Desolation Sound 2013-advice solicited

[Loren]

Harmony and I are pleased to be a part of this year's Desolation Sound cruise. We plan to boat from Elliott Bay Marina, which is in Seattle. Can anyone recommend a qualified person to consult about cruise planning in general, and about route and timing from that point to Ganges? I imagine we'll stop at least once before Roche Harbor, then spend a day or two at Roche before we head to Ganges. Your thoughts? Many thanks, and regards to all.

 

[baz]

Cruise distances... Nautical miles

Ref: http://nwcruising.net/nmtable-us.html

Seattle to Ganges = 88 to 102 depending on course taken
Seattle to Roche = 67 to 81 depending on course taken
Roche to Bedwell Harbour (for Canadian customs)
Seattle to Ganges via road/ferry is some 161 miles

If you cruise at 10 kts with no account for tides/current then divide the distances by 10 to get the cruising hours.

For me I intend to layover at some point prior to getting to Ganges and will goto Bedwell to clear Canadian customs.

Roche is kind of expensive at this time of year, but worth the stop if you've not been there before.

My course from Edmonds will be to layover at La Conner and then onto Bedwell and from there over to Ganges. My minimum time will be for two days from Edmonds to Ganges. I may take longer if I stop between La Conner and Ganges.

 

[Don and Brenda]

Loren

I would link up with the boats headed from Seattle area, there are quite a few and as Barry points out many will stop in La Conner or Anacortes for the night prior to Ganges. Our boat will depart Anacortes and stop in Sidney BC for a day or 2 prior to Ganges.

 

[aginglawyer]

If you have an iPad, I strongly recommend the Navionics app for charting and this sort of calculation. You need to have gps on the iPad (only certain models do -- the ones with 3G) and the app is about $50 but it is great for calculating, planning and also fun. The Map set you need is US & Canada

 

[baz]

Charts & Tides by Navimatics is also very good and runs well on Apple laptops as well.

 

[baz]

Loren: Chat with Bruce Moore who also keeps their R-29 at Elliot Bay. I believe Bruce & Vicki plan to go on the Desolation Sound 2013 cruise.

A lot depends on your time table and schedule as to when to leave and where to layover at. At a high cruise speed you could go all the way to Ganges in one day given the weather, tides, currents and Canadian customs are in your favor.

If you want to go slower then allow at least 3 days to go from Seattle to Ganges.

You can take at least 3 routes to get to the San Juans.

1. Straight north up to Admiralty Inlet and exit leaving Port Townsend to your west and head northerly to the San Juans. You will be subject to weather conditions coming off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is the shortest route.

2. North between Whidbey and Camano (Saratoger Passage), passing [EDITed] Oak Habor to your west and then up through Skagit Bay to Deception Pass. Need to figure the timing for tides/current at Deception pass. This is the 2nd shortest route.

3. North past Edmonds and then Clinton and north between Whidbey Island and Camano Island (Saratoger Passage -- can blow hard from the north at times after passing Clinton), turn east around north of Camano Island into Skagit Bay and then turn into the Swinomish Channel to La Conner, then continue up to Anacortes and then head over to the San Juan Islands. The Swinomish channel can be shallow as you enter from Skagit Bay passing Goat Island at low tide, but our Tugs can navigate this if you stay between the buoys. It's a slow ride through La Conner and onto Anacortes as it's a No Wake area and 4 to 5 kts is best. It would take a good 60 to 90 mins to traverse the channel from the start at Goat Island to reach Anacortes. From Anacortes head across/along Guemes Channel and over to Thatcher Pass and into the San Juan Islands. This is the longest route.

 

[Don and Brenda]

Hey Barry, if your passing Gig Harbor while going through Saratoga passage you might want to make a 180 degree turn as your down by Tacoma :lol:

I couldn't resist it!

Don

 

[baz]

Hey Barry, if your passing Gig Harbor while going through Saratoga passage you might want to make a 180 degree turn as your down by Tacoma :lol:

I couldn't resist it!

Don

:lol: Drat... I meant Oak Harbor...

