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Old 10-04-2017, 17:22   #1
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Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

I am planning to sail my Oday 27 up to the San Juans for a 5 day trip.

April 26th: Leave Shilshole early AM and head up inside of Whidbey and ideally anchor off Hope Island/Oak Harbor in evening.

April 27th: Head through Deception Pass with a small amount of current right before slack at ~10am. From there I have a couple options. Looks like the current will be ebbing and heading South.
1) Head towards Cattle Pass and enter around noon at slack or a bit after with favorable currents building through the pass. Ideally make Friday Harbor, but anchor elsewhere if cant get that far (Fishermans bay?)
2) Fight current for awhile and head towards Thatcher Pass and enter and anchor N side Circle island, Mud Bay on Lopez, or North on Blakely.

April 28th: Friday Harbor for the evening.

April 29th: Either start journey in reverse back to Seattle, or head towards Anacortes/Bellingham to drop off partner and continue trip on my own (partner has off 26-30th and I have until May 7th)

Any input is appreciated. Obviously depends on winds, but if someone has some estimates for Seattle to Friday Harbor timing that would be appreciated. I have been measuring on charts and estimating, but so far I have been pretty far off on my other trips and would love any first hand insight. We are extremely flexible and only goal is to get out and have fun.

Cheers.
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Old 10-04-2017, 17:29   #2
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

Consider Seattle to Port Townsend day 1, then cross the straights the next morning to Friday Harbor. I would only use your route if the winds were big in the straights. Port Townsend has the convenient Point Hudson Marina, 800-228-2803.
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Old 10-04-2017, 17:41   #3
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

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Consider Seattle to Port Townsend day 1, then cross the straights the next morning to Friday Harbor. I would only use your route if the winds were big in the straights. Port Townsend has the convenient Point Hudson Marina, 800-228-2803.

Appreciate the advice. Looks like currents are favorable until about noon when they flip. I suppose if we get a 6am start or so we could be well on our way to PT before starting to fight current.
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Old 11-04-2017, 03:00   #4
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, fr500c.
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Old 11-04-2017, 03:28   #5
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

Deception Pass and Cattle Pass are potentially big problems if you don't hit them around slack water in a 27 ' boat.

You are giving yourself a tight schedule, not a good idea.

I would head for Port Ludlow or Port Townsend for night 1, then have the option of the ferry route through Thatcher Pass to Friday Harbour if Cattle Pass isn't favourable.

We did this run last year, went back down through Swinomish, easy peasy.
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Old 11-04-2017, 21:39   #6
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

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Deception Pass and Cattle Pass are potentially big problems if you don't hit them around slack water in a 27 ' boat.

You are giving yourself a tight schedule, not a good idea.

I would head for Port Ludlow or Port Townsend for night 1, then have the option of the ferry route through Thatcher Pass to Friday Harbour if Cattle Pass isn't favourable.

We did this run last year, went back down through Swinomish, easy peasy.
I really appreciate your advice. Looking like we will try to make it to PT on day 1 and then assess from there.

Is it possible to sail from PT to Friday Harbor via Thatcher pass in a long day?

That Swinomish route looks interesting and pretty neat. Looks like it gets pretty narrow/shallow in parts through there, but looks like pretty well marked. Wouldn't want to be in there in strong currents/winds but will consider if calm. Appreciate the advice a lot.
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Old 11-04-2017, 23:38   #7
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

I am a bit embarrassed giving you advice in the PNW as I live in Tasmania, but we spent two months there last summer in a Tartan 30 and are going back this year to do the gulf islands.

A few comments which you probably understand already.

Sailing. Over two months, we were surprised by how little wind there is, the only useful wind is after 2 pm and still light. We are used to 15 knots on a quiet day here. We did a lot of motoring, I would be very reluctant to suggest transit times under sail alone.

Currents and tides. We had inavx on iPads, the current and tide info was awesome, couldn't have moved around without it. All our passages were planned to coincide with currents.

We easily did PT to FH via Thatcher in a day. I would still use Cattle Pass if the currents were right. We were caught out by a strong counter current in the strait, and changed course half way, did not lose any time doing it that way.

Swinomish was not difficult, we chose the currents carefully. If you stay in La Connor, tie up to the Channel side of the town docks, we used the other side and it is nearly impossible to leave with a northern current. We did it, but never again.

The big deal is the right hand turn at the southern side of the Channel, stick as close as you dare to the northern wall, it shoals rapidly on the southern side.

We spent the night at Langley, a great spot with a small tight marina but great folks and food.

