Monthly Archives: November 2006

Coast Guard’s watchful eye open in Southern California

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The Coast Guard’s 87′ Patrol Boat Blacktip (sister ship pictured below) deployed their inflatable last night and went calling, boarding several craft as they entered Channel Islands Harbor near sunset.


According to the public affairs office at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles, they’re just doing routine safety inspections. Though we haven’t seen them doing this in a while, the coming bad weather seems to have prompted them to check more boats for seaworthiness and standard safety equipment – flares, pfds, whistle/horn/gong/bell and fire extinguishers. They’re also likely to check bilges for oil, general integrity of the vessel and will take a look-see in your first aid kit. Of course, if it’s after sunset, they’ll be looking for running lights and steaming lights on sailboats. And like law enforcement folks everywhere, expect them to ask for registration or documentation.

The boarding we witnessed took less than five minutes. Not bad, particularly if they keep one of us from sinking or inadvertently dumping oil in coastal waters.

A rip-snorting day of sailing in Southern California

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A couple of my Sailtime friends and I set out from Channel Islands Harbor on Saturday for a lunch run to Ventura.

It was smooth sailing, as they say, until we got to Mandalay Beach, when it became smooth motoring. Had a great lunch – al fresco if that’s not mixing cultures too much – at La Petite in the Ventura Harbor. Our conversation kept returning to how the wind was light, or mild and warm or just plain non-existent.

Got underway in 2 knots of wind. Ten minutes later at the harbor mouth we were in 20 knots and the seas were raging. A cold front was coming through and the wind/sea change was violent.

We reefed, then reefed again and then reefed some more until our main was the size of a medium pair of skivvies. The tiny Hunter 33 headsail, which we’ve always said would be an appropriate size for a storm sail was now JUST RIGHT as the gusts went into the 30′s. In this configuration – tiny amount of main and very small jib, we could sail to weather without frequent broaching.

As we were heading to sea we listened to a rescue taking place near platform Gilda.

A crewman had gone overboard during a race, overboard from – scary music here- a 33′ sailboat. Between the platform personnel, the Coast Guard and Sheriff’s rescue helicopter, they managed to retrieve the crewman. It took about a half hour for the combined forces to get him to safety.
Our first thoughts were “why doesn’t his own boat come back for him?” Once we got out in the seaway ourselves, we knew the answer: There was no way to do any of the textbook rescue maneuvers, at least not right away. It took every bit of seamanship just to keep the boat right side up and headed through the increasing swells and breaking waves. Add to that the fact that the man overboard was probably invisible in wave troughs most of the time and it was apparent that we couldn’t have done any better.

Our personal lesson: tether in. When it’s that rough, click the tether on and take it to a cleat or padeye. Other stainless in the cockpit is likely to bend or break under extreme pressure. On our Hunter, a wrap around the arch would be OK, too.

Not going in the water is the only way to handle an MOB on a day like that.

Laymons complete sailing lessons in Southern California

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Robert and Cheryl Laymon put the Sailing Vessel Wiley through her paces tacking, jibing, heaving to and rescuing “grandma” off the Ventura coast.

They’ve now completed the hands-on portion of American Sailing Association requirements for qualification in Basic Coastal Cruising.

On Saturday they’ll join about a dozen others to face the grueling (not really) written test, which will gauge their knowledge of the Rules of the Road, local weather hazards, chart interpretation and will ask them things like where is the gudgeon.

They’ll do well. Between their days at sea discussing these things, reading the book and using Capt. Dan’s study guides, they’re sure to ace the test.

Southern California slip availability

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With the Ha-Ha in full swing and all sorts of other boaters seeking warmer climes (warmer than SoCal?), there are quite a few berths available.

If you’ve been thinking about buying a boat any time soon, at the least the where-do-I-put-it question is fairly easily answered right now.

The southbound traffic, though remarkable, has not been sufficient to force rates to head south. Those are still in the $11-$15 a foot range here in Oxnard/Ventura. A bite, but nothing compared to MDR, Newport Beach or San Diego.

Sailing Safety in Southern California – crossing the coastwise traffic lanes

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Lady Olga
There’s no telling what might try to trade paint with you in the Santa Barbara Channel, but it’s a good bet they’re not looking for you. It’s totally up to you to keep your distance. Keep your head on a swivel, checking the whole horizon frequently. If you see you’re on a constant bearing with decreasing range, be prepared to give way …. even if you’re technically the stand-on vessel.
I’ve assumed that fishing boats have seen me, only to see that their whole crew is aft having a smoke while the boat steams on, apparently under command of Iron Mike, their autopilot.

The best way to prevent collision is to keep a good lookout and be prepared to maneuver. The Rules of the Road also stipulate that if you have radar, you should be monitoring it. We never (any more, at least) cross the lanes without having it tuned and we start tracking targets as soon as we get near Gina – about three miles from the lane.

We use the GPS/chartplotter to keep us apprised of our precise position with regard to the lanes … but remember, not every hazardous vessel is in the lanes.


In the days before chartplotters and MARPA radar, we used DR to calculate when we’d hit the lanes and were well aware of which sectors held the biggest threats.

Southern California sailing, particularly in the vicinity of Ventura, Oxnard and the Channel Islands is particularly gorgeous right now and that means there are a lot of boats on the water. Not everyone knows the Rules of the Road, nor is everyone as courteous as we’d like. Keep a sharp lookout, have your signalling device handy and brief your crew on what your contingency plans are when traffic gets heavy.