Visit our Popular Forums

NedX · 21-12-2020, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by EngNate

Rocks are something you'll need to get used to. We have them in abundance, and a great many are "further out from the shore than they ought to be". Charts will be a much bigger part of your life here, and in my opinion, chartplotting is essential, and I ditto thumbs down to Navionics charts, not to say they don't have their place in the market.
And floating, and semi-floating, debris, up to huge whole trees. As the higher high tide rises in the cycle all this stuff is picked up off the beaches and circulated around then deposited again as the peak tide level falls. Huge steep heavily forested banks provide a steady supply. Avoid the worst by planning travel during the periods of lower max tides and avoid it during and following the highest max tides. Currents can be a major factor, and wind/current situations in various places. There's a lot to consider and plan around, it is a more adventuresome place than many. Planning and executing your first run to/from the north island or central coast will have more points of adventure than say, sailing to Bermuda.

Your good wilderness gunkholing is mostly going to be to the north, where the character of the climate changes significantly. The spectacular scenes and great weather likely will not be occurring together much of the time (but they do). I have been 12 summers boating on the central coast, and some year round, and the average that I would qualify myself as summer season is 5 to 6 weeks long. The very first year here it was amazing, May to September. This year the longest continuous stretch of summer like weather was 15 days and that was in September. Much more varied, fickle weather the more north you go.

If you're going to liveaboard in the winter you're going to want an insulated boat and good heat and attention to prevent condensation. No matter its a mild winter climate, it does get cold. In BC, electric heat at metered rates costs less than diesel heat. In WA its close enough for a toss up. But you'll want diesel heat if the power goes out, I sure do, and on the central coast it gets some exercise all summer.

Hope you enjoy BC... All the places with scary reputations are smooth as silk on the right days. Cape Caution on a late November day:
Attachment 229119

Lots of good intel and advice in there, thanks. There are quite a few names that convey despair, desolation, and doom, aren't there. And they all seem like lovely places. We've got a lot of treacherous ledges and sneaky currents and 10-12-foot tides along the coast of Massachusetts and Maine, but clearly as far as that is concerned we're in the minor leagues compared to the Salish Sea.

NedX · 21-12-2020, 23:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalteseFalcon

Try these vloggers sailing the between Vancouver and Vancouver island plus Desolation sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gohdkHjvnVg

Must be warm.

What are skeeters like in BC? If I were a skeeter, I'd go right at these two.

evm1024 · 22-12-2020, 06:15

I remember when BC wanted to secede and become the 51st state. Then would it be PNW?

sv_pelagia · 22-12-2020, 07:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by evm1024

I remember when BC wanted to secede and become the 51st state. Then would it be PNW?

Never been more than a tiny tiny minority.

sv_pelagia · 22-12-2020, 07:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by NedX

Must be warm.

What are skeeters like in BC? If I were a skeeter, I'd go right at these two.

Differs on different years (rain vs warmth) as well as latitude. June can be bad but generally down south OK by July/August. North of Johnstone Strait (and especially north of Cape Caution) can be bad.

Hiking inland, though, much much worse than on the boat!

Then there are the horseflies/deerflies! Arrrgghh!

(Still, nothing as bad as the jejenes in Mexico....)

Lodesman · 22-12-2020, 07:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by evm1024

I remember when BC wanted to secede and become the 51st state. Then would it be PNW?

Don't recall it ever wanting to become a state. I do recall rumblings about the Free Republic of Cascadia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascad...dence_movement)

flightlead404 · 22-12-2020, 08:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by redhead

The weather is as follows: (WA and southern BC)
Jan - rain and wind about 40F - oh and dark
Feb - same as above
Mar - ditto
Apr - same except the days are longer and less rain - about 50F
May - now you're talking, some sun, some rain 50's with occasional 60
Jun - sun followed by rain followed by sun solid 60 degrees
Jul - good weather, unfortunately you have to work on your boat cause it's not
raining anymore
AUG - this is it!!! Perfect, never rains, 75F. Go out every day - see the sights -
oops, the wind died. Motoring will still get you to beautiful places.
Sept - fall arrives. Wind picks up, sailing is good, getting colder now.
Oct. - prepare boat for winter. Occasionally a great sail in good, chilly wx.
Nov.- rain and wind about 45F - oh and dark
Dec - same as above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eT40eV7OiI

NedX · 22-12-2020, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

Differs on different years (rain vs warmth) as well as latitude. June can be bad but generally down south OK by July/August. North of Johnstone Strait (and especially north of Cape Caution) can be bad.

