If you have a desire to travel by sea from California to Hawaii, then it is possible. However, if you do want to travel by yacht you will need to understand the boat time and distances involved. This is my short guide to travelling from California to Hawaii in a yacht or boat.
Can a yacht travel from California to Hawaii? It is possible for a yacht to travel from the California bay and reach to Hawaii considering their nautical proximity. The average nautical miles for a boat trip from California to Hawaii is about 2,500 miles and can last up to two weeks in travel time.
However, it is not an easy trip as it will require a lot of boat time from California to Hawaii. Plus there’s a lot to think about before you go. If you are not up for this challenge, there is the cruise ship alternatives as a backup plan.
Making sure that you understand the average speed and time to reach Honolulu, Hawaii, from California areas such as Sans Francisco is important as the boat travel may not always be for everyone. The more you understand the circumstances, the easier it will be for your sea travels, and the more fun and rewarding it will be once you make it safely to Hawaii.
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Can you take a boat from California to Hawaii?
The simple is that yes, a yacht or boat can be taken from California to Hawaii due to the relative close proximity. The average in miles from San Francisco, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, is about 2,225 nautical miles or so.
Although that may be the case, there are a lot of factors to consider when making the possible yacht trip. These factors are for the safety of both the yacht and the passengers on it, such as the following:
- Yacht mileage
- Yacht gasoline intake
- Yacht Speed
- Weather conditions
- Storage
- Supplies
- Crewmates
- Your mental / emotional health
In order to fully facilitate a boat trip from California to Hawaii, you have to be careful and well equipped with what you have. If you know for certain that you are lacking in certain items such as food or medicine, then it is best to ensure you have those priorities.
However, that doesn’t mean you are to freak out as we will ensure to go over a few major points that can enable your travels to be that of safety and security.
California to Hawaii by boat time
On average, many boats that travel from California to Hawaii average a rough two weeks or so of boat time to get to their destination.
With that being said, it is crucial that you stock up on necessary items such as food and water before embarking on the journey. It can keep your mental health in check as being at sea for a long period of time can upset if not cause chaos during the trek.
In short, the travel can be dangerous and one that needs to be settled with a hundred percent certainty despite its possibility. So, understanding the length of time can help make the case clear with you as well as your peers as to what journey you will embark on.
Handy Hint: Read this alternative guide where I explore how long yachts can sensibly stay at sea for.
Understanding the yacht or boat capability
A yacht is an expensive property for a person to have and is something that you want to make sure is taken care of properly.
That being said, it is important to understand if the yacht can indeed make the boat trip to Hawaii from California at all. That includes factors like:
- Total mileage
- Maintenance
- Gas
On average, a boat that is going to need to travel that amount of distance needs roughly 2,000 gallons of fuel.
If your yacht can’t handle that much nautical torque, then it is best to cancel the trip and invest your expenses in a cruise ship that can indeed handle those kinds of trips.
If your yacht can indeed handle the pressure of the distance from California to Hawaii by boat, then it is important to ensure you can refuel the tank when it needs to.
The average gallon intake a yacht has is about 100 gallons of fuel, so make sure to stock up on gasoline for the yacht if you plan to make the trip. That way, you don’t get stuck at sea, which is the worst-case scenario for anyone embarking on this yacht trip distance from California to Hawaii.
Stock up on extra supplies
Taking a boat from California to Hawaii isn’t as easy as it sounds, and many people tend to compare them the distance to that of a road trip.
The truth of the matter is that sea trips require excessive amounts of supplies such as food and water because you will not see land for a long period of time. What you will find yourself doing, for the most part, is looking out into the sea and hoping that you reached your destination.
Again, as mentioned before, the average time to reach Hawaii from California by boat is about two weeks. That means you have to make sure you have at least three weeks’ worth of supplies so that you are not lacking in supplies and ready to go.
Supplies include food that can be easily cooked or already cooked, such as snacks, tons of water since you will be seeing a lot of salt water, and, most importantly, medical supplies to prepare for the worst.
Have a health check before you go
Being at sea on a yacht from California to Hawaii will require many challenges that no other kind of trip has had in theirs.
That being said, it is important to ensure you are at peak perfection when it comes to your emotional, mental, and physical health, as these trips can cause an impact on all three of them.
For your mental health, try consulting with family and friends to see if the trip is one that is worth the challenge, and if necessary, a therapist could be of use as well.
To ensure your emotional levels are remaining healthy, it is best to have a few friends helping you out and providing a means of communication during your two-week travel. This could also help your mental health as well as you are with people out to sea and not by yourself.
Having friends with you will also give you some respite from the responsibility of skippering the yacht. That will give you some much needed down time to do other things, for example, yacht fishing.
In terms of physical health, it is important to rest whenever you can. If you know you are sailing smoothly, then take a break every now and then to rest your body and treat yourself. Rest your eyes for when you are up on deck, you can easily spot any possible dangers.
Try moving your body around so that your bones aren’t stiff, and if you are feeling sick such as seasickness, then make sure you have someone who can help treat it.
Make sure you have the right crew
The most important thing when it comes to traveling on a boat is establishing roles among your peers that help make the trip a lot easier to handle, especially if things get tough.
It maintains order and keeps the sea travel running efficiently, and it helps to make the journey a lot more fun because you have people whom you trust with these responsibilities.
It is also important to establish these roles so that everyone has something to do as well. Being out in the sea with nothing to do can cause a detriment to a person, especially mental health-wise, and making sure you have the right people to make the travel right is what will make the two weeks possible.
