I was hoping to maybe stay there a couple days in a guest slip if the fishing is really good like it was last year. In sept of last year we chartered a fishing boat with crew in San Diego and instead of heading to Mexico like they always do we headed straight up to Oceanside becauase the fishing was better there because of El nino. Thanks again for the info.

I said: "it settles down in June and the rest of the summer all the way through November. Summer ceremonially ends on Thanksgiving day "

If your talking weather it's perfect in September - remember - our winter here is only three months: March, April, and May.
So if it's fishing or weather you want - September is great. If it's sailing you want - Oceanside Harbor does not have any - the harbor is too tiny to sail in - you must sail out in the Ocean. That's the only kind of sailing I do but I am told that most MAC owners sail in protected waters so that is why I do not recommend Oceanside for sailing unless you are okay with swells and stuff. Long Beach and San Diego are protected - no swells or waves. if you like the oceans then it's a great place.

They have very nice guest slips right in front of the harbor masters office. There just are not lots of restaurants there and only one hotel. September is great weather in Oceanside - it's hot - (well to us - September can get to 85 degrees!) but the sea is usually very nice and the winds just right in September - it's perfect sailing weather. It's always a nice cooler breeze out on the water.

From the guest slips it's an easy walk to the fishing boats and the cape cod village where all the little shopkeepers are selling trinkets candy and ice cream. Oceanside is sort of a throw back to the 50's - there are no "modern" things there like a strip mall or chain stores or shopping centers. The best coffee in the harbor comes from a street vendor who sets up on the grass in a tent on the south end of the harbor. The fishing boats are there too and the Helgrens charter goes out several times a day with two boats that can take you fishing. You will start to see the animals in the water the very moment you leave the harbor.

Oxnard is similar. Some people love the little "quaint" harbors, but most of the MAC owners I find are in the huge marina megaplex areas. (or Florida!) I think Florida is the capital of MAC boats!

[A-1 Boss]

BOAT. Yes open ocean is what I'm after for tuna fishing and sailing. Good info thanks. I love Oceanside for vacation with my kids. We usually stay at that Marriott that is right by the pier.

[BOAT]

BOAT. Yes open ocean is what I'm after for tuna fishing and sailing. Good info thanks. I love Oceanside for vacation with my kids. We usually stay at that Marriott that is right by the pier.

My favorite restaurants are there - I like 333 Pacific and Hello Betty - deeper in the downtown are some great biker bars and dives that serve incredible food. One place is really good - it's called Wench and Rodent Seabastropub. (I know) The guy in there was a sous-chef in La Jolla and quit to surf the Oceanside breaks all day. He ran out of money and opened the place (hours of operation subject to surf conditions according to the sign on the door) but if you go there just order "Anything OFF the menu" and he will surprise you with an incredible meal.

I don't know where your from but we did not have a lot of great places to eat here years ago - it's not like Los Angeles or San Francisco where there is a 5 star restaurant on every corner open all night long. It was slim pickens over here for a long time so we are easily impressed.

[A-1 Boss]

I'm from St. George, Utah. It's about a 7 hour drive to Oceanside not towing a trailer. We love Hello Betty! My plan this fall is to take around 10-12 days and start in Ventura or Long beach spend a couple days there then to catalina for 2-3 days then to either Newport or Dana Point for a day or two then to Oceanside then San Diego and then motor back to wherever we started from. Planning on staying in Hotels part of the time and staying on boat part of the time as well as eating in restaurants part of the time and cooking on the boat other times. I love all of Southern California especially after our brutal summers here in ST. George! We hit 110 degrees Sunday here so 85 sounds like jacket weather!

[BOAT]

I'm from St. George, Utah. It's about a 7 hour drive to Oceanside not towing a trailer. We love Hello Betty! My plan this fall is to take around 10-12 days and start in Ventura or Long beach spend a couple days there then to catalina for 2-3 days then to either Newport or Dana Point for a day or two then to Oceanside then San Diego and then motor back to wherever we started from. Planning on staying in Hotels part of the time and staying on boat part of the time as well as eating in restaurants part of the time and cooking on the boat other times. I love all of Southern California especially after our brutal summers here in ST. George! We hit 110 degrees Sunday here so 85 sounds like jacket weather!

