| Here are two charter companies that come to mind in San Diego.
1. Harbor Island Sailing Club
2040 Harbor Island Drive
San Diego, Ca. 92101
(619) 291-9568
2. Set Sail Yacht Charters
2071 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, Ca. 92106
(619) 224-3791
(619) 224-8736 (FAX)
I do not have any direct experience with either as I have a sailboat.
There are people from our office that have taken lessons from #1 and
now charter there. Set Sail is in the marina where I keep my boat.
They have a good selection that includes C & C, Erickson, Catalina,
Freedom and others.
The weather in June is overcast till noon and sunny the rest of the
day with temp's in the high 60's to low 70's. June is not my favorite
sailing month here. July through October is great with the temperature
in the high 70's to high 80's. In August the winds will be at their
lightest, 8 to 15 knots, sometimes zilch. I feel that September and
early October offers the best sailing with warm days.
The tides here do not vary much, and are normally 2 to 5 feet.
You have two different types of sailing available, stay in San Diego
Bay or the open ocean. In the bay there is a lot to see; the city and
water front; lots of navy ships; and there are several restaurants that
have docks. Out of the bay there are several islands you can go to
depending on your time and open water skills. The Coronado Islands are
16 miles south of Point Loma in Mexican waters and about 8 miles off
the coast. This is one of our favorite spots as it only takes 3 to 4
hours to get to. We were their over the Memorial weekend. Great
fishing, I caught a 36" Yellow Tail Tuna which is great on the grill.
If you are confortable going longer distances off shore, Catalina
Island is about 75 miles away. It is dead up wind, so we usually leave
at midnight and motor there while the ocean is flatter and get their
just after lunch time. Avalon is a small town on the south end of the
island that has many mooring bouys and a water taxi to get you ashore.
Many shops, bars and restaurants, as well as grocery stores.
Give me a call for more specifics and details. dtn 534-3315
You can leave your 6/12 at home, as there are no noseeums here. :-)
Chuck
|
| I have chartered with Harbor Island Sailing Club and they seemed
to be a very well run outfit.
I found myself in Santa Clara one weekend, with plans
on Tuesday in San Diego...no plans for Monday. On Sunday I called
Harbor Island, asked for a boat in the 30 ft range for the day on
Monday. Much to my surprise, they said no problem. They gave me a
Hunter 31, about 1 year old, everything worked
fine (and I'm not a Hunter fan). Evidently, with their urban location
they are used to these one day deals. We sailed to the Coronado's (sp)
where a couple of my friends went diving.
Being an East Coast sailor, I was impressed by the sea life. We saw
sea lions, a large (100+) group of dolphins, and whales, all in a day
sail. Wind was light, came up about 11 AM, died about 3 pm. Motor
was important. San Diego is a great city. Returned to the habor at
night. Very well marked, the only issue is distinguishing flashing
reds from traffic signals and other lights on the land on the way
in. Kelp was something new for me....don't sail, or worse motor
into it.
Yes, I'd recommend Harbor Island. They are about 1 mile from the
airport.
San Diego is a great place to sail.
Gary
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| We chartered an O'day 28 a few years ago. I have forgotten the name of
the place, but it is across the street, and perhaps affiliated with the
Hotel Del Coranado, in Coronado. The only thing that turned me off was
that they gave us a place mat with a chart of the bay on it to
navigate by.
As I recall, their rates were reasonable.
Bill
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