Properly handling estuary, gotcha's etc.

[ryno1234]

I'll be boating from Sacramento, CA to the Bay Area (Benicia, and possibly further if I feel comfortable).

I've done this once before many years ago and recall when exiting the river and entering the estuary the waves became very large (in comparison to our 27ft boat at the time). It's almost like we would slowly climb to the top of a given wave and then rush down the back side of it, just to slowly climb to the top of the next. Likely because of tide coming in?

I understand in these areas there are multiple things in effect:

• Outgoing river
• Tidal changes
• Weather
• Sand wave. See screenshot below of grey dashed lines with "wave" symbol inside. For reference, this screenshot is near Grizzly Bay. You can take a look here if you'd like: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/enconline/enconline.html

This was many years ago I made this trip and I would hardly say that I was "ready" for it. We lucked out, but I want to be more prepared this time and educated. Any special tips on navigating these types of situations to make sure we're safe?

Note, I also realize I'm not talking about open ocean or anything like that and may be overthinking this, but... better safe than sorry! All tips welcome

 

[alldodge]

Someone like @dingbat might be best, but most lines on charts are "suggested best routes" and are there for commercial traffic.

NOAA has a legend for their charts, it is a good read but will take some time, 132 pages

https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publications/docs/us-chart-1/ChartNo1.pdf

 

[Sprig]

I know the area well, been boating the delta for 50+ years and many trips to San Pablo Bay and SF Bay. I’m not clear exactly what you information you are looking for but I’ll try to give you what I can. Answers to a couple questions would be helpful. What size and make of boat? Is this a day trip down and back or overnight?
From Sacramento to Rio Vista is an easy boat ride. For the most part no rough water. Just stay toward the middle of the the river as much as possible. A lot of boat and ski traffic on the weekends. Watch for 5 mph zones. Everything changes once you exit the Sacramento River and turn left and go under the Rio Vista bridge. The winds come up almost daily in the afternoon during the summer. It can get darn rough from Rio Vista all the way San Pablo bay and SF bay. Several things affect this, wind velocity, direction of the wind, the direction of the current and the tide. The wind is the primary factor. Often in the afternoon you’ll see big roller waves, 4 and 5‘ waves. it’s usually best to start your trip early in the morning and return by early afternoon.
Once you are in the Rio Vista main channel just follow the shipping channels. If you stay in or close to the shipping channel you don’t have to worry about mud flats or sand bars. Plot the course on your gps so if you come back at night or in the fog (doubt there’ll be any fog this time of year) you won’t have a navigation problem. Try to go on a day when the wind out there is forecast to be less than 10 or 15 mph. My favorite wind predictor app is Windfinder
You are not over thinking this. It can get really nasty out there. If you have more questions let us know.

 

[ryno1234]

Thank you @Sprig! That is definitely good information.

Boat is a 24' Maxum cruiser

We are going to stay in the Benicia harbor (or further if it's safe?) overnight just to say "we did it" and returning the following day.

When you say the winds pick up in the afternoon, how late are you talking? Ideally I'd love to be coming into Benicia as the sun is lower in the sky, but that's definitely a "want" and not a need. Rather play it safe.

The large roller waves you're talking about are probably what I'm thinking I experienced when I made this trip ~18 years ago. I just remember that the boat seemed like it wasn't moving forward in comparison to the shore as we would come up over the top of a wave and then finally when we reached the top, we would gain speed and move forward. It's a fuzzy memory, so I could be off, but that is what I'm recalling.

Any tips for those or the tide? Sounds like wind is the real concern.

 

[Sprig]

Your boat is ok for the trip. The winds are just not real predictable from one day to the next. Some days the winds scarcely let up but most days it’s fairly calm mornings. The winds generally get going around 1 pm and increase over the next 8 to 10 hours. The same applies not only around Rio Vista but all the way down to the bays. You’ll see a lot of wind turbines up in the hills just down from Rio Vista. They are there because of the winds that blow through the area. I have also seen the water around there like glass.
Your description from 18years ago is spot on.
As far as dealing with the roller waves about all you can do is take them straight on. You can try quartering them but you’ll be kind of zigzagging the whole way. Just take them straight on and go slow. The waves are more significant when the tide (and current) are going one way and the wind is blowing against the tide. But the wind itself is the primary cause of the rough conditions.
Im probably making this sound way worse than it is. I just want to make sure you are prepared for the possibility of a rough ride. If you go on a real windy day it’s going to be a long trip.
Check out the Windfinder app. Search for Rio Vista and other points along your route. I find it’s pretty accurate (most of the time) up to 2 to 3 days out.
Keep in mind they give the wind speeds in knots And they show what the winds will be every 3 hours.
To get an idea what conditions will be like take a boat ride in the afternoon down to Rio Vista , cruise under the Rio Vista bridge and continue down past the mouth of the San Joaquin River a couple miles. Do so when the afternoon winds are predicted to be 10 kts or more. You’ll then know what to expect. Sounds like a great trip to me, I’d do it in a minute.
Again I’m not trying to discourage you I just want you to be prepared.

