Advice for trip from Olympia to Roche Harbor

[RainyDay]

Hi All,

Heading from Olympia to the Rendesvous in Roche Harbor in my R29CB. The wife can't get the time off, so I'm going it alone. I'm given myself plenty of time for up and back.

Really new at boating and little experience going it alone. Looking forward to the challenge, but also looking for advice.

For this trip, I am hoping to dock in marinas rather than buoy/anchor. But I realize that space may not be available. I'm also hoping to head up on the east side of Whidbey and go through Deception Pass. However, I am flexible.

Planning on making reservations this week.

Hey, if anyone is heading up to the Rendesvous from south sound and doesn't mind a tag along, let me know. I haven't been north of Tacoma yet.

Thanks in advance,

Ken
Rainy Day

 

[knotflying]

We are cruising Puget sound area and will be in Olympia and then starting North to Roche Harbor. We expect to be leaving Olympia on 09/01 and arriving at Roche on 09/07. If you are interested PM me and we can talk to see if our cruising plans jive with one another.

 

[BradOwens]

If the winds are out of the west, Deception Pass can be a challenge. An option is to use the Swinnomish Channel through La Conner and Anacortes. La Conner has excellent restaurants with good transient docks as well.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

If you are new to boating be sure to have a good understanding of slack tide for making a non troublesome transit thru Deception Pass. If you are in doubt or the weather is not in your favor make the trip up Swinnomish/LaConner and Anacortes way, where you're sure to meet up with other owners heading over to Roche.

Jim F

 

[Scuba Too]

Jim F, I see your point on the importance of slack tide through Deception Pass! Max flood and ebb are in the 6-8 knot range (http://tides.mobilegeographics.com/locations/1528.html). We're heading up later in December for the Factory Experience for our R29 CB and to cruise the San Juan Islands so this feedback is really helpful. We'll be starting out from Everett.

Eric

 

[BradOwens]

In the Everett area I recommend Anthony's Home Port for dinner. It's just north of the navy station. Great sea food, and a visitors dock!

 

[Nellie Too]

I would also check the tides when you approach Whidbey Island. If the are incoming, I would go on the east side. If the are outgoing, go on the west side by Port Townsend, also check the currents.
Bob

 

[RainyDay]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Lots of great advice.

See you at Roche.

Ken
Rainy Day

 

[jcarrdive]

Hi Ken, we are leaving from Tacoma to head up and we have dogs, so we will try to hit marinas also.
How many days do you plan for your trip up, would be the first thing I would ask?
Second is what speeds do you plan on running?

General advice. From Olympia, as you finish with the Tacoma Narrows portion of your trip, go up the West side of Vashon Island, called Clovos Passage. The current runs north, regardless of the tide.

Eagle Harbor, Blake Island are good stopping points. If you get in early in the morning when people are leaving, the Gig Harbor public dock is not bad either.

In Seattle, if you are on that side of the sound, Bell Harbor is great, so is Shilshole.

After that, Everett and Oak Harbor are nice places.

Someone mentioned before and they are correct, LaConnor is very nice. So is

I have been through Deception Pass a lot, on every kind of tide. If you decide to go that way your 29 has the speed to go through it in any tide. DO NOT go through on autopilot. Steer your rig by hand. It is a short run, so do it at a high speed and be ready to get tossed around a little as you hit the whirlpools and current spoils. The Narrowest section is only 300 meters long. Go on the South side of the island (this will be obvious when you are there) as it is much wider. Flounder Bay is a nice place after Deception Pass.

http://www.sailgreeceyachts.com/sailing ... reece.html

This is a super helpful site that I use in our trip planning. It starts in Greece, but it easily zooms out and pages over to Puget Sound then it is very easy to calculate routes and distances. We use it for all our trip planning, as our boat is in Tacoma and we are in Eugene, so our electronics on the boat are unavailable in trip planning.
Let us know when you are heading up and we may hook up with you on the way.
We plan to depart Tacoma on Sept 3rd. We will be in Kingston harbor. (they still have spots as of today).
Sept 4th we will be in Cap Sante in Anacortes. (50 mile run from Kingston). (they still have spots today)
Sept 5th we will be at Stuart Island. There are docks and buoys there that are usually open. Labor Day may be problematic but it is the last day and most people will be departing.
From there we will play it by ear for Tuesday. Maybe Jones Island, maybe stay at Stuart, maybe Sucia.
Roche on Wednesday.

Jeff and Ela, Wallowa R31.

 

[RainyDay]

Jeff and Ella,

Our dates seem to be matching up pretty well. I'm pretty flexible, so I will see if I can make that work.

I like to travel around 8 knots, unless the conditions say otherwise.

I will try the site you mentioned.

Thanks for the great reply!

Ken
Rainy Day

 

[highlander]

We are heading for the "rondy" early afternoon of Sept.6 (dr. appt. can't cancel. We will be coming from Fair Harbor and could meet around Johnson Point. We will spend the first night in Paulsbo, fairly inexpensive, and then go up the Swinomish Channel to Anacortes. We have done that route several times, and is doable, and the last day into Roche Harbor. We came in thru Deception Pass coming from San Juan Island. It was an exciting ride.

If interested, give me a call. If you bought your "29' at Trawler Fest, we may have met. Our boat is a 27 called the Highlander. My phone number is 626-221-3782. Give me a call, we would love to have you tag along.