"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...

The Macs are designed for coastal cruising. They are sailed routinely
off the California coast, in SF Bay, out to Catalina Island, etc.

I have no doubt that the trip to Catalina is made often. Catalina and its
neighboring islands are the only interesting destinations availible to a boat
owner in LA. The total distance off is about 18 miles, but for a mac doing 12
knots there's only about a hour in exposed water - a fairly simple weather
window. You can be sure not many trips are done under sail because LA has the
lightest wind of any large port in the country. And when it gets rough there,
you wouldn't want to do it in a mac. BTW, Catalina is directly offshore from
the Mac factory - you can be sure that over the years the factory pros have made
a few trips there.