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A Wind Mystery

NGB

Member II
I am trying to solve a minor mystery about the winds in San Diego Bay. I have been sailing out of Harbor Island for a year now and encounter this every time I head out towards Pt. Loma.

There is a dead spot just past Shelter Island where the wind is always near calm regardless of its strength before and after that spot. It is as if the wind is blocked by higher hills, but the hills appear to be about the same height all the way out to the point.

Any ideas?
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
me too!

I have noticed the same phenomina. My sailing buddy Rick says that a giant winsucker lives just beneath the range marker. He says it could even be the Harbor Police sucking the wind out of evrybody (just kidding).
Jim
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Wind Mystery

This is a well known phenomena in SD. With the prevailing W-SW breeze. Pt. Loma blocks the wind. What happens is that the wind hits Poit Loma on the windward side, rises up over it and eventually settles back to the surface well downwind of the hills. The area below just to leeward of the Point is the "shadow".

You will notice in Santa Ana conditions this does not happen at that location.

If you have more questions about this feel free to contact me directly.
Happy holidays!
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
I knew that

I like Rick's explanation better! Its more fun.

Truthfully, I only sail near the range markers if I am going to go around the back side of Shelter Island, maybe to dock overnight at the public dock or to anchor out at Playa, otherwise I stay to the Coronado side of the Bay so I can catch as much wind as is possible. If its really busy traffic wise I just usually plan on motoring out to at least as far as Balast Point when I get in that area. I keep my E26 in Chula Vista Marina so for me to sail to Shelter Island usually takes at least 2 hrs. Somewhere around the aircraft carrier I start up the outboard (Yamaha 6hp) and keep it in neutral so I can just pop it into gear if I start to loose steerage because of too light of winds.
Jim
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
Photo

I was looking through my pictures trying to find a new screen saver and I came across this picture of green bouy #17. I believe this bouy is just about where the windsucker lives.
 

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NGB

Member II
Seth,
I am going to have to check out your theory. I think the dead spot is relatively small and does not travel the full length of the leeward side of the hills, but I may be wrong. I will try doing what Jim does -- stay as close to Coronado as possible, assuming the tour boats don't try to run me over.
 

NGB

Member II
Jim,
When I take guests out for a ride, I always make sure I go close to one of the bouys with the sea lions on top. It is always one of the experiences they enjoy the most -- especially those guests from the Midwest.
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
Beware!!!

When you "hug" the Coronado side of the bay in the area of Shelter Island there are some hazards we need to watch for. Examine the charts carefully. Most the shoal areas are plainly marked, but there is a submerged dock toward the south end of Coronado as you head into open water, before the submerged rock jetty that runs out past the point on the Coronado side. I know a couple of people who have run aground on it when the tides were just right.
Also with hightened security around the naval base and aircraft carriers there will be added patrol boats to keep you away. Then there is the problem of the kelp bed. If you stay to the east side of the bay opening you won't have any problems with kelp in your keel or rudder, but if you decide to turn north toward Mission Bay, La Jolla Cove, Scripps areas, and the rest of the California coast, you will need to get out past the San Diego Bouy #1 before turning, elsewise you will find that you may be traveling through heavy areas of bull kelp. There is a kelp harvesting company that operates out of the bay and is located very close to the Coronado bridge on the San Diego side of the bay and many times the kelp is cut down, but I don't like to take to many chances in that area because of the heavy traffic going in and out of the bay.
Then there is the Mexican border. Many people don't realize it, but if you sail out of the bay toward the Coronado Islands that you can see on a clear day you are actually heading due south. If you keep sailing toward the islands, which are only 15 miles out, at some point you will be in Mexico and subject to their laws and regs. If you have anything on board that even resembles fishing equipment you will need Mexican fishing liscenses for the boat and everyone on the boat. If you are carrying a large party of guests that could become expensive.
 
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Jim Payton

Inactive Member
absolutely

Gary,
I always do that too. I try to get as close as possible and not disturb the seals and I try to sail over by where the bait barges are parked and into the navy dock area where the porposes are kept (I am not sure if they are still there) but they also train sea lions for the navy in that area too.
Since that is on the Point Loma side of the bay I always make it look like I am just sailing in that direction so I can get a proper tack and make my turn as close as I can and still be safe. The Navy security boats usually leave you alone if you look like you are really just chasing wind.

Also, I have never tried it in the sail boat, but I have kayaked in Mission Bay behind Sea World there is an area where the penguins come down into the water and you can paddle right up to it. I am a little leary about going under the bridge in Mission Bay because at high tide it only has about 30 feet of clearance. There are sail boats in that area though.
 