Okay, so it's right up the 15 - we go there on the way to Zion and Bryce -
There is a lot more to see in Newport than Dana Point. The run from Newport to Oceanside would be easy. The run from Oceanside to San Diego will be a long one.

[Catigale]

Is Oceanside sketchy? Well, look at some of the forum members who live there...

[bobflshmn]

if you are headed to San Diego Bay I highly recommend Chula Vista Marina. It is all the way in the back of the bay but a great place to stay, and there is a lot to see and do within the harbor. There is even a public dock at Coronado Island which you can tie off for a few hours, grab a great lunch, and hit the shops. If you wanted to stay closer to the mouth of the bay there are also plenty of places to stay including shelter Island; noisy at night due to harbor police constantly coming and going, but close to the entrance of the bay, and many others.

I like Oceanside fine but like boat stated motor in and out, the swells can have you surfing in to the harbor and it is not large. Stayed there 3 weeks ago, docks are public with no security but never had any problems. Not as clean as I would have liked thanks to the sea lions which seemed to own the docks! Restaurants in the harbor are decent, with tourist prices. Plenty of boats going out for fishing if you are looking for 1/2 day boats. Not much to see though off shore, but sailing to sail has been good each time I have been out there.

[Freedom77]

Santa Ana winds usually start early October and come right out of the high desert. The worst weather in So. Cal is better than the best weather in other places. Some years ago "harbor hopped" from Ventura to San Diego. Ventura to Oxnard to Marina Del Rey to San Pedro to Newport to Dana Point to Oceanside to San Diego. Anacapa in the Channel Islands has lots of tidepools at low tide. Santa Cruz Island is about 25 miles off Santa Barbara. Need Permit to go there. Only hassle is getting trailer to San Diego. That's what friends are for. If I had to pick one place to sail it would be San Diego. You can take one tack from Point Loma into the SD Harbor and sail for two hours without changing tack. Mission Bay is nice too. Also, we spent a week every year in Avalon, Catalina as our base and cruised up and down the leeward side of the Island. Windward side doesn't have much to offer for anchorage. It is about 25 miles long. You can rent a can off season in Avalon. Just call Harbor Master in advance. Good anchorage at Two Harbors and Emerald Bay and cans are available sometimes.. Wind can get real nasty around four in the afternoon, especially off Palos Verdes into San Pedro. Nicknamed Hurricane Gulch. Got knock down with spinnaker up. Fair Winds and Full Sails...Old Salt.

[BOAT]

Is Oceanside sketchy? Well, look at some of the forum members who live there...

Yeah, I know - right? We are the scrapings of the waterfront - probably the poorest boaters on the west coast, but we do our best.

The Venture 25 is right about San Diego, but the Santana winds in October don't scare me too much - they come out of the east very hot but by the time they get to the Ocean they just make a very nice warm breeze we would call "stiff". It's the Santana winds that can combine with a cold north wind in April and May that create seas that scare me. It was in April 09 that Captain Mike Inmon decided to go sailing in 18 foot seas and 50 MPH winds in the factory video - Those guys are nuts. I have been in stuff like that before and you have no choice but to just keep sailing because without the sails you get knocked around pretty bad. in May of 2014 the Oceanside West Marine store arranged a special event for customers looking for autopilots and radar by inviting the RayMarine Factory tech in San Diego to bring the RayMarine demonstrator boat up to Oceanside for the day. The guy got out around Point Loma and started north for about 2 miles and then turned back because he was getting pounded so hard.

There are really no months at all down here of bad weather - it's nice all year round but there are two months of bad boating weather - April and May - October is indeed the month of the WORST Santana winds - they get really high like 70 MPH but those winds are mostly on shore and rarely get out to the ocean.

Venture 25 is also correct about the afternoon winds on Catalina. Use caution - And in October, same thing - just look at the water - if there are no whitecaps your good to go. If there are whitecaps just reef the main in the harbor and your fine.

[Tomfoolery]

You guys are making me jealous. Short season here, and winds can be anything, and usually die mid-afternoon in the summer. I can't count the number of times I've had to finish a trip with the iron jenny because the wind just want to zero.