Big problem with S. Cal is the years long waiting list for a marina spot
plus the short amount of time California allows you to be in the state
without paying a lot of taxes. Pass through rapidly and spend most of the
time at anchor. Getting a liveaboard space for longer duration in PNW is
still possible, the cheapest being in Oregon which also has the worst, by
far, sailing conditions. You don't go to Oregon to sail, it's a sailby
area. However the gem of the West is the San Juan Islands of both
Washington and British Columbia and the areas N. and S. of them. Too many
people traveling around the world head for the ho hum de riguer Panama Canal
when they could have gone by way of St. Lawrence seaway, Great Lakes (truck
the boat to/from Pac NW by truck (often far less expensive than the Panama
route) and opened up a whole new world of cruising. And the above didn't
include the route from St. lawrence to NYC, the Trent-Severn Waterway in
Ontario, the Apolstle Islands, or out west up to Alaska. Just for
starters. Far superior to the dry landscape string of marina bars featured
from S. Cal on South. From Pac NW you can go South and West out to Hawaii
or wherever.

M.

"Tom Dacon" wrote in message
...
You won't find much of anything around San Diego to go to or explore. It's
kind of a wasteland for sailing. Wind's generally light, except just off
the
entrance where there's often a little headland effect. The Mexican port of
Ensenada, Baja California, is a long day's motorsail south, with the small
and barren Todos Santos Islands off Ensenada bay but nothing else to the
south for a long way. Catalina Island (quite crowded during the summer) is
a
long day's motorsail north, and there's nothing in between those two
destinations. All the California and Baja coast's a lee shore to the
normal
westerly winds, and is only sparsely populated with marinas.

A slightly better choice in Southern California would be Ventura, about 75
miles north of Los Angeles. It has a nice small-town feel and is quite
uncrowded compared to Los Angeles or San Diego. The northern Channel
Islands, about 25 miles off the coast, are mostly uninhabited, and have
quite a few nice anchorages that are pleasant and uncrowded, although
sometimes untenable and dangerous during the fall Santana season. The
Channel Islands are the only cruising destinations near Ventura, however,
so
your range of choices is somewhat limited. Ventura and nearby Oxnard don't
have anything like a serious airport, so you'd have to fly in and out via
Los Angeles International (LAX). I believe there are feeder flights from
LAX.

Think about the Pacific Northwest - airline access through Seattle-Tacoma,
and a vast and wonderful cruising ground in Puget Sound and the inland
passage up the west coast of Canada to Alaska. A short sailing season,
quite
changeable weather, and water too cold to swim in are the only drawbacks
I've found. The Seattle region or Vancouver, B.C., might be good
locations,
with excellent air service to both.

Regards,
Tom Dacon


"just me" wrote in message
news:T36Oc.207896$Oq2.118275@attbi_s52...
I am planning to move my boat, a 40' Jeanneau, to the ocean (one of
them)
around the first of the year.
I'm trying to decide where and which one. I plan to fly to the boat
every
month or so. I expect I'll spend anywhere from a long weekend to ten
days
or so. Eventually, I'll retire and spend longer times aboard. Once
there,
I
would like to have places to go to, visit and explore. Choice A: San
Diego
area. Choice B: Atlantic side, Florida to North Carolina. Direct and
numerous daily flights by more than one airline are important. Your
thoughts, experiences and opinions are welcomed.



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