 

[Loren]

Cruise distances... Nautical miles

Ref: http://nwcruising.net/nmtable-us.html

Seattle to Ganges = 88 to 102 depending on course taken
Seattle to Roche = 67 to 81 depending on course taken
Roche to Bedwell Harbour (for Canadian customs)
Seattle to Ganges via road/ferry is some 161 miles

If you cruise at 10 kts with no account for tides/current then divide the distances by 10 to get the cruising hours.
For me I intend to layover at some point prior to getting to Ganges and will goto Bedwell to clear Canadian customs.
Roche is kind of expensive at this time of year, but worth the stop if you've not been there before.

My course from Edmonds will be to layover at La Conner and then onto Bedwell and from there over to Ganges. My minimum time will be for two days from Edmonds to Ganges. I may take longer if I stop between La Conner and Ganges.

Thanks for your comprehensive advice. And for the website. I'll add it to my bookmarks, for sure!

 

[Loren]

Loren

I would link up with the boats headed from Seattle area, there are quite a few and as Barry points out many will stop in La Conner or Anacortes for the night prior to Ganges. Our boat will depart Anacortes and stop in Sidney BC for a day or 2 prior to Ganges.

Great idea. Thanks!

 

[Loren]

If you have an iPad, I strongly recommend the Navionics app for charting and this sort of calculation. You need to have gps on the iPad (only certain models do -- the ones with 3G) and the app is about $50 but it is great for calculating, planning and also fun. The Map set you need is US & Canada

Thanks for the tips. I happen to use a MacBook Pro with MacENC, and an iPhone 4 with iNavX.

 

[Loren]

Charts & Tides by Navimatics is also very good and runs well on Apple laptops as well.

Navimatics looks intriguing. Navimatics released the first public beta version of Charts & Tides for Mac on April 19, 2013.

 

[Loren]

Hey Barry, if your passing Gig Harbor while going through Saratoga passage you might want to make a 180 degree turn as your down by Tacoma :lol:

I couldn't resist it!

Don

:lol: Drat... I meant Oak Harbor...

Now you've got me all confused.... 😉

 

[Bruce Moore]

Consider Poet's Cove as a stop-over. The customs dock (Bedwell) is right there. Wonderful little marina with pool, hot tub, a restaurant and pub, and spa services. Not to mention deer which come down to feed on the hedges. An easy run from Anacortes, and an easy run to Ganges.

If you want to stretch the trip out a bit, try Rosario Resort (Orcas Island) instead of Roche. Quiet, low key, and a wonderful history to be discovered.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[baz]

Charts & Tides by Navimatics released Mac Beta 2 today.

It fixes a few things... and adds some new stuff.

It also fixes a bug that I had reported that crashes the Application in Beta 1. :roll:

-Adds major new feature: tide and current levels for a selected date/time can now be visible on the chart (rather than having to click on the tide/current station and then click again to see the tide/current plot).

-ActiveCaptain ratings are now readily accessible in the feature list when clicking on the chart.
To see this you must delete the existing ActiveCaptain database. Make sure that Charts&Tides is not running, open the Terminal app and execute the following command (in a single line):
rm ~/Library/Containers/com.navimatics.app.marnav-mac/Data/Library/Application\ Support/com.navimatics.app.marnav-mac/databases/110.featdb

-Adds a number of keyboard shortcuts to make navigating the app easier.

-Fixes a bug that disabled GPS functionality in the first beta, because of Apple's sandbox restrictions. GPS over serial ports should now work again.

-Fixes stability bugs and other issues reported by beta testers.

-Gives better guidance to a first time user regarding ActiveCaptain updates.

-Adds a user guide.

-Includes all code necessary for release in the Mac App Store (disabled in this build).

 

[baz]

Loren:

Using my latest beta version of Charts & Tides I plotted a course from Edmonds to Ganges using the the #3 route I posted above. This course was through the San Juans and over/up to Poet's Cove (Bedwell Harbour) passing Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor on the west, and then onto Ganges from Poet's Cove. The distance computed was 97.7 nm.

As Bruce mentioned, Poet's Cove is an enjoyable place to stay at.

So figuring a cruise speed of say 10 kts (ignoring current/tides) would take some 10 hours, and if using 3 to 4 gph would result in using some 30 to 40 gallons of diesel fuel.