Hiking inland, though, much much worse than on the boat!

Then there are the horseflies/deerflies! Arrrgghh!

(Still, nothing as bad as the jejenes in Mexico....)

Just occurred to me that you have the same boat as our vloggers here.

It's actually a fun series, because it unabashedly walks us through everything that can and does go wrong, while trying to figure out how to get the most out of this vast and gorgeous area. And learning to recognize their own limitations.

I don't know that these guys are going to ever get on the other side of the island, but it truly does look as though there's enough places to go even if you never do.

Macblaze · 22-12-2020, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by NedX

Just occurred to me that you have the same boat as our vloggers here.

It's actually a fun series, because it unabashedly walks us through everything that can and does go wrong, while trying to figure out how to get the most out of this vast and gorgeous area. And learning to recognize their own limitations.

I don't know that these guys are going to ever get on the other side of the island, but it truly does look as though there's enough places to go even if you never do.

Ya, every time I start to think of those two as a train wreck I have to remind myself of some of the idiotic things I have done.

If you want a bit more slice of life/scenery you can take a look at my videos. Done mostly for family they suffer from a lack of story but do have a whole lot of scenery... And over the years its got a taste of Desolation, the Gulf Islands and The Broughtons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OjRHB-Zyo

Another guy to watch is Bert Vermeer (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTR...vrc4g_4uNfC6sg) Again, not so much high-quality entertainment, but a lot of sailing and visiting hot spots. I love his cavalier attitudes towards the various tidal rapids

NedX · 22-12-2020, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macblaze

Ya, every time I start to think of those two as a train wreck I have to remind myself of some of the idiotic things I have done.

If you want a bit more slice of life/scenery you can take a look at my videos. Done mostly for family they suffer from a lack of story but do have a whole lot of scenery... And over the years its got a taste of Desolation, the Gulf Islands and The Broughtons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OjRHB-Zyo

Another guy to watch is Bert Vermeer (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTR...vrc4g_4uNfC6sg) Again, not so much high-quality entertainment, but a lot of sailing and visiting hot spots. I love his cavalier attitudes towards the various tidal rapids

Thanks, MacB. I look forward to watching yours over a bourbon tonight.

Bert is already bookmarked!!

As for our young friends: There is no rookie mistake or mishap on these videos that I haven't experienced at some point. The part where the engine dies and he decides to raft his dinghy on and bring her in that way, for example. Once, becalmed three miles from shore in a 19-foot daysailer. I dove in and swam it to shore, doing the side stroke and with one hand on the bowline.

(Later, I discovered that this was prime white shark cruising ground, though I doubt any of those guys espied my Rhodes and decided it was a seal.)

Another thing that happens to them to which I can relate: Those are not big waves when she and the dog get seasick, but they are at their limit. My son hits his limit in 2-foot wind chop in the harbor. So when he's onboard, we putter out to an island and grill in some secluded, calm spot.

Macblaze · 22-12-2020, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by NedX

As for our young friends: There is no rookie mistake or mishap on these videos that I haven't experienced at some point.

I hear what you're sayin' I wish I had the guts to film as many of my mishaps.

If you only watch one of ours, watch 2019 part 3...its got some of the best scenery and is a circle around Desolation.

sv_pelagia · 22-12-2020, 15:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by NedX

Just occurred to me that you have the same boat as our vloggers here.

It's actually a fun series, because it unabashedly walks us through everything that can and does go wrong, while trying to figure out how to get the most out of this vast and gorgeous area. And learning to recognize their own limitations.

I don't know that these guys are going to ever get on the other side of the island, but it truly does look as though there's enough places to go even if you never do.

Which vloggers? Don't see a Sceptre 41....