Association Forum - Delta to Richmond

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Delta to Richmond

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

dbehling
1st Mate

Member Avatar

USA
68 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/10/2004 : 03:20:17

Has anyone ever planned a Delta trip. We really don't want to put our newly acquired trailer into salt water. Since the water in Folsom is only shrinking, we would like to do some bay sailing. Our plan is to launch at Brandon Island and motor/sail thru the rivers to Richmond. Has anybody else done this. How long did it take. Best places to stay, either anchor out, or marinas.

1979 SR/SK L-Dinette "Windy Britches" Sail #1205

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2004 : 11:31:51

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dbehling
 Has anyone ever planned a Delta trip. We really don't want to put our newly acquired trailer into salt water..
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Debbie:
The distance from Brannan Island to Richmond is about 55 NM. Fleet 4 used to do a summer cruise on Memorial Day or Labor Day just like you are planning, only in the opposite direction - launch at Richmond, cruise up the river and haul out at Brannan Island. If you pre-plan the launch and departure times carefully to take best advantage of the tide, it can possibly be done in 15 hours. If you leave Brannan Island an hour before high slack water, then ride the ebb going as fast as possible, you can possibly make it to Benecia by low slack water. Most likely you will have to hole up at Benecia for a few hours to wait out the flood through Carquinez Strait, then drive the rest of the way to Richmond on the next ebb. It's no good to try and drive through Carquinez Strait against the opposing tide; the current can exceed 4 knots, especially on Spring tides. On Neap tides, the current is a little less, but still enough to make it very difficult to get a small, slow sailboat through. Another issue to keep in mind is that the typical summer season wind pattern is for very strong afternoon westerlies, that can get up to the high 20's and even low 30's. This much wind in Suisun Bay and Carquinez Strait can raise a huge chop, especially when the tide is ebbing, and thus opposing the wind direction. When the NWS posts an afternoon Small Craft Advisory for the West Delta at this time of the year, they really mean it. Larry Stanton has made the trip you are planning at least a couple of times in his Catalina 30, from Owl Harbor, and been really battered in Suisun Bay in the afternoons. You might want to consider doing this as an overnight trip, where you leave Brannan late in the day, and transit Carquinez Strait early the next moring before the wind starts blasting. This would get you to Richmond by noon.
If you do this on a Saturday that I don't already have anything scheduled, I'd love to go with you if you want to carry a passenger. Cruising the lower Delta and Suisun Bay is pretty nice.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2004 : 13:33:20

Latitude 38 has recently run some very nice articles on "cruising" the delta and SF Bay...

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.