Desolation Sound Cruise July 29-

Met Jeff yesterday at the Victoria Boat Show and he talked about this cruise. We will have our new R-29 by then and would love to be part of this. We will likely meet up with the group around Pender Harbour. We look forward to meeting everyone!

Kathy & Keith
 
We are in. We also met Jeff at the Victoria Boat Show along with the crew from Port Boat House and we bought the R25SC and are excited to go on this cruise!!! We will be oriented on the boat at Port Alberni and thought, while we are there, we would explore Barkley Sound. Have any of you done that cruise and have you any suggestions for what we should aim for over just a few days? We are looking forward to meeting you all. We will likely join up at Bedwell Harbour/Poets Cove.

Allan and Yvonne
R25SC yet to be named.
 
Hello Tugnuts,
We are currently putting the final touches on our summer Tugnut cruise. For the second year in a row we have chosen Desolation Sound as our destination. Desolation Sound is located approximately 200 miles north of Seattle on the mainland of British Columbia. The water is warm by Pacific Northwest standards (75-78 degrees) and the summer high pressure systems typically bring in warm sunshine and calm winds. This is a perfect time to enjoy our Pacific Northwest waters. Our itinerary this year takes us from the San Juan Islands to Desolation Sound. We will begin our cruise in Roche Harbor, San Juan Island on Friday July 29th. We will spend Friday the 29th, Saturday the 30th and Sunday the 31st at Roche Harbor. http://www.rocheharbor.com/Home.html Saturday July 30th we will have a potluck dinner with all you can eat crab provided by Ranger Tugs. We will depart Monday August 1st in the early A.M for the short cruise (10 miles) to Bedwell Harbour where we will clear customs. Once we clear customs we will cruise to Nanaimo (approx 40 miles) http://www.npa.ca/index.php?option=com_ ... Itemid=126 where we will have moorage for Monday night. On Monday night we will have a bar-b-que on the dock in Nanaimo. This will be a potluck dinner with Salmon and chicken supplied by Port Boathouse (Vancouver Island dealer) Nanaimo is a great spot to do your grocery shopping and last minute provisioning. It is also a good spot to top off your fuel and water. On Tuesday August 2nd we will depart Nanaimo and cross Georgia Strait. We will be checking the weather and the Canadian Naval activity in Whiskey Golf before we depart to ensure a safe and enjoyable crossing. We will moor that evening in Pender Harbour (36 miles) http://www.gardenbaypub.com/home.php On Wednesday August 3rd we will depart Pender Harbour for Gorge Harbour Marina on Cortes Island. (50 miles) http://www.gorgeharbour.com/ Gorge Harbour Marina is located at the entrance to Desolation Sound. Once we arrive at Gorge Harbour Marina the itinerary from there is entirely up to you. Gorge Harbour Marina currently has dock space available beyond August 3rd for those that would like to stay dockside. Whether we are day tripping from Gorge Harbour or exploring remote anchorages we are now within minutes of Desolation sound and all it has to offer. There are several books that I would recommend purchasing that will help you to plan your next move. The Dreamspeaker series of books, Waggoner cruising guide, Douglass cruising guides, and a tide and current book are all great resources. These books are all available directly from the publisher at a discount by visiting http://www.fineedge.com/tugnuts You are also required to have paper charts while cruising in Canadian waters.

You can see by the itinerary that we have decided to stay at marinas on our way north to Desolation Sound. This gives all of us an opportunity to get to know one another and to get our feet under us before we set anchor. It does however require more planning. The marinas fill up quickly this time of year and reservations must be confirmed. Please take a minute to confirm that you will be joining us for the cruise by e-mailing Jeffmessmer@rangertugs.com We look forward to a fun and exciting adventure!


Ranger Jeff
 
We are asking that everyone that is able to go on the Desolation cruise confirm with me via e-mail jeffmessmer@rangertugs.com by next Monday May 9th. We need to confirm our numbers with the marinas. We currently have 17 boats signed up for the cruise. Eight of the boats are from Washington State, 6 are from Canada and 3 boats are arriving from out of state. If you have ever thought about traveling north this is the time to go! We have planned a very easy going itinerary with some great stops along the way.

Ranger Jeff
 
Update: 10 boats from Washington, 9 from Canada and 3 from out of state for a total of 22 boats signed up.
 
Hi Jeff,

I'm wondering about how difficult it will be to do the 50 mile trip to Nanaimo in one shot in our 21. At 6 knots, it will be about 9 hours... which seems like a bit of a stretch for one day. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Marcus
 
Marcus,
The one item that you are going to need to take into consideration is the current at Dodd Narrows (six miles south of Nanaimo). You will need to plan your departure from Roche Harbor to arrive at Dodd at slack water.

