These links can help you plan a few days ahead of time. If that much looks good, I check the buoys. The most critical one that I pay the most attention to is the Point Arena Buoy 46014 . These buoy links are to the Florida State University site. If that site is down, try the NOAA National Data Buoy Center site - just change the last two numbers of the Buoy on the address line to get the buoy you want.
Emergency Contacts Forget about cell phones - no coverage out here.
Shelter Cove has an excellent VFD well-trained in rescue. The beach is a fine bail out possibility, unless the tide is in. It comes all the way into the logs up against the cliffs. A downwind landing on the bottom of the boat ramp is no fun. The occasional weekend pilot that does come in here is not watching out for you - trust me on this.