Jeff, I live in the San Juan Islands, north of Seattle. Haven't made that
trip, but you want to pick your weather--I know that much. From October
through March/April there are snorting storms along the west coast, so avoid
that time slot. And the hidey-holes are pretty scarce. Consider just the
west coast of the US. You have San Diego, LA, San Francisco Bay, then a few
coves along the Oregon coast: very few places you can overnight. You'll be
offshore for periods of longer than a day quite a few times. The favorite
long, coastal cruise hereabouts is north, not south. Last summer we made a
3-montb round trip to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, 1200 miles up the
coast, and anchored or moored every night. This was the fabled "inland
waterway to Alaska," through and among some 20,000 islands along the way.
Our boat is not really a wimp--a 37' Lord Nelson Victory Tug--so she's
seaworthy enough (we hid some thought-provoking seas off Cape Caution coming
south)--but it's nice to ride the anchor every night and not even think
about the weather as you turn in. (Not quite that simple, obviously;
anchors can drag.)

You can probably make Mobile-Seattle in a kayak. (People have made the
Alaska trip in kayaks.) But a seaworthy boat is hardly ever a real
handicap.

I had a friend here who wanted his 32' Westsail in Maine. He sailed to San
Diego, trucked the boat to Galveston, Texas, and sailed on from there. You
might consider a similar alternative.

Fair winds,

Dick Behan
M/V Annie


"Tamaroak" wrote in message
...
So how tough is it to go from Mobile, through the Panama Canal and up the
west coast to Seattle? Are there lots of places to hide from bad weather
or do you have to have a very seaworthy boat.

Capt. Jeff