Slack water on Monday August 1st comes at 11:49 am and again at 6:21 pm. Max currents on Monday will be the flood at 2:22 pm flowing at 8.7 knots north through the Narrows.

The one time that we came through Dodd, we missed slack water by an hour. I would not want to go through much later than that. With your limited power, I would try to be within 30 minutes on either side.
 
The final count is in. We have 21 boats signed up for Roche Harbour, 24 boats signed up for Nanaimo and by the time our little armada cruises into Gorge Harbour we will be 30 boats strong. This is going to be a lot of fun! Pat and Gail Beattie (That's it) are helping with the arrangements on the Canadian side of the border. (Thank you Pat and Gail!) Pat and Gail are from Saltspring Island and are a great source of information. Pat can be reached by e-mail at patrick@haywardsfuneral.com Summer can't get here fast enough!


Ranger Jeff
 
How about some discussion of what everyone plans to do after the structured part of this cruise. We expect that after traveling this far to such a beautiful area, most of us will plan to explore for several days. Maybe those who have visited this area will chime in with their thoughts, advice and suggestions. Thanks
 
We are also interested in an extended cruise - will hang-out up there as long as there is fun to be had! The only thing bad about last year's cruise is that it ended too soon!

posting.php?mode=reply&f=4&t=1581#

Sunny and Fernie Martinez
RT-29, Blessings
 
We don't have to be back until the 14th so That's It will be hanging out and joining in on whatever fun there is to be had!!
We would love to go back to Pendrell Sound, the only disadvantage for us is the lack of cell service, but we are up for whatever others want to do. Our new friends, fellow Salt Springers and new R27 owners, Kim and Karen are coming too.
We love Melanie and Laura Cove, but would be happy to explore some new places.

Looking forward to sunny skies and warm waters........friends (old and new), food, fellowship, favourite beverages, floating, and FUN!!!

Gail and Patrick
That's It
R-25
Salt Spring Island BC CANADA
 
It is time for an update on the upcoming Desolation Sound Cruise. A lot of work has been done behind the scenes to plan for this fun event. A big thanks to Pat and Gail Beattie (That's It) for helping organize the Canadian side of the cruise. Pat and Gail will be joining us in Roche Harbor and helping guide us through Canadian Customs on Monday August 1st. Pat has prepared chart plans for the cruise. These plans will be handed out at the skipper's meeting which will be held at each port of call. Boats will begin to arrive to Roche Harbor on Friday July 29th. We will have a potluck dinner on Saturday July 30th at Roche Harbor. Cocktail hour will start at 5:00 P.M. Dinner will start at 6:00 P.M. The Ranger Tug crabbing crew will be supplying fresh Dungeness crab. 😀 Monday August 1st Port Boathouse ( BC dealer) will be supplying salmon and chicken for the bar b que in Nanaimo. Cocktail hour will start at 5:00 P.M. Dinner will start at 6:00 P.M. Do you see a pattern developing? At the Nanaimo Skipper's meeting we will discuss, crossing Georgia Strait, weather, Whiskey Golf naval exercises, and the protocol for Pender Harbour. August 2nd arrival in Pender Harbour (no formal events planned) Cocktail hour 5:00 P.M.... August 3rd arrival in Gorge Harbour. We have reserved the bar b que, tables and fire pit area. Cocktail hour 5:00 P.M. 6:00 P.M. Bring your items for the bar b que! Questions or concerns can be directed to jeffmessmer@rangertugs.com or patrick@haywardsfuneral.com

Looking forward to a fun time!
Ranger Jeff
 
Just a heads-up for our participation in this little shindig. Marylee and I will probably leave Puget Sound for Lund on the 28th, and spend the night there. We will have been cavorting in Desolation Sound for a few days before the bulk of the Ranger Tug Armada arrive.

I bought a dinghy today that I will take for a spin locally before heading off to B.C. I need to make sure that I have it properly positioned behind the Red Ranger before I head north. Some folks (on the Ranger Rendezvous organizing committee) at Poulsbo suggested that it needs to be behind the stern wave, about 12-15 feet back. But John Livingston and Jeff Messmer said it might be best to keep it shorter and have the dinghy before the stern wave, perhaps with the bow even resting on the swim step. So I need to explore both options before figuring out which will work best. As a last resort, I can put the 8-foot dinghy upside down on the motor cover, but would rather not have to resort to that.

I do have a cupla questions before I leave on this excursion:

I have a stern anchor but not a stern line. Should I invest in a ???-foot polypro stern line before heading north? I've never used a stern line so may need some help from some veterans about that.

I am teaching three online classes this summer, so having Internet access is critical. Any suggestions from the "wired" tugnutters about getting Internet connection in Desolation Sound?