That means you will need a person to make sure the yacht stays clean, someone to ensure food and water supplies, another one that can act as the doctor, and the one who can steer the boat at night so the others can rest easy.
With these roles in mind, it can release some of the stress that you may have when traveling. Here’s some more advice on whether your size of yacht will need a crew or not.
Believe in yourself
The journey is only how you will make it, and if you want to plan out a boat trip from California to Hawaii, then it is important to understand that you do have the means of doing so. Even though the journey can be dangerous, that doesn’t mean you don’t have the ability to do so.
As mentioned, it is important to stock up and ensures you have everything ready to go for your yacht, but a successful trip is one where you and the ones that are going on the trip know you can pull it off with confidence.
Understand how size and speed matters
Though we have stated that, on average, a boating trip from California to Hawaii takes around two weeks. However, there have been trips for many that have lasted a bit shorter than the two weeks because of the speed of the boat.
For the average two-week trip, the boat has to reach a speed of about 8 knots, which is roughly about 9.2 miles if you traveled by land. Also, depending on the boats’ dimensions, your time of arrival can vary as well.
Here are a few boat dimensions and the speed of each for comparison:
- 26′ or 8 miles cruising at 4 knott: 14 days
- 32′ or 10 miles cruising at 6 knots: 10 days
- 40′ or 12 miles cruising at 7 knots: 8 days
- 65′ or 20 miles cruising at 8 knots: 7 days
Handy Hint: Here’s another guide I wrote which explains what the best size of yacht is if you want to live at sea.
Respect the weather conditions
As one should take caution when it comes to weather conditions during regular road trips or even air travel, the same idea is said with boating. In fact, due to the long distance from California to Hawaii by boat, you will encounter major weather conditions such as heavy thunderstorms. It’s not something that can be easily managed and is quite dangerous, if not life-threatening.
If you do not have the ability to handle those conditions out at sea, it is best to sit this idea out and prompt for a cruise ship vacation instead.
However, if you indeed want to continue the plan of using your yacht for the boating trip, then it is important to understand the timing of the trip.
Normally the best trips are around November to April time as these are times where there are less tourists as well as avoidance of the hurricane season, which starts from May and ends late October time.
When you are in the middle of the seas, you should note the wind patterns that change. Around the fifth or sixth day, the winds are more consistent and warmer and can help you make the trip faster and more efficient.
Where to start and end the yacht trip
Now that you are ready and, on your way, to get the boat trip from California to Hawaii started, there is something else to consider as well: the starting point of the trip.
Sure, you are able to get the yacht running, but depending on where you start you boating trip is what makes the trip all the easier to handle when it comes to time.
That being said, for many who have travelled in a yacht from California to Hawaii, recommend starting your boating trip around the San Diego area that way, it is essentially a straight shot through to Hawaii.
If you plan to start in other California bay areas, then it is best to have a consultation with the coast guard for some additional tips and tricks to handle the trip.
The end point, as many sailors recommend, is reaching the western areas of the Hilo region in Hawaii.
Again, it’s not necessarily a straight shot since there are other weather conditions to consider, but for the most part, this type of starting and end point is perfect for those who are eager to make the trip possible.
Of course, it is always advisable to seek marine consultation if anything happens before the embarkment of the yacht trip.
Don’t be afraid to cancel
If, by any reason at all, you cannot or do not want to do the yacht trip from California to Hawaii, then it is perfectly okay not to.
After all, the trip is one that requires a lot of planning and prep, and it is not for many of the weakest hearts. That being said, here is one alternative that you can still benefit from in order to have a trip from California to Hawaii without having to fully invest in the time and effort for supplies, food, medical needs, and fuel.
Consider a cruise instead
The cruise ship option is of course one of the safest options there is as it doesn’t require the ability of having a crew to work with for your yacht travel and you don’t need to fully invest in food and water supplies.
Instead, you are investing your money on a relaxing two-week vacation from the California bay to the tropical Pacific of Hawaii. From there, you will only need to ensure a schedule that is filled with fun, relaxation, and, ultimately, pleasure.
Some cruise ships such as Carnival are often perfect for these ventures as their venues have all you need to ensure your two-week boating trip is optimal and filled with the best fun there is to offer.
In the end, the choice of traveling by yacht from California to Hawaii if ultimately yours.
How you are able to make the journey possible is what makes the trip all the worthwhile to plan and embark on, but it is always okay to also get tickets for a cruise ship and make the travel via cruise as well.
The history behind this special journey
Traveling from California to Hawaii by yacht has been around for almost 100 years now. Dating back to the 1880s, the yacht travelling endeavors have been around for the wealthy back in the day in the form of a birthday event held by the Hawaiian King David Kalākaua.
According to local historical records, this event was a special event for the king, as it would entail many yacht owners at the time to travel from San Francisco to Honolulu for the king’s 50th birthday.
However, though it was tempting for many yacht owners at first, they declined to perform the event due to little time.
It wasn’t until years later when the king passed away that event planning began to take place as his idea persisted among many within the yacht owning community.
Finally, in 1906, that the first yacht race was established as the Transpacific Yacht Race. This race was to have been held in San Francisco’s bay area, but due to a major earthquake at the time, the event was delayed until a year later, in 1907.
Since then, the Transpacific Yacht Race has been an event held every year to commemorate the idea that King David Kalākaua presented, where hundreds of yacht owners attend and enter to win the race.
The last word…
When it comes to traveling on a boat from California to Hawaii, there is an array of options to choose from. From your massive cruise ships for those vacation getaways to the small fishing boats for family bonding, traveling by boat always brings the status of adventure to us whenever it can.
