Sailing Solo to San Clemente Island and buddy boating (June 2024)

[@MasterBaiterFishing69]

Keep it up! Thanks for going out there and bringing us along again.

[@keeldragger]

Appreciate the comment. More adventures to come.

[@joeyjojojunior1794]

28:00 I bet the person that placed the message in the bottle has a unique business opportunity! 😅

[@keeldragger]

just heard back from them. they were trying to contact me about my car warranty!

[@wonderboy6511]

Looks like you had the full spectrum of wind environments. Enjoyed tagging along, even if only virtually. James

[@keeldragger]

We had a little bit of everything on that trip. Looking forward to seeing you out there one of these days, James.

[@789train]

ahoy there! thank you for the videos. does one of your videos show you dropping and weighing anchor solo ? i could use some advice in this regard . ty

[@keeldragger]

Most of my sailing is solo and I anchor more often than I pick up a mooring. I do not have any videos specifically focused on my anchoring, but many show parts of the process. Is there anything in particular you are looking for or are there any specific questions I can answer?

[@789train]

@@keeldragger im a little unsure how its done cause no one at helm . do you run your windlass from the cockpit ? or idle up while weighing anchor at windlass ? setting anchor doesnt worry me too much, cause of wind blowing the boat back. am i missing something ? thank you for answering me, launching in aug .!

[@keeldragger]

@@789train You may or may not want to follow my practice because it's not necessarily recommended by everyone. I tend to anchor in DEEP water (often 80-100 ft). I do pay attention to wind and work to get the bow directly into the wind. I then proceed to go up to the bow and let the chain out very fast. The risk in doing this is having the chain pile up and foul the anchor. I do try to modulate speed with drift so I'm not piling the entire chain in one place. Once the chain is out and I put on the snubber harness, which is 1/2" nylon rode to absorb shock loads from my all chain anchor rode. Then, I go back to the helm and put the boat in reverse to about 1500 RPMs or so to make sure the anchor is set. After that, I set an anchor alarm on my iPhone and watch it periodically over the next hour or two to make sure I am not dragging. I shallow waters, I might opt to use the windless remote from the cockpit. I prefer not to because I do not have a remote chain counter and cannot tell how much chain I've let out. Most folks recommend at least 5:1 scope in mild conditions and 10:1 or more in storm conditions. I regularly anchor with 3:1 scope using my 300 feet chain and modern Rocna anchor at Catalina in mild to moderate conditions and have never had an issue dragging anchor. I would not advise that you follow that as the best example and would suggest you be more conservative with your scope, particularly if you are not familiar with the anchorage, do not have all chain rode, or do not have a modern anchor (e.g. Rocna, Mantus, Spade, etc.).

[@keeldragger]

@@789train I would also suggest anchoring somewhere easy, like Newport Beach, before attempting deeper waters.

[@Farallonjoe]

any 2 boats going in the same direction are racing.

[@keeldragger]

agreed, but I downplay it if I am behind!

[@scottybear]

So can I buy a sail boat and immediately shove off and motor it down to Ensenada for repairs and live on it?

[@keeldragger]

It's not quite that easy. You need to make sure your boat does not have an existing Mexican Temporary Import Permit, purchase Mexican Liability Insurance, have your CG/CF registration docs, and valid passport. The marinas in Ensenada are less restrictive on liveaboard slips but you need to explicitly ask each one about availability and rates. They will charge extra for liveaboard. Once you have all of that worked out, it's best to make a reservation with the marina before you leave. They will likely want some form of deposit in advance. Once you are there, they will help you with the Mexican paperwork (for a fee). Good luck!

[@scottybear]

@@keeldragger I'm a good surfer. Ive watched your stuff. I wanna buy it and sail baja and surt and keep going south.. I have all the passport stuff. I need understanding of the buying and exit procedure.

[@keeldragger]

@@scottybear Easiest to use a broker for purchase and a documentation service like Dona Jenkins to check for boat title, confirm their are no tax liens, and apply for USCG documentation. Can also have them see if the boat as an existing temporary import permit. You can do all of this without broker & documentation service and save some money.

[@scottybear]

@@keeldragger So I buy this boat, then ??? take it to a mooring??? Give the docs to: documentation service Dona Jenkins, I don't live near So Cal... How long am I looking at till I can go south??

[@keeldragger]

@scottybear my suggestion is to call Dona Jenkins and see how long the paperwork process takes