Hi there--
New to this forum! I'm planning a somewhat ambitious
dinghy trip with my brother: we're looking to cross the Strait of
Georgia and shoot Porlier Pass in one day (late June or early July this summer, to maximize daylight).
We'd be departing in a Vanguard 15 from Jericho Beach (English Bay) and, after rounding Wreck Beach, heading southwest across the Strait to Porlier Pass (north end of Galiano island). From there, we'd sail down Trincomali Channel and arrive at our hosts in Retreat Cove (west side of Galiano island).
Together, my brother and I have piles of experience sailing and
racing one- and two-handed dinghies (and scows, and cats), including long
dinghy day trips near
Vancouver, and overnight keelboat races in freshwater.
We've done lots of
research and prep, but would love it if we could run our float plan with someone who's done something similar or, if not in a dinghy, has lots of experience crossing the Strait and shooting Porlier Pass. For instance, we will take both electronic (Navionics) and redundant paper/chart/compass navigation--but laminated vs. non-laminated gov't map for working at
water level? Besides some of the usual
safety gear, we'll have
VHF radio--but can we expect coverage across the length of our
route? We will be packing a small (it has to be small)
repair kit in our dry bag, but would appreciate recommendations there too.
We plan to give ourselves a multi-day launch window to ensure good
weather (generally westerly (hopefully northwesterly) winds with high pressure and clear skies), and will target arrival at Porlier Pass on a day when the slack tide is the evening, turning from flood to ebb. This will give us the advantage of riding through on an ebb if we're late, having high
water above Porlier's shoals &
reefs (although our
draft is only ~1m anyhow!), and having a tide to take us southwest down Trincomali if we lose the
wind late in the day. Not sure how strong an ebb we can safely ride through on?
Anyhow, many considerations! Would appreciate feedback and/or contacts.
Thanks!
Cameron