So how crazy are we?

S

StinkBug

New Member
I've been sailing dinghys since I was 5 years old (I'm 30 now) and feel very comfortable in pretty much any conditions short of coast guard small craft advisories. One of my best friends recently got into sailing and instantly started researching and absorbing all the info he could find, and has progressed farther, faster than anyone I've ever met. He's also been spending about 4-5 days a week on the water, so that helps too.

So now he's come up with a plan to sail from the So-Cal coast to Catalina Island on our boats (he has a Force 5, I have a Capri 13 and a laser). At first I thought he was joking, but he's totally serious and has been studying wind and water currents, times of day, water conditions, etc. Now I'm pretty much committed to the idea as well.

Looks like the shortest distance from point to point is about 18 miles. This saturday we sailed from Mission Bay to La Jolla and back and clocked 24 miles in about 4.5 hours, which tells me that the distance and time shouldn't be a big issue. We'll have GPS to keep us on course, and a friend in a powerboat in case of emergency. Trying to be as safe as possible while being slightly insane.

So has anyone else done this voyage on a laser or similar boat? Anyone think we're nuts?
 
Michael Blackburn crossed Bass Straight (118 nautical miles / 205km) in his Laser in 13 hours. Whilst he chose the weather conditions carefully, the many sailors have lost there life crossing this patch of water on much larger sailing vessels including (research Sydney to Hobart yacht race 1998)
 
I think sailing to Catalina used to be an annual event for Snipe sailors in southern CA. If the conditions aren't extreme and you have the appropriate support boat, I don't see why you couldn't do it.

Maybe try sailing it in a larger boat first so you have a feel for the conditions and current?
 
I think the UCLA guys used to sail Hobies to Catalina many years ago (long before I was involved there). When I was there we talked about sailing Lasers from MDR to Two Harbors but never got organized to actually do it. We always figured that a good friend with a nice comfy powerboat to overnight on at the Isthmus and tow the boats back would be the coolest way to do it.

If conditions are right it could be a nice broad reach all the way (MDR to Two Harbors). Cabrillo to Avalon might work as well.

The distance isn't a problem - in the Bay Area they have the Delta Dinghy Ditch Run which is 30-miles mostly downwind to Sacramento. Go for it.
 
StinkBug said:
Tow back? What fun is that? If you're gonna do it, you might as well do it both ways.
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That's probably why we never got around to doing it - we were too lazy to do it right! ;-) Report back on how it goes, maybe you'll start a new tradition. (but it has to be in the Laser of course!)
 
Originally I was planning on taking the Capri as it's more stable and the slightly smaller sail area works a bit better for my light weight. I've been getting a good amount of seat time in the laser lately though, and getting pretty comfortable with it, so now it's winning the debate. We'll see. Might have another friend with us and just take em both.
 
I have friends who made multiple trips to Catalina on beachcats from MDR, Cabrillo. I never got around to doing that on my Prindle 18 but have made crossings on larger boats.

Being at UCLA when Sorosz was there (hey, boss), I remember all of those discussions about our making the trip as well. But the chase boat is key for a dinghy attempt.

Can it be done? Sure. The distance isn't especially long and there can be a nice breeze. But throwing a few pieces in there. Don't even think about doing this if your powerboating escort isn't along. And before going, have a plan as to how that boat will handle various scenarios; broken boat that needs to be towed, or big winds suddenly come up and both boats need towing. Will you carry radios? Note this is is also the shipping lane and tons of traffic. And FWIW, you are thinking about doing this with a friend who has limited experience? Maybe it's me, but my two cents...I'd skip it. Don't end up being a statistic.
 
We have radios, GPS, and my buddy has spent more time on the water in the last 3 months than I have in the last 3 years. Yes, his length of experience is short, but he's been putting in the time on the water and research at night. He's the one that's been spearheading the whole thing, setting up the safety boat, studying wind and water currents, etc. We're also planning a trip up there to take a rental boat out and get a feel for the area where we'll be leaving from, as well as probably taking the ferry over and setting up a place to land and stay for the night. We aren't going unprepared. I am open to any kind of suggestions on other things we should prepare for though.
 
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