Families sometimes worry that after everything — the travel, the grief, the logistics — something as unpredictable as weather could derail the day they have been preparing for. It can happen. Here is what the process looks like when it does.
The captain checks the National Weather Service marine forecast and the NOAA buoy data the evening before and again at dawn on the day of your ceremony. San Diego's offshore conditions are measured at Buoy 46047, roughly 33 miles southwest of Point Loma, and give a reliable picture of what families will actually experience three to five miles out.
If wind is forecast above 20 knots sustained, or wave height above 5 to 6 feet, the captain will call the family before they leave for the harbor. There is no benefit to boarding a vessel and discovering conditions are unsuitable offshore — the call happens on land, with enough time to regroup.
San Diego rarely has more than two or three consecutive days of genuinely rough conditions, even in winter. In most cases, a postponed ceremony reschedules within 24 to 48 hours. Families who have traveled from out of town are contacted immediately so they can adjust plans. We work around your schedule, not the other way around.
A weather postponement carries no fee and no penalty. The ceremony proceeds on the new date with the same vessel, captain, and crew. The deposit holds as-is.
In the uncommon situation where a family cannot reschedule — out-of-town guests with fixed return flights, for example — the deposit is fully refunded. We have never had a family leave San Diego without a path forward. Most weather windows open within a day or two.
The ceremony your family has planned is worth doing right. You will not be rushed onto the water when conditions are wrong, and the wait, when it comes, is never long.