Hope this helps, where are all the PNW folks?
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Old 12-04-2017, 09:45   #8
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

We live and keep our boat a few miles SE of PT on Whidbey Island.
Last year with the winds and currents just right, we left early morning at first light and made it halfway through the Canadian Gulf Islands by 4 PM.
33' trimaran waay overloaded for 6 weeks vacation.
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Old 12-04-2017, 11:24   #9
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

Can't stress enough to bring your warm clothing. This is our third year here just south of the border and right now it's 47F and blowing a steady 20kts with gusts to 30. So very different from the last two years. The trees have not even bloomed yet - though when I went to Bellingham yesterday, just 20 miles south, it was 63 and everything was in bloom. Bring your mittens!
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Old 12-04-2017, 12:21   #10
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

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Originally Posted by fr500c View Post
I really appreciate your advice. Looking like we will try to make it to PT on day 1 and then assess from there.

Is it possible to sail from PT to Friday Harbor via Thatcher pass in a long day?

That Swinomish route looks interesting and pretty neat. Looks like it gets pretty narrow/shallow in parts through there, but looks like pretty well marked. Wouldn't want to be in there in strong currents/winds but will consider if calm. Appreciate the advice a lot.
In strong winds you probably don't want to take the other routes either!

Wind against current can get really ugly outside of Deception Pass, when leaving Port Townsend, and for a decent swath around Cattle Pass so if you mess up on timing you should have backup options.

My preferred route with decent weather is Seattle - Port Townsend - Friday Harbor (either through Cattle or Thatcher, both are possible in a day) but I've done Seattle - La Connor - Friday Harbor and Seattle - Langley - Watmough Bay (very cool spot if you don't need provisions or power) - Friday Harbor, and only once Seattle - Friday Harbor, which was a really long day.

Honestly it's usually a lot of motoring to make sure we can time currents on the way up or back or because there's no wind (more likely a summer problem.) Out of the 10 or so times I've been up there from Seattle now I think we sailed most of the way maybe 2 of the times.

Swinomish isn't my favorite route, I only use it if I have to, because we came really close to grounding a couple times when our location said we should have 5+ feet under the keel (6.5 draft). However, it is and interesting route and pretty so if you don't have a draft issue I wouldn't avoid it. If you do go the channel route check out these links and make sure you pay close attention to the markers all the way through. It's strange to see what looks like wide open water and then notice a heron standing in the middle of it!

Navigating the Swinomish Channel - Port of Skagit
http://threesheetsnw.com/?p=26906
Swinomish Channel Watch - Port of Skagit

Also, check out deepzoom.com and get a copy of Tidal Currents of Puget Sound (I think they sell it at Fisheries) if you don't already have one, it helps a lot to see where the eddies and 'back' eddies are.

https://www.starpath.com/catalog/books/1986.htm

Sounds like a fun trip though, I'll be heading back up in July and again in August this summer...can't wait.
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Old 12-04-2017, 13:22   #11
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

Always good to have a backup plan in case progress is slower than you expect.

So, having a few safe harbors in mind is wise. For instance, if you make the run for Cattle Pass, and then realize you are not going to get there for the slack, or if it is just too rough from wind against current, then plan on pulling into Mackaye Harbor just to the east. Tuck in quite far to get the quietest water.

Or, if you are running up Rosario, you have the option of cutting through Lopez Pass and ducking into Hunter Bay in Lopez Sound. Hunter Bay is huge, very well protected, with a flat bottom with great holding - you can anchor there in fading light, as we have done many times.

Also, pay attention to land effects on wind. For instance, Cattle Pass acts as a wind funnel, and you may find that the pleasant wind you are sailing in as you approach it turns into a nasty blow as you get close, with the sea state getting ugly. We have had to turn back because of this - and were happy to have Mackaye to run to.

My wife wrote a reference book about sailing from Seattle to Alaska, and she included a few chapters on the trip from Seattle to the San Juans, including advice about timing, currents, hazards, etc. You can read a preview on Amazon here:
Taken By the Wind

Go to the "Look Inside" preview on Amazon, and then skip forward to about page 67. The book also explains a lot about how the winds in the area are formed and modified by the terrain. This is key to finding wind, especially in the summer.

Good luck, it's a fabulous trip!
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Why do so many sailors motor most of the way from Seattle to Alaska? Because they don't have this reference book: "Taken By the Wind: the Northwest Coast". Find it on Amazon.
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Old 12-04-2017, 13:32   #12
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

LOL Ffedex just delivered a copy of that book to me, about five minutes ago.
An electronic version would be nice though - not a lot of bookshelf space on my boat...
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Old 12-04-2017, 14:13   #13
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

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LOL Ffedex just delivered a copy of that book to me, about five minutes ago.
An electronic version would be nice though - not a lot of bookshelf space on my boat...
Funny! Hope you like it.

The problem with an electronic version is that the book is loaded with diagrams and charts, which my wife thinks won't work well on an ebook reader, and the effort required to convert it would be quite large. The royalties are much smaller too. But, you are not the first to ask!
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Old 13-04-2017, 10:18   #14
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Re: Seattle to San Juans. Advice on route/timing appreciated

+1 for Hunter and Watmough Bays, although the latter can be rolly in the early AM (Easterly light wind) if you're a mono.
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