All activities / Sailing / San Diego
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Sailing in San Diego
A large protected bay in southern California with no hurricane exposure and no seasonal shutdown, which makes it the most reliable winter sailing supply in the northern hemisphere.
Why here
San Diego is the most reliable November and December sailing supply in the northern hemisphere, which sounds dull until you try to book a course anywhere else in the Atlantic that month. There is no hurricane exposure and no seasonal shutdown, the American Sailing Association lists five schools inside the city, and the bay is big, protected and busy enough to learn traffic properly. The Baja Ha-Ha rally forms up off Shelter Island on November 2 and starts off Coronado Roads, sending about 150 boats down to Cabo San Lucas, which gives the month a focal point. The local ladder also runs deeper than most: celestial navigation and offshore passagemaking are both taught here.
Best months
San Diego Bay is sheltered and the climate is mild enough that sailing runs all year with no closed season. Winter brings the year's most settled air, with lighter and more variable breeze than the spring and summer afternoons. Water is cool by southern California reputation, around 16 to 18C in late autumn, so a layer helps on the water even when it is warm ashore. Beyond Point Loma the open Pacific swell arrives quickly, which is why the offshore courses stage from here rather than inside the bay.
Getting there & around
San Diego International sits on the bay itself, minutes from the marinas. Note that the schools are on Harbor Island rather than Shelter Island, despite how the area is often described; Shelter Island is where the Baja Ha-Ha parade forms, not where the instruction is. Two of the three schools here teach the standard ASA 101 through 106 ladder, and the third specializes in multihulls and carries the deeper offshore tier including celestial navigation and passagemaking, so choose on which end of the ladder you want. None of the three publishes explicit November or December course dates, so confirm by phone before booking flights.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (3)
Harbor Sailboats
SchoolASA school and club on Harbor Island teaching 101 through 106 plus 114 and the International Proficiency Certificate for Mediterranean chartering, with a rental fleet alongside.
Learn to Sail San Diego
SchoolASA school at Cabrillo Isle Marina running an unusually deep ladder from 101 through 118, including 107 celestial navigation and 108 offshore passagemaking.
West Coast Multihulls
SchoolMultihull specialist school at Sunroad Marina certifying students since 1999, running a seven-day combined 101, 103, 104 and 114 course to Catalina plus offshore and celestial work staged from the Sea of Cortez.
Also good for sailing in July:
Torn between San Diego and La Maddalena Archipelago for July?
A plan settles it for your skill and budget, same-day.