Point Conception

“The Cape Horn of California.” If you sail on the West Coast you hear about Pt. Conception. The first time I visited Catalina Island people there asked me, “How did you come around Pt. Conception?” I was a brand new sailor then and certainly couldn’t give any advice.
This place has had a reputation for a long time. In “Two Years Before the Mast”, William Henry Dana wrote (in 1840) about sailing north from Santa Barbara. I don’t have an exact quote but when they reached the point their ship (carrying full sail) was suddenly knocked down on its beam ends as the crew furiously tried to douse the sails that were being torn to shreds. I think this best sums up Pt. Conception; it is when approaching from the south that the Cape displays its viciousness.
Returning from my first Catalina visit I tasted a little of this flavor. We motored from Santa Barbara in light wind with patchy fog and overcast. Arriving at Cojo (the anchorage just east of Conception) at 1330 it was sunny, calm and warm. I decided to continue on while the conditions were good rather than staying overnight at Cojo (the wind at the point is supposed to be lightest in the early AM). Well, one hour later we were crashing into 6 foot waves with 25 knot winds. We motored into the waves, tacking so we could cross the crests at a more comfortable angle. The wind meter read 33 knots in the gusts. At least it was sunny (it was May) and this made it more endurable. We passed oil platform “Irene”, 5 miles north of Pt. Arguello, at 2000 and continued on to Pt. Buchon into apparent winds of 18-20 knots.
When approaching from the north the Pt. Conception area (that actually extends 12 miles north to Pt. Arguello) is not much different than the other points along the Central Coast. The wind is accelerated as it funnels around the point and the waves naturally rise along with the wind. In early May I sailed from Morro Bay to Cojo with a weather forecast of “NW15-20, NW swells 5-7 feet”. We passed Pt. Arguello at 1505 and then entered a strong-wind area for the next 4 miles. The true wind gusted to 27 knots and our speed was back up to 5.7 knots for the 12 mile leg down to Pt. Conception. Because we were east of Arguello the waves were smaller in spite of the stronger wind. As we approached Pt. Conception the sun broke through and we had a pretty view of the lighthouse on the point. We were sailing with one reef in the main and no headsail. The autopilot had no difficulty steering. This is typical for a late afternoon passage.
In September 2006 I made a somewhat different passage. We left Morro Bay at 1120 so there would be wind and I wouldn’t have to start the trip motoring which is normal in the early AM. The intention was to hove-to for some sleep a little north of Irene and then continue on to Cuyler Harbor at San Miguel Island. Today’s forecast was “NW15-25, NW swells 3-6 feet” and there had been gale warnings the previous day. We arrived at the hove-to spot at 2130 and it was quite smooth in a 15 knot breeze. We slowly drifted south and by 0230 the wind was 19 knots. I felt awake enough now that I wanted to continue sailing. We only needed the reefed main to make more than 5 knots. There were scattered clouds (no fog) with nice stars between them but no moon. When we passed Pt. Arguello the true wind was 25 knots but I think the seas were only 4 to 5 feet (couldn’t see them in the dark). The wind is often strongest near the West Santa Barbara Channel weather buoy (right on our route to San Miguel Island). I thought we already had enough wind so I chickened out and headed for Cojo. This required a little chart work to be sure we would miss all the little buoys near the oil platforms and then we headed for a waypoint at Government Point, just south of Conception. Except for a few waves slapping the side of the boat it was an uneventful and fast sail through the dark. The sky to the east above the mountains began to glow as we approached Government Point and the sun appeared just as I dropped the anchor at Cojo. In the anchorage there was a 2 knot east breeze.

As you can see the wind and water conditions near Conception were not exceptional, certainly not dangerous. I have seen just as much wind rounding other points further north. My personal speed records were set (twice) sailing from Pigeon Point to Santa Cruz in Monterey Bay. The wind was gusting above 30 knots. The 7 mile stretch from Pt. Sur south to Pfeiffer Point always seems to have especially strong wind. I have seen true winds above 30 knots there too (and the waves/swells were 8-10 feet for lots of good surfing!).
To me Pt. Conception has one bad aspect. I must go north (upwind) around it to get home to Morro Bay. A rough passage at the end of a trip (where I visited the nice waters further south) is not appreciated. At least Cojo is a pretty place to be stuck while you wait for a good weather window.