First Two-Week Sailing Trip - Vancouver Area

[canadianllama]

Finally joined the forums as we are planning a 2 week sail up to Powell River and there abouts. We have a new baby (5 months, will be 7 when we leave) and are both pretty new at boating, this will be our 3rd year, and we are only summer time sailors so far.

Couple of things, i was wondering if anyone has a blog or a forum post (ive been trying to find one) on a trip they have done from Vancouver area on up to some where near Powell river. We have a neat book called "A Dreamspeaker cruising guide" which shows all this area, but i wouldnt mind seeing someone elses trip so i know kinda how to start planning for this. We dont want to take any chances (not that we do anyways) but with a baby it seems smart to be all that more well planned.

Also we were planning on leaving around the end of June, does anyone know weather-wise if that's a smart time to try leave. We have a 26ft sailboat, with a 9.9 kicker for getting us around when the wind isn't working =-]

[gmau]

Try looking at
I Boat North West

and

The Captain's Log - BAYLINER® OWNERS' CLUB

The Dreamspeaker books are pretty good.

There are alot of books on cruising BC and Seattle to Alaska. Try your library.

You can also look at Waggoner Cruising Guide and Northwest Boat Travel.
Usually the end of July and Augest has better weather. Alot more boaters out and places get crowded.

Gordon

[Lancerbye]

Welcome aboard. Enjoy your trip. Have seen both good and bad weather inthe area you are planning from May to October.

[cwyckham]

Sounds like you'll have a great trip. Others will be able to comment on the specific area you're heading. You certainly need to check out Desolation Sound up there (bring a stern tie line). My experience with late June is that you're pretty safe weather-wise. You may get a bit more rain than August, but you'll be well past the spring storms that can get nasty. I've seen plenty of blogs about trips up to Desolation, so even if you don't plan going in there, you'll find info on the overlapping parts of your trip.

Chris

[canadianllama]

Thanks for the reply's, definitely helps me for getting started gathering info for the trip =-]

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[jackdale]

The wind at time of year is very light.

There is not much to see around Powell River, unless you have a hankering for mills.

But just south of there is Smuggler Cove, Secret Cove, Pender Harbour, Musket Island, Ballet Bay and the Harmony Islands. Check out Jedidiah Island between Texada and Lasqueti.

[Sailing Cowboy]

Be sure to check out Teakerne Arm up in Desolation Sound. Great anchorage and take the zod into shore and walk the trail to the waterfalls.

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by jackdale

The wind at time of year is very light.

There is not much to see around Powell River, unless you have a hankering for mills.

But just south of there is Smuggler Cove, Secret Cove, Pender Harbour, Musket Island, Ballet Bay and the Harmony Islands. Check out Jedidiah Island between Texada and Lasqueti.

Pretty good wind out here right now

[canadianllama]

Yeah the trip is changing almost daily, but it sounds like we will be going to Comox on the island first, then maybe back across, i didn't know planning a trip was so much work =-] I'm the kinda guy who just wants to hoist sail and see where we end up.
Light winds are only OK if there's still sailing wind, my 9.9 pushes us along at 5.5knots wide open, hope to not have to use it much.
=-]
All this planning does make one long for the sea!

[Lancerbye]

with any luck you will get a SW wind and get some good speed across. Try to catch a flooding tide.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by canadianllama

Yeah the trip is changing almost daily, but it sounds like we will be going to Comox on the island first, then maybe back across, i didn't know planning a trip was so much work =-] I'm the kinda guy who just wants to hoist sail and see where we end up.
Light winds are only OK if there's still sailing wind, my 9.9 pushes us along at 5.5knots wide open, hope to not have to use it much.
=-]
All this planning does make one long for the sea!

Sounds to me like you're overthinking it a bit. Things change so much around here with wind, current, rain, or whatever that it's tough to plan more than a general idea of where to go. Make sure you have lots of charts, then just head out and start off in a general direction. If the wind isn't blowing, go somewhere close. If it's blowing too much or you just feel like it, stay an extra day on the hook. If there's a strong flood tide early in the morning, then have breakfast on the go. If it's ebbing sleep in (etc.)

I think you said you have an outboard. I find the noise of those things drives me nuts, so when we had a Haida 26 with an outboard we'd try our best to just be flexible with our schedule instead of motoring everywhere. We still try do that, but the inboard's roar is a little less, so we cheat a bit more often.

Chris

[Capt Phil]

You are setting out to explore one of the special places in the world. Don't be in a hurry, make certain you have up to date charts and tide tables for the whole area. Many of the passes are not doable if the tide is running so be prepared to wait for the change, particularly if you are planning on heading to the island first then crossing back. There are literally hundreds of beautiful anchorages so have adequate ground tackle and at least 40 meters of line for shore ties. Tune your VHF to weather channel which will keep you out of major problems weatherwise.
Talk with the rest of the boating community out there... each will have its own favorite spot and will usually share good info with you.
jackdale touched on some of the more picturesque spots... try to leave early and anchor early before the crowds arrive... take your time and stop and smell the flowers... enjoy your trip... Capt Phil

[cwyckham]

Another must-have for these waters is the current atlas. It shows the major currents and back eddies through the islands at any given day and time (easiest if you get Murray's tables or something to tell you which page to look at at which time). Makes a huge difference in planning. There's often a place to sneak up in a back-eddy or it's running stronger on one side of the channel than the other, etc.

[Sailing Cowboy]

Originally Posted by canadianllama

Yeah the trip is changing almost daily, but it sounds like we will be going to Comox on the island first, then maybe back across, i didn't know planning a trip was so much work =-] I'm the kinda guy who just wants to hoist sail and see where we end up.
Light winds are only OK if there's still sailing wind, my 9.9 pushes us along at 5.5knots wide open, hope to not have to use it much.
=-]
All this planning does make one long for the sea!

Comox area is very nice. You will sail past Goose Spit where I was stationed for a couple years. A little town near there called Fanny Bay has some of the best Oysters around. Also there is a shipwreck on the beach close by that has a neat restaurant in it. Cant remember the name of it.