Dan Best wrote:
druid wrote:
Is it feasable to think about sailing a 28-ft boat up from, say, LA to
Pt Roberts, singlehanded? ...
I've been sailing Georgia Strait for over 30 years, mostly
singlehanded, on boats 22, 25, and 36 ft, but rarely "offshore".

Druid,
I've never done the SF to PNW trip, but I have done a fair amount of
coastal cruising and passage making. The trip from LA to SF is no big
deal as long as you are patient and wait for a good weather window as
you pass Pt. Conception/ Pt. Sur. However, from what I know of it, I
would definitely not recommend you singlehand an unfamiliar boat from SF
north as your first offshore adventure. Let alone one not designed,
prepared or equipped for an offshore passage. I'm not saying anything
negative about the Islander 28, but it's just not designed for the
conditions that trip can expose it to.

You would be much better off spending a couple of thousand bucks and
trucking the boat up. I've trucked a 30' sailboat a couple of times
(from LA to SF and San Carlos, Mex. to SF). Trust me, you'll save far
more just in the wear and tear he boat would suffer getting up to the
PNW on her own keel than the cost of trucking it. It (and you) will get
there in one piece too.

The total cost in '97 from LA to SF was $1500. In '99, the San
Carlos-SF cost was $3000 but that entailed 2 trucks and transferring the
boat from one to the other with a crane in Tuscon. I dunno what today's
cost would be, but I suspect it would be in the range of $2k-$2500 if
you shop around and are flexible regarding the shipping dates.


I do agree with Dan here--particularly with the part about the boat
being unfamiliar to you and most likely not properly equipped (without
significant work) for an offshore passage. You've got to weigh these
factors also in your decision--although it is certainly true that an
Islander 28, in the right hands and properly equipped can do it. In your
specific case, you wouldn't know the boat (a very important factor), and
to add the gear you should have for this passage would probably wind up
costing you more than just trucking it. So unless you wanted to do the
trip for its own sake, I think I'd go with Dan's suggestion, since it
sounds like your main concern is just to get the boat from point A to
point B.

--Alan Gomes