WWW.WINDY.COM
The Windy.com forecast for about 3 p.m. on May 17, 2022. The purple enveloping Point Reyes and Drake's Bay represents as much as 40 mph winds. his isn't to say that you can't find a reliable, 40-plus hour window of good wind and seas throughout the year. It just requires excellent timing.
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Latitude 38
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Just a few hours to the north of the hustle and bustle of San Francisco lies Drake's Bay. White cliffs sweep in a gentle, sandy crescent to create a wellprotected Bay offering an abundance of nature, as if you'd traveled back in time to pre-European California. Just a few hours to the south lies the town of Half Moon Bay with its well-protected anchorage. A little farther south, and you can grab a slip in Santa Cruz Harbor, where it's about a 30-minute walk to the carnival-like boardwalk. Looking for more nature? Just keep going south to Moss Landing, and be sure to bring your kayak or paddleboard to explore Elkhorn Slough. A little farther south still lies Monterey, with all the swimming, diving, paddling, sailing and shoreside strolling that you can handle. You don't have to leave the Bay at all to experience California's richest cruising grounds: the Delta, which also offers a mix of nature and charming towns to explore. There are numerous spots around the Central Bay itself, as well, that offer excellent anchorages tucked into the Bay's many nooks and crannies. Where will you sail?
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irst things first: If you're sailing out the Gate, there is serious work to be done before the dock lines are cast. US Sailing offers the online course, "Safety at Sea: Coastal" for $50. The curriculum covers giving assistance at sea, personal safety gear, crew overboard and searchand-rescue scenarios and emergency communications. That class can be found at: www.firsttack.org/courses/ safety-at-sea-coastal. The Yacht Racing Association has also outlined a number of safety equipment requirements; while created around offshore racing, the equipment is relevant to cruisers. Go to www.yra.org, then go to Race Management, then click on Offshore Safety Requirements. There are numerous offshore sailing and cruising classes available in the Bay Area. Please learn, gain experience, and respect the conditions before you decide to venture out. "Encourage people to get out there, but to do it responsibly," said David Forbes, the general manager of Club Nautique, which offers a Coastal Passagemaking class. "It can be very rewarding; it can be very challenging. You can be self-prepared and self-reliant. The challenges are greater, but the rewards commensurate." Let's consider Drake's Bay and Half
NICO CHEN
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ere at latitude 37.77°, we have a reputation that there aren't many places to cruise outside of the Bay. Well, yes and no. Compared with other parts of the country and world, there aren't a ton of places to cruise or harbor hop along the long, windswept coast of Northern California. The weather windows can be small, but predictable, the summer sea breezes can be stiff, and fog and cold air famously can define NorCal summers. Still, we direct you to the map on the next page highlighting more than 10 cruising destinations all within a day's sail of the Central Bay. It's out there if you want it. Southern California has the Channel Islands and, by contrast to the north, more reasonable weather. (Exceptions abound, of course.) The East Coast has an infinitely craggy coast dense with charming, historical towns with new dinghy docks and shoreside facilities. There's also a giant intercoastal Waterway stretching along much of the Eastern Seaboard, so that cruisers can cruise without setting foot in the ocean. Fret not, Northern California sailor. Just as sailing San Francisco's challenging conditions produces outstanding mariners, so too can venturing beyond that Gate produce excellent, well-prepared cruisers. Northern California cruising offers sailors a little bit of everything.
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WIKIPEDIA
CRUISING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA —
Clockwise from top left: Drake's Bay is a stark contrast to the San Francisco Cityfront. Inset: Whales abound near Point Reyes; John Kearney's Express 27 'Salty Hotel' sails past Point Bonita on the way to Drake's Bay; Moss Landing is one of the great escapes by boat in the Bay Area; Santa Cruz Harbor; in May 2020, singlehander Graeme Lowe singlehanded to Drake's Bay on his Baltic 38 'Merope'.
Moon Bay to be the low-hanging cruising fruit of Northern California — both are within a few hours sail/motor of Bay Area marinas. Step No. 1 when planning a trip: Make a schedule. Step No. 2: Get ready to throw that schedule overboard. Like cruising anywhere in the world, you are at the whim of the weather, and this is especially true during a Northern California summer. You must be 100% flexible to go as your weather window allows. Drake's Bay is well-protected from the prevailing west northwesterly breeze, but it's wide open to any southern energy. "Anchor out by the old Coast Guard pier, where a dinghy landing is pretty easy for getting ashore to explore and hike," wrote Ryan Cheff of the Oaklandbased Jeanneau 49DS Halcyon. "You can also take your dinghy to Drake's Beach, where you can have most of it to yourselves — just pay attention to where the herds of elephant seals are, and note that there will be others randomly around." (Elephant seals generally breed, and are predominantly on shore, between December and March.) As long as we're talking about cruising in the Point Reyes region, let's not