As always, thanks to everyone for their support an wisdom.

JohnnietheK
 
JTK, just found this.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/pacific-n ... sound.html

You'll need something to connect you to the internet through the cell service. Lots of options, my DroidX becomes a "hotspot" when I've got a decent 3G cell signal. Costs about $20 a month (in addition to the other exorbitant charges :? ) but I find it very useful while on travel. There's something that Jim TXSC on the CD25 Wild Blue uses to amplify the cell signal called a Wilson Sleek. He uses a MiFi device too for the link. You can google all of those for more info.

Good luck, sounds like a lot of fun, one heck of a lot more than our 100+ temps here!

Charlie
 
JTK:

I installed a stern line last year and posted the results here... http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1280&p=8988&hilit=stern+line#p8988

I included pictures which have now expired... but can reinstate them if you wish.

Our plan for joining the Desolation Sound Cruise group in Roche Harbor is as follows...

We will leave our Edmonds Marina on Thursday Aug 28th and take a slow cruise to La Conner where we will spend the night. Then on Friday Aug 29th leave La Conner reasonably early after some breakfast at a local dive and proceed northwards to Roche, reaching Roche mid to late afternoon.

One thing I'm unsure about when entering Roche harbor is where will the Ranger Tug group be moored. I know Jeff has reserved space/slips for all of us but I don't know which ones are reserved... suspect it will be obvious once we get there... 🙂

One thing to note about entering Canadian waters and then checking in with the Canadian customs is to have valid Rabies certificates for any dog you have on board. Of course ID will also be required such as Passports or other valid ID docs etc. I'm not sure about alcohol limits (anyone know what the limit is?), but that is something else to keep in mind also.

Looking forward meeting up with ALL and checking the weather today I see fair weather conditions lay ahead for Thursday and Friday at least. Thursday shows sunny day with high of 71ºF and Friday sunny with chance of few clouds and high of 70ºF. It's shaping up nicely.

[Edit]
I went back to my Stern Tie posting but could not edit it for some reason so could not reinstate the pictures there. So, I post them here for you.

Here's an image of the rope I used.

cqa2lo


350-feet fully wound onto an old plastic water hose pipe reel

folyb4


A close up view

d9u8jb


A close up view from different angle

jya3f5


Don't those bright red Tuff Ends look gorgious. 😛

zbeboi
 
John... pls share with us all what you find on the latest internet connection options and $Pricing$. I seem to remember that last year when we went North, Dave from Karma had a unreasonably high bill due to internet connection.

Zuma will be joining the 'tugnut' group in Nanaimo and again in Gorge Harbour.
 
Zuma":s5ccccq2 said:
John... pls share with us all what you find on the latest internet connection options and $Pricing$. I seem to remember that last year when we went North, Dave from Karma had a unreasonably high bill due to internet connection.

Zuma will be joining the 'tugnut' group in Nanaimo and again in Gorge Harbour.
Click to expand...

When I travel I typically will only want Email and the occasional web browsing. I use an Apple iPhone 3GS which is serviced by AT&T. I normally sign up for a limited Data Plan for 1 month and when returning to USA I cancel it.

My wife uses the Apple iPad and AT&T provides plans for this device also.

Locating FREE Wi-Fi hotspots is the least expensive but these will likely only be available in and around ports and Marinas who may or may not want a fee. Being away from ports and/or Marinas one is left with Cell coverage at best.

My plan is to be free from telephone calls but would like to have access to Email and/or Text messaging for family emergency reasons. Web browsing would be a second option as I can get to my Email to and from in the 'cloud'. 😉

Here are the current rates...

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Janeane is right on the costs last year. My bill for using my Sprint Mifi card in Canada for one week was $400.00! I would be very careful using any cell phone for data purposes unless you know exactly what it will cost you.

We have learned not to use it at all once we cross the border. We wait until we are in a marina where free wifi is available...... You have been warned....... do not turn on the computer........ do not do any work while on vacation....... if you should chose to disregard this warning, severe economic depression could result in your wallet...... Again you have been warned.......
 
Karma":1ajtob4h said:
Janeane is right on the costs last year. My bill for using my Sprint Mifi card in Canada for one week was $400.00! I would be very careful using any cell phone for data purposes unless you know exactly what it will cost you.

We have learned not to use it at all once we cross the border. We wait until we are in a marina where free wifi is available...... You have been warned....... do not turn on the computer........ do not do any work while on vacation....... if you should chose to disregard this warning, severe economic depression could result in your wallet...... Again you have been warned.......
Click to expand...


DITTO.....
 
I think I will take a laptop, and coordinate due dates with planned moorage in wi-fi friendly marinas, villages.
Thnx for the info re: special iPhone data plans. Will investigate and.report what I find.
JtK
 
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