 

[ryno1234]

@Sprig, I'm really looking forward to this. I don't mind a rough ride, just want to make sure I'm not going to capsize my boat or anything LOL. I can deal with some ocean spray and choppiness

I'll download the app you mentioned.

 

[KJM]

Windy.com is another good app.

 

[stresspoint]

nothing to add as for as the area you are heading into , i just seen the word "" estuary"" so like any estuary boating , watch your depths mud flats and shallow water will take even the most experienced of us by surprise.
enjoy your trip ..

 

[ryno1234]

Thanks all! I made the trip successfully!

 

[Sprig]

I’d love to hear about your trip. How long did it take? Did you go overnight? How was the water conditions? Did you go beyond Benicia? Any interest sights? Etc etc.

 

[ryno1234]

I’d love to hear about your trip. How long did it take? Did you go overnight? How was the water conditions? Did you go beyond Benicia? Any interest sights? Etc etc.

Saturday: Sacramento -> Benicia (74mi). The Sac river was perfect, but the Rio Vista area and the area between Rio Vista and Benicia had some chop and some wind, but honestly all in all, not bad at all, but I certainly wouldn't have tried it with a boat that didn't have some height to it. There are a lot of wind surfers as you leave Rio Vista (maybe 30 when we went) so you have to be careful of them.

We stayed overnight at the Benicia Marina. I contacted them ahead of time and they had an actual slip open. $1.25/ft, so my 24 ft Maxum was $30 overnight. Going through a marina for the first time docking with some wind was tricky on my first attempt as the wind almost blew me into the boats downwind (maybe 10-15kt wind). My mistake was I was trying to come into my slip wide when I should have stayed closer on the upwind side in case things got squirrely I'd have some time to correct. I backed out and reapproached and landed it perfectly the 2nd time.

Dinner at Lucca which was great food. All walking distance.

Uber'd to Holiday Inn Express 1mi from Benicia. There's a Best Western close as well.

Sunday Benicia -> San Pablo Bay -> Sacramento: We decided to push further around 8am knowing that wind is less in the morning. We took it another 10 / 15 mi out under the Carquinez bridge into San Pablo bay where I felt like I could officially say we made it to "ocean" water.

After that, we turned around and headed back to Benicia because we realized the fuel was looking low and it was going that direction fast. I didn't know my fuel gauge that well so I just decided to fill it since we had a long trip back at that point still.

The return trip between Benicia and Rio Vista was WILD and by far my favorite time of the trip because wind and current were making for some large waves that made it a fun (yet safe) trip back. We got sprayed with water many times, but I'd say we were definitely nearing the edge of our "safety zone" with our boat's capabilities. The boat was plowing through the water when we'd come down off the top of one wave and right down into the face of the next, enough so that it pushed water through our imperfectly closed galley / bathroom windows (our fault). The galley was just slightly damp in areas around the windows, the bathroom however had 1/2in of water in it. The intensity of this navigation area made the ~1+ hour trip through it feel like 3.

The rest of the return trip was much like the trip there, except we were more knowledgeable.

Watch your depth finder and navigational buoys. They're hard to see at times and they don't all look the same, nor are there always two. A separate app like Wavve helped us out a lot to find out where the next set was if we couldn't find them.

Oh... and the salt on the boat was very apparent afterwards which made it easy to find. I always clean my boat after every outing, but usually that just involves a wipe down and some very light cleaning. This time took me 2 hours and I know it still could use another hour because there was gritty salt residue on everything exterior and even some things interior.

I can post some pictures, video later tonight / tomorrow

 

[ryno1234]

These were on the way to Benicia (wind / wave combo not as bad)

 

[Sprig]

Thank you for sharing, your trip and videos brought back lots of memories. I sold my boat 2 years ago and have yet to get another. First time I’ve been with a boat in almost 50 years. I live boating vicariously through others stories. Thanks again.

 

[ryno1234]

Thank you for sharing, your trip and videos brought back lots of memories. I sold my boat 2 years ago and have yet to get another. First time I’ve been with a boat in almost 50 years. I live boating vicariously through others stories. Thanks again.

What prompted you to sell and not rebuy? ...not saying I haven't had my own thoughts of this at times for my own reasons.

 

[Sprig]

I’m 74, I just wasn’t using the boat nearly as much. It was tough to justify the expense and not use it much and I’m involved in a lot of other activities (hunting, fishing, travel and many others). I’ve owned numerous boats over the last 50 + years and now that it is gone I’m missing boating life. I am actually considering getting another sometime in the next few months. My wife and I have some travel planned in the next couple months and after that I’ll get serious if I decide on another boat.

 

[ryno1234]

I’m 74, I just wasn’t using the boat nearly as much. It was tough to justify the expense and not use it much and I’m involved in a lot of other activities (hunting, fishing, travel and many others). I’ve owned numerous boats over the last 50 + years and now that it is gone I’m missing boating life. I am actually considering getting another sometime in the next few months. My wife and I have some travel planned in the next couple months and after that I’ll get serious if I decide on another boat.

Sounds like you have had and are having a lot of fun in your life! Boats are expensive, but I don't have to tell you that. I'm only 14 years into my boat journey. I'm glad to hear you've had so many years of boating which I'm *sure* are filled with countless great experiences. Thanks for sharing.