>Unfortunately, that whole stretch of the California coast has no real
>cover to speak of for anything larger than small craft - San Diego is
>the nearest port to the south >associated 3rd Fleet is based] and there's nothing viable to the north
>at all until you get to the SF Bay (Ventura being useless for anything
>larger than a fishing trawler; Santa Barbara much the same, and choked
>with yachts to boot; Morro Bay being far too shallow; and nothing else
>with any cover at all along the central coast)

Man, you're right. I just went over the West Coast on Google Maps. There really aren't a lot of good harbors on that entire stretch, are there? No wonder Seattle and Los Angeles see so much shipping action.