Pacific SailWhat’s it like on the Monterey Bay from November through March?
Typically, the winds settle down between storms and we can get the most amazing, sparkling clear days with tranquil sea conditions. It’s actually quite enjoyable, sailing along in light winds, checking out the fall and winter sea life, especially when the California Grey Whales start migrating to Mexico in December. Our first pre-winter storm system…
More »Sailing Quotes
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite…
More »Moorings Charters
Pacific Yachting is a charter broker with the Moorings Charter Company. They charter yachts around the world in some of the most ideal sailing locations. We use the Moorings because they have an excellent reputation. Their prices may be a slightly higher than some of the other foreign charter companies but we figure that if…
More »Docking News
Pacific Yachting & Sailing graduates continue to prove that they are quite proficient at docking in our berthing area. We’ve observed our graduates are really skillful at resolving those conflict- resolution, docking issues. Thank-you for actually following all of those Pacific Yachting & Sailing Instructors, philosophies. “Slow is good, slower is better.” If there’s an…
More »Winter Ocean Swell
There are times when the harbor entrance can have plenty of depth from the continual winter dredging, though we still can get fairly large swells at the harbor entrance. First, there’s a live web cam showing the harbor entrance, 3 weather prediction sites, tides, and swell height prediction. Please do your homework…
More »Spring Lines
Just a reminder-when you secure the boat to the dock, please tie the spring lines around the base of the chain plates, not the stanchions. The stanchions are not meant to sustain the type of lateral loads imposed by the fore and aft movement of the boat. Typing spring lines to the stanchions will cause…
More »ASA Certification – Why Take the Exams?
ASA is a nationally recognized sailing certification and accreditation program. These organizations, which include sailing schools, charter companies, sailing instructors and sailors, set competency standards for both sailing knowledge and on-the-water skills for sailors and instructors from basic to offshore sailing levels. Certification simply means a person has demonstrated a standard of…
More »What is Marine Debris?
Marine debris has been defined by NOAA as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes. In layman’s term marine debris is trash or litter that ends up in our rivers or oceans….
More »Marine Debris: Oceans or Landfills?
There is an area in the North Pacific Ocean between California, Hawaii and Japan that is accumulating garbage at an alarming rate. This area, commonly known as the North Pacific Gyre, has been transformed into something that resembles a plastic soup. It is the result of our “disposable lifestyle” and it’s only getting worse….
More »Netting Plastic and Marine Debris
Remember the classic scene in the movie, “The Graduate” at Benjamin Braddock’s (Dustin Hoffman) college graduation party? One of his father’s friends came up to him and said: “One word son- PLASTICS!” I have occasionally thought to myself, yes, I should have listened to that line and pursued a career manufacturing anything plastic, becoming a…
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