Inside Passage

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by rognvald

DeepFrz, I wonder if those "stickboats" are the same boats we see all over South Florida and the Caribbean? They must make really good time!

No.............. the ones down there have the big white flags on the stick!

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by Paul L

So how much time would you allot to sail 80%+ of the time from Nanaimo to Juneau via the Inside Passage? Like I mentioned before I sailed it on a fast, easy to handle boat, with plenty of inspiration to sail. Still ended up with massive motoring on the inside.

Whatever time it needed, of course. but "When" is important to a faster trip up.. When did you go?

[Astrid]

There is effectively no sailing inside Van Isle... too much current and no or fluky wind. Crossing Queen Charlotte will be a matter of weather and wind direction. My impression is it's easier sailing back down due to wind direction.

That has been my experience in the inside passage, and additionally there can be quite a fair amount of commercial traffic there as well, so on the north haul, you would probably be motoring or motor sailing most of the time. If the sea gods are kind, you will have better sailing conditions on the way south from Alaska.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

Whatever time it needed, of course. but "When" is important to a faster trip up.. When did you go?

I wasn't trying to be tricky here. Really wanted an opinion on how long for the distance I mentioned. Are the units going to be in months or years I went up end of May/June.

[Astrid]

Paul, if you are motoring up the inside passage you could probably manage the 1300-mile trip in ten days to a fortnight not counting any stops along the way for sightseeing.

[Astrid]

Undersail? In the inside passage you probably wouldn't be able to do it under sail alone going north at least not within any reasonable amount of time.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Undersail? In the inside passage you probably wouldn't be able to do it under sail alone going north at least not within any reasonable amount of time.

I know that. It is HappySeagull who is proposing sailing it.

[HappySeagull]

ah well, I see. You "know it".

[Capt Phil]

You would have to love sailing to do much of the trip under sail. Tides and current will be a big factor. Besides there are portions of Johnston Staits where there is little to no wind for days because of the steep wind shadow caused by the height of the mountains. On the other hand, I've seen over 8 feet wind waves built by the venturi effect from the north. Astrids' observations are correct IMO.
Approaching and crossing Hecate Straits you should get some sustained winds which can make for exciting sailing depending on the direction you get.
Leaving the bottom end of Desolation Sound before April is problematic as is leaving Alaska after late September heading south. Not to say it can't be done but your weather windows shrink and don't last as long as summer months.
Count on a lot of motoring in either direction and make certain you understand tide tables, flows, currents and can read charts, not plotters, flawlessly. Capt Phil

[alan_za]

These guys did it on 200 litres of fuel. Good video too.

Sailing The Inside Passage: Part 1 - YouTube

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

ah well, I see. You "know it".

Just can't answer, can you? Like I said I did the trip in a performance boat and still could not sail anywhere near as much as you propose. Maybe I needed a full keel true bluewater boat.

[HappySeagull]

The answer is time. Said three times now. Given you agree with astrid...not in "Reasonable Time",no. I can't answer to a notion of reasonable time. I can't answer to your patience with short-tacking, drifting, waiting for wind or a turn of tide..How much you rely on forecasts. I can't know when you give up. My boat is handy but slow. I try to sail as long as I have steerage. And I can wait after that. I won't start a motor if the Harbour porps are around me- any excuse to draw my patience out. But perhaps your motor is silky smooth and quiet and why close reach in zephyrs when you can murmur along at 6 knots? maybe I would too, but I can't.
I can't be bothered to try to describe every wind you will encounter everywhere everytime but a chart makes it obvious that wind does not clock around inside as it may outside, when fronts come and go.Drifting is involved. Against that, balance the absence of swell , the short duration of chop, the inland heating sucking the air northward around a headlands contrary to a Hard NW forecast, can make from some pretty pleasant sailing instead of wallowing in ocean swells. BUT you can sail right through these local summertime effects, drifting on the other side of em. And even see the next wind's whitecaps a mile up the channel-they may never fill in to where you are. Or they may. But I digress to summer, which I would not recommend to head north in,for among other reasons, that very same example.
And you want what- a predicted log? "Effective sailing" ?

I don't blame you for being pissed off...windward boat, never get to sail it.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

The answer is time. Said three times now. Given you agree with astrid...not in "Reasonable Time",no. I can't answer to a notion of reasonable time. I can't answer to your patience with short-tacking, drifting, waiting for wind or a turn of tide..How much you rely on forecasts. I can't know when you give up. My boat is handy but slow. I try to sail as long as I have steerage. And I can wait after that. I won't start a motor if the Harbour porps are around me- any excuse to draw my patience out. But perhaps your motor is silky smooth and quiet and why close reach in zephyrs when you can murmur along at 6 knots? maybe I would too, but I can't.
I can't be bothered to try to describe every wind you will encounter everywhere everytime but a chart makes it obvious that wind does not clock around inside as it may outside, when fronts come and go.Drifting is involved. Against that, balance the absence of swell , the short duration of chop, the inland heating sucking the air northward around a headlands contrary to a Hard NW forecast, can make from some pretty pleasant sailing instead of wallowing in ocean swells. BUT you can sail right through these local summertime effects, drifting on the other side of em. And even see the next wind's whitecaps a mile up the channel-they may never fill in to where you are. Or they may. But I digress to summer, which I would not recommend to head north in,for among other reasons, that very same example.
And you want what- a predicted log? "Effective sailing" ?

I don't blame you for being pissed off...windward boat, never get to sail it.

Not sure I follow what you are saying, but I'm sure someone probably does.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Not sure I follow what you are saying, but I'm sure someone probably does.

Sounds like he's saying it is possible to sail the route if you have patience, and lots of time.

I mostly sail the Great Lakes, but I have sailed some parts of the passage (going north of Vancouver). The weather patterns and geography struck me as very similar to the north shore of Lake Superior.

Along here, we also see a lot of motorboats-with-sticks. Weather changes quickly and constantly, with light fluky airs very common in the prime sailing months (June-Sept.). People with sailboats spend a lot of time motoring b/c they have neither the time, nor the patience, to travel slowly and unpredictably.

[Jbaffoh]

I've done the round trip from Seattle to Juneau, then out Icy Strait to Pelican, and back, 8-10 times. I did not sail, but I was on a 9-knot fishing boat. Northbound in April or May, and Southbound in February or March. Plus, I was raised on the waters of Southeast Alaska.

At 9 knots, it's a 5-day run. Wind is usually non-existent, and it is unpredictable when it does blow. Running up the outside is much more predictable, and you can usually count on 20 knots.

Inside, tides and current often outpace the wind. Time passages through the many narrows very carefully for slack tide.