How hard is it to sail from LA to Hawaii?

JMorton6

Senior member
Jan 25, 2009
406
1
71
Never sailed before, but gonna take classes in 2011 and learn how. I'd like to eventually be able to rent a boat for a few weeks with another couple (so 2 guys 2 girls total) and sail to Hawaii. Is that a difficult voyage? What kind of a boat will we need, how much will it cost and how long will it take?
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,096
771
126
I doubt it would be a safe trip for an inexperienced sailor.
 

Crusty

Lifer
Sep 30, 2001
12,684
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81
I think I would try sailing around the Caribbean before I attempted to cross a fucking ocean.
 

nutxo

Diamond Member
May 20, 2001
6,805
474
126
I knew a guy that had been doing powered boats for years and then got a sailboat. He was going to sail form Hawaii to SD. I guess many things happened , barely made it back to Hawaii and hired a skipper for the trip.
 

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
I think I would try sailing around the Caribbean before I attempted to cross a fucking ocean.
i think he should try sailing up and down the coast before even doing that. my uncle is an experienced sailer and got tired of the difficulties a few years ago and sold his sailboat. he grew up sailing as a kid with his dad and sailed well into his 40s
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,071
9,476
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I knew a guy that had been doing powered boats for years and then got a sailboat. He was going to sail form Hawaii to SD. I guess many things happened , barely made it back to Hawaii and hired a skipper for the trip.

Wow, South Dakota was an ambitious goal. I guess he gave up when he hit CA?
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
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I read a few sailing forums about this out of curiosity. Most of them said you need at least a 35' boat and it takes around 3 weeks each way. Yikes! Don't think I could take a 2 month vacation.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Wow, South Dakota was an ambitious goal. I guess he gave up when he hit CA?

San Diego is the closest major US port city on the mainland, so I see no reason for him to get more specific, especially when he was spelling out the states (couldn't be confused for South Dakota).
 

Paladin3

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2004
4,933
878
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Yes, it can be done, but it's not recommended for the novice who just took a few classes and has no experience. I doubt anyone would even rent you the necessary boat with no experience.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
With no experience, you would have to be insane. The open ocean is about as unforgiving as it gets...
 

Nik

Lifer
Jun 5, 2006
16,101
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They all also died before 40 and got things like plague and scurvy,

yeah look how far we've come

some 15 year old sails around the world alone on his own boat

LA -> HI can't be hard
 

arrfep

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2006
2,314
16
81
San Diego is the closest major US port city on the mainland, so I see no reason for him to get more specific, especially when he was spelling out the states (couldn't be confused for South Dakota).

wah wah waaaaaaaaahhh
 

IcePickFreak

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2007
2,428
9
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Yeah I wouldn't make it your first sailing trip. I know a guy that sailed from central america (he lived in Cali, boat he got on was docked in CA) to Hawaii and then all the way on to Australia (with stops at other remote islands along the way.) All on a 30 foot sailboat with 5 or 6 other people. He had a good 20+ years sailing experience though, and in fact he lived on his boat when he lived in Cali. He sold it though when he got on as a crewman for that trip. It'd be the experience of a lifetime for sure, but if your inexperienced your probably just going to get in the way at best and kill everyone on the boat at worst.

If your looking at doing this down the road once you have a few years experience under your belt, it may be worth looking into just getting on a crew, which seems like common practice for bigger expeditions like this. You still probably have to pay for your share of supplies and spot etc, but I'd imagine it's much cheaper than getting your own boat and trying to get the people together.
 
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JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,544
924
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It would take about 4 weeks and you'd need at least a 35' boat and at least 1 experienced sailor. Nobody will rent you a boat for this journey...you're going to have to buy one and provision it, make sure it is sound enough to make the journey and handle any foul weather you'd encounter. You'll also have to know what to look for in an off shore cruising boat. Many of the cheaper coastal cruisers you find on the market are not suitable for making long passages like that. Things that make for a comfortable family day sailer or race boat don't make for good cruising boats. You want a good sturdy boat, something with a full keel and not a stepped mast preferably.

It is definitely not something to be underestimated.