NGB

Member II
Good information, Jim. Thanks. I took a good look at the area of the submerged dock the last time I went out past the Point. I cranked up the diesel as I approached it, just in case the winds died. I know the charts recommend at least 2 miles clearance to stay out of the kelp beds, but I like your bouy suggestion. Pleasant sailing and Merry Christmas.
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
Merry Christmas

I am not sure if I will be sailing this 4 day weekend. Lots of family things to do and most the family members are not the sea enthusiast that I am. But, if I get a chance to get out I hope to see you on the bay.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Jim
P.S. Gary, I was an E-5 in the Airforce and was stationed at Castle AFB from 1969 to 1972. Lots of good memories.
Merry Christmas
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
The hole

The dead zone is irregular in shape and size because the shape of Pt. Loma is irregular-thus the effect will be greater in some areas of the lee than in others. Also, the size and shape of this zone will vary with windspeed and direction. It will have a different character when the wind is from 240 than it would when it is from 270. The wind velocity will also dictate the distance to leeward of the landmass when the breeze resumes.

Put simply, it is a dynamic effect. The exact size and shape will change from day to day-BUT once you understand the mechanism and watch it over time, you will get a sense of what to expect in different conditons. Or, the size and shape of the lee should be pretty much the same whenever the wind is 260 at 15, and the same when it is 240 at 8. Get my drift?

Happt holidays again
 

NGB

Member II
Seth,
I think you just solved my wind mystery. The variation of the dead spots based on wind speed and direction make sense. Now I just need to go out and experiment with it. I was hoping to get down there tomorrow, but it looks like rain is certain.
 

Sven

Seglare
Originally posted by NGB
... I was hoping to get down there tomorrow, but it looks like rain is certain.

The rain forecast is definitely a bummer. We hoped to be out at Two Harbors on Catalina right now but the prospect of rain and small craft advisories derailed that plan.

We went down to La Petite from Friday afternoon and just came back home this morning ... talk about cold !! I had no idea how thin my blood had gotten since my fall and spring dingy racing days back in RI.

With no heater in the cabin we had to leave the hatch and companion way partially open or we'd create our own rain from condensation during the night. Inside the sleeping bags we were nice and toasty, but the air in the cabin read 43 degrees so getting out of the bag was painful :)

We did get a beautiful Sunday of sailing. Sailed up to Malibu, then back down the coast and straight out from MDR before finally returning back to the slip just before nightfall.

La Petite is beginning to feel like _our_ boat and she's definitely knows how to charm you.

Maybe it will clear by Wednesday ?




-Sven
 

Bob in Va

Member III
Point Loma memories

When I was 8 my dad bought a house on the west side of Point Loma and I went to grade school in Pacific Beach. The house had a view of the ocean on its south and west sides, and Mission Bay was visible from the sun deck, to the north. He paid $18,000 so you can guess how long ago it was. How I would love now to sail my E23 in those waters. Three days ago the guy who manages the local Subway told me his father harvested seaweed in San Diego and his business was located where the Coronado bridge is now. The next day I read the entry here about the seaweed factory. Small world. I remember walking the deck of the Star of India in the early 50s - no masts in her then. Happy new year to you guys!
 

NGB

Member II
Sven, sounds like you had a grand sail over the weekend. From San Diego, Catalina is a bit far. I need to put a few days together to sail up your way and then across. Maybe in the Summer.

Bob, I have been to Virginia many times. One of my unfulfilled dreams was to sail in the Chesapeake area. Closest I ever came was a sightseeing boat out of Alexandria. I must admit though that sailing in and around San Diego 12 months out of the year is not a bad alternative.

By the way, the last time I was out near Pt. Loma there was a boat harvesting kelp. Recently, there was an article in the paper about the median price of homes in the San Diego area. I think it was about $450,000. Some things do not change; some things do.
 

Bob in Va

Member III
How about this one?

Gary, a few years before we moved to San Diego (we stayed only about a year - imagine moving from SD to rural Alabama in the early 50s), my dad had bought a house in Coronado. He paid $4k for it and told me once it really hurt to have to pay the bank 2% on the borrowed money. If you get out this way again I'll see to it that you get in your Chesapeake sail. It is a wonderful place for gunkholing, and the weather can change real quickly, so it is a good but firm classroom for a sailor. I hope someday to sail the southern California coast, as well as that of Maine, Puget Sound, and my old high school stomping grounds, Naragansett Bay. For now, Smith Mt. Lake will have to do - it does have a nice view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Say, is there still an "Oscar's" drive in there? I can still taste those milk shakes!
 
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