One nice thing about sailing in San Diego is we don't really get much heavy weather...the bad thing about sailing in San Diego is we never really get much heavy weather. Thats where the Modern Sailing Club comes in....just spent a week in Sausalito sailing with Captain JT Meade. We were hit hard coming out of the gate and Ma Nature didn't really let up much for the next 4 days. We had consistant winds of 20-25 knots and gusts over 30, we had seas of 10-12 feet with wind chop added on. The good news is that I came away neither intimadated or scared but with 110% confidence that I can handle those conditions. That said....one nice thing about coastal cruising is that hopefully you can avoid those conditions by keep a close eye on the weather forecasts (hopefully).