Crusing San Juans and points north.

[DaveandEileen]

Greetings,
We just got a 2011 Ranger 29 and keep it in Port Angeles WA. We want to cruise to Roche Harbor and other islands and points north from there.
What are the best sources for charts and what are the recommended charts to get for the area?
Your input is appreciated.
Thank you.
Dave

 

[Cutwater28GG]

your garmin should have the charts already but their map finder is reasonably good. Navionics for iphone and Ipad is a great backup option. with the new garmins you can sync data between them

for paper charts (which are no longer updated) noaa and metsker maps sell options. I think you can still print off the Noaa website.
I have one of the maptech books for puget sound. like this one : https://www.landfallnavigation.com/...eelFSv7_T8v29kz2LXKkVd9iYaZqHx4IaArhcEALw_wcB

for guides

waggoner cruising guides

I like the salish sea guides. its a downloadable PDF https://salishseapilot.com/

also get a good tide book. like capt jacks tides.
https://www.amazon.com/Captn-Jacks-...rds=captn+jacks&qid=1582920294&s=books&sr=1-1

 

[Toki]

As mentioned, if your Garmin chartplotter is reasonably up to date, it should provide the navigation data you need. But it's always a good idea to have paper charts. Not only in case your Garmin were to malfunction, but also it's a lot nicer to plan your routes on the dinette with the chart book. I wouldn't go with individual charts. Rather, get a large, bound book of charts that covers the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/San-Juan-Islands-Cruising-Atlas/dp/0945265549.

And I've found these to be indispensable in working with the currents in the islands: https://www.fisheriessupply.com/canadian-charts-current-atlas-p244 and https://www.waggonerguidebooks.com/store/p59/2020WT.html. The first provides illustrations of current directions and velocities throughout the islands. The second allows you to go right to a date and time and tells you which page in the first applies.

Then of course it's nice to have a cruising guide that covers marinas and anchorages, points of interest etc. The Waggoner Cruising Guide is a good one, but there are several others.

If you're new to cruising these grounds, it's always nice to line yourself up with other boats that are experienced in the area. Just such a trip is in the formation stage here: http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14382 and there are others coming together in the "Cruises and Gatherings" section.

See ya out there!

 

[scross]

We love the San Juan’s (Succia, Stuart, Jones, Roche and Friday Harbor are our favorites) but find ourselves spending much more time in the Canadian Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. It would be an exaggeration to say there are 10x as many fun places to hang out (marinas, marine parks and little island coves) in the Gulf Islands compared to the San Juan’s. But I think it’s not a great exaggeration.
The Waggoner Guide is a must and a very good overview of everywhere. We also really like the Dreamspeaker Guides for a more detailed look at places to explore. You can find info on Dreamspeaker Guides here.
https://www.dreamspeakerguides.com/
The Current Atlas
https://www.metskers.com/66370/744358/S ... orgia.html
and Ports and Passes
https://www.waggonerguidebooks.com/stor ... 20pnp.html
are two MUST HAVE references.
We have paper charts for most of the San Juans, Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound but I rarely use them. The Garmin Chartplotter is my main reference with double backup using multiple apps on my IPad and iPhone. During the Vancouver Island fires two summers ago my main navigation reference was the radar image on the Garmin for two days!
Have fun and enjoy. There are literally a decade or two of great places to explore in the PNW!

 

[Toucan]

In addition to the other resources previously mentioned in this thread, we used the two sheets of "The Inside Passage" maps for our cruise planning between Olympia and Skagway.

Barry and Lynne Thompson
TOUCAN, R-27 Classic

 

[Joan and Jim]

Canadian Hydrographic Service chart 3313 is a 24 page booklet of charts for both the Gulf and San Juan Islands. It costs $88 Cdn and can be found in most Canadian chandleries.

 

[aculverwell]

I'd like to give a shoutout to the Dreamspeaker series as well. I find these cruising guides to be far more detailed and useful than any other guide I've found. The beautiful hand drawn maps are especially great and show details that are extremely helpful. Although a bit expensive ~$50US, I think they are well worth it-- and in fact just bought my fourth guide (for the Puget Sound). If you do choose to purchase one of these guides, I suggest buying directly from their website: https://www.dreamspeakerguides.com/ which is actually cheaper & faster than Amazon... if you can believe it.