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Training format 03 · Day passage

Your first Catalina run, with the trip home left to you.

By Luke Ludemann · San Diego · Last updated August 2026

I come with you on the way over. You bring her home yourselves. Preparation first, then the outbound leg to Catalina with you at the helm and me alongside, then I step off and the return is yours. That return trip is the entire point. It is the first time the boat goes somewhere real without me, and it is the trip owners talk about for years.

Who this is for

Owners who have been looking at that island for two seasons

You have the boat for it. You probably have the range, the tankage and the ground tackle for it. What you do not have yet is the first one behind you, and until you do, every weekend the question comes up and the answer is next time.

How it runs

Prepare it properly, do it together, then do it alone

  1. Preparation session before the day. Route and waypoints, the crossing you are actually making, fuel and range with a real reserve, systems check, ground tackle and mooring plan for the far end, safety gear, and what the crew are each responsible for.
  2. The weather call, made by you. We look at the forecast against your specific route and your specific departure window, not a zone forecast for the region. I will show you how I read it and what would make me stay home. The go or no go stays with you, because it always will.
  3. The outbound leg, with you driving. Departure, the crossing, traffic, watchkeeping, fuel burn against plan, and the approach at the other end. I am there as a second set of eyes and a sounding board, not as the person running your boat.
  4. Getting settled at the far end. Picking up the mooring or getting the anchor set properly, squaring the boat away, and knowing she is safe for the night.
  5. Then I leave. You run the return leg yourselves. That is the measure of the whole exercise.
The trip that counts is the one you do without me. Everything before it exists to make that one uneventful.

What you walk away with

A crossing you have actually done, and a method you can reuse

Catalina is the milestone, but the planning method is the thing you keep. Route, weather, fuel, contingency, crew brief. Run that same sequence on the next trip and the one after, and the destinations get further out while the anxiety keeps shrinking.

The point

The first passage is not about the destination. It is about proving to yourself that the preparation works, so the second one does not need me at all.

Read the real sessions

Seamanship
The weather call →
 Handling
Leaving the dock single-handed →
 New owners
New boat familiarization →

Thinking about your first Catalina run?

Tell me the boat, who is coming, and roughly when you would like to go. I will tell you honestly whether she is ready and what preparation looks like.

Call or text Luke on 858-230-5079, or email office@firstmateyachtclub.com.

Call 858-230-5079 Email Luke

Owner questions

How far is Catalina from San Diego?

Roughly 70 nautical miles from San Diego Bay to Avalon, depending on your departure point and the route you take. Most owners plan it as a full day each way, and plan the fuel with a reserve that assumes the trip takes longer than it should.

Is my boat ready for a Catalina crossing?

That is the first thing we work out, and it is a fair question to want answered before you commit. Range with a real reserve, ground tackle, cooling and fuel systems, safety gear, and what happens if something fails halfway. If she is not ready, you will hear that from me first.

Do you stay with us the whole trip?

No, and that is deliberate. I am aboard for the preparation and the outbound leg and to see you settled at the other end. The return leg is yours. If you would rather I was aboard both ways for the first one, we can talk about it, but the aim is always to hand it back.

What happens if the weather turns before we go?

We do not go. Part of the training is making that call without regret, and the day gets moved. A crossing you postponed is a crossing that went well.

Can my family come along?

Yes, and it usually helps. Everyone aboard having a job and understanding the plan is what turns a long crossing from an ordeal into a good day. If the crew need work of their own first, family and spouse training covers that.

Do I need to be an experienced navigator?

No. You need a route you understand and a plan you built yourself. We do that together during preparation, using your own instruments, so the passage is not the first time you have seen any of it.

How do I arrange it?

Call or text 858-230-5079, or email office@firstmateyachtclub.com with the boat and a rough window. Preparation happens well before the day.

Written by Luke Ludemann. 15+ years across superyachts, commercial ferries, pearling fleet fishing vessels and his own 1979 pilothouse sailboat. On client boats in San Diego most days of the week, training owners across a fleet of 42 vessels. Nothing here is theoretical.