West Coast Trip Summary

Date: 4/24/2009

Location: Marina de La Paz

Weather: sunny and warm, mid 90's all week

Distances Summary (in Nautical Miles) - 

Port Townsend to Cabo San Lucas - 2,235 NM

Port Townsend to La Paz - 2,398 NM

Port Townsend to San Diego - 1,425 NM

San Diego to La Paz - 972 NM

Number of Passages (Neah Bay to La Paz) - 34

Overnight Passages (Neah Bay to La Paz) - 10

Days Underway (Neah Bay to La Paz) - 44

Average Speed (Neah Bay to La Paz) - 6.16 knots 

Fuel Used - 

Neah Bay to La Paz - 832 gals

Engine Hours - 380 hours

Gallons per Hour - 2.19

If we were to do this again, and I can't imagine why we would want to,  we would make longer passages with fewer stops. Ideally we would go from Neah Bay to Coos Bay and then Coos Bay to Bodega Bay. Both of these passages would be two nights long but if you get good weather they get you into CA quickly. All our overnighters were just one night long and that does not give you enough time to adjust and get some good rest. Passages lasting two nights are good for a 2 person crew or if you have 3 people I would recommend that if you get the weather to do so you go straight through from Neah Bay to Bodega Bay. The less you see of ports and bar crossings in WA and OR the better. Bodega Bay is a great stop, no bar to cross, nice marina, a bit of a walk to a restaurant and store,  but if you need fuel it's cheaper here than San Francisco.  From there you can slow down and enjoy the CA coast with recommended stops in Half Moon Bay, Monterey, Marina del Rey, and San Diego. We went into Santa Barbara,  crowded, narrow slips and fairways and very windy, don't bother, and Channel Island Harbor in Oxnard where there is a strong current running through the transit moorage slips but good shopping 2 blocks away. We did encounter tall, 10' +,  breaking waves when we left Channel Island Marina although the weather report said 5-10 kts winds with 3-5' seas. We also stopped in Dana Point which is very nice but expensive.  DP is the most exclusive areas we stopped at, lots of upscale restaurants and shops in the marina and up the hill in the shopping area. There is a little restaurant in the DP marina with the best pizza on Earth. No kidding, no exaggeration, it is the best!.  DP is nice place but bring your wallet. On the other end, Marina del Rey was $23 dollars a day for moorage (50' boat length) in a beautiful location next to a park and there was plentiful shopping within 4 blocks in regular stores at reasonable prices.  MDR has a 'California Pizza' restaurant, not the best pizza on Earth but not bad either. 

Note: We've added a lot of photos in our Web Photo Album. The link is on the right side under 'Other Links'.