Hello from Puget Sound

[juliepopper]

Hey there! I'm originally a Lake Michigan sailor but just picked up cruising in Puget Sound and the San Juans. Totally new to the area, and to tides, and to currents, so I'm looking forward to having some help!

Just purchased a Capital Yachts Newport 28'.

Thanks,
Julie

[Adelie]

Welcome.

[juliepopper]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Welcome.

Your signature line made me think of this, which was in the news this week:
Couple Uproots and Floats their Dream Home Across Waterway

[redhead]

Hey JuliePopper welcome to CF and Puget Sound/Salish Sea.

We're a bit north of you, but I promise you're going to love the sailing here. Spring and fall are the best but watch these fall gales!

[juliepopper]

Originally Posted by redhead

Hey JuliePopper welcome to CF and Puget Sound/Salish Sea.

We're a bit north of you, but I promise you're going to love the sailing here. Spring and fall are the best but watch these fall gales!

Hey there! Thanks for introducing yourself... would PM you but I'm too new. I wonder what you think about this... we had planned to sail from Blaine to Seattle this weekend, taking two days, but the weather just changed for the worse: https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forec...US56.KSEW.html

Do you mind entertaining some questions?
- Would you take a 28' boat out on a south-bound passage in this weather?
- Riding the tide but pushing against 20kt winds, will we make any headway?
- Does the shore buffer against a 20kt SE wind at all?

Thank you for any tips!!
Julie

[Sam Woodbridge]

Hi Julie, congratulations on the new boat purchase. I take it your at shilshole bay marina. I passed through there in December 2020. The marina was really nice and had a easy fuel dock. I’m sure you will throughly enjoy the San Juan’s Islands. In my experience I was in Blaine Wa. for a few months and explored the San Juans from there. The winter months where the best because it can get crowded with boats and people in the summer months. But either way I’m thinking you will fall in love with the place.

Also, the forums are a great wealth of information. And there’s so many knowledgeable people here willing to help with any problems we might face.

Sam

[desodave]

Welcome to boating on the wet coast from the other end of the Salish Sea, the end where those fall SE gales pound into. Enjoy your new purchase and we may see you up here one day.

[juliepopper]

Thanks all! We're thinking of going Blaine -> Seattle (yes, Shilshole!) via the Swinomish Channel this weekend. Would you do it, given 20-30kt SE winds and a boat that motors at 6kt? We plan on riding the tides to get a little boost...

[desodave]

Short answer (without any Puget Sound experience) would be "no" . The current might be with you but the wind against the current can produce some nasty steep waves that would at best slow you and at worst create some dangerous sea conditions, especially at the mouth of channels. Imo nothing good happens when you motor in those conditions - every bit of crap in your fuel tank gets stirred up and you run the risk of clogged fuel filters and your engine dying on you ... usually at the most inconvenient time.

[redhead]

We're up in Blaine.

The answer is a question - what's your experience level? I know the Great Lakes can get pretty nautical, but I don't know your sailing past.

I don't know the south sound so maybe someone else can chime in here about the southern portion. Once you get to the Strait of Juan de Fuca/Pt Townsend area it's a pretty straight shot. If you have low freeboard it'll be very wet. Be careful of the currents, and have plans for where you'll bail out when it gets frisky. North of Bellingham the north setting flood will carry you, but it'll try to take you around Point Roberts and up into Canadian waters. We weigh 44 tons and got smashed around just this past summer trying to get into Pt. Roberts.

Opposing wind and tide creates a short steep chop that's just awful.

Drayton Harbor (Blaine) entrance is a narrow dredged channel, stick to starboard (Semiahmoo side) just past the day marker. Boundary Bay to port is extremely shallow. It's pretty well marked.

Good luck - hope it works well for you!

[Stu Jackson]

Hi and welcome. I moved to BC from SF in 2016.


Here's some info for you:


Swinomish Channel Guide


https://forums.sailboatowners.com/th.../#post-1267539


www.deepzoom.com


You should also buy the Waggoners Guide.

[ScottRhodes13]

Hello, and welcome.
If you don't mind a rough ride, you could make the trip. In my experience, Saratoga Passage, south of the Swinomish Channel can be pretty rough in a south wind - expect 3 - 4 foot waves. Puget Sound south of Whidbey Island would probably be about as bad. Expect some rocking as you exit the Swinomish Channel at the south end, as you'll be parallel to the waves. They'll be about 2' at that point.
It's pretty difficult to game the currents in this area - they change direction around Guemes Channel, again around Penn Cove, and again as you enter Puget Sound, so you'd have to time things just right.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Julie.

[juliepopper]

Thanks everyone!
We did indeed deliver the boat this weekend. It took 11 hours to go Birch Bay to La Conner, then 13 hours from La Conner to Shilshole. The going was acceptable, but the passage into the east of Lummi Island had a strong current that slowed us significantly, and the sound crossing Clinton to Mukilteo must have been during the worst of the windstorm because we had to turn around and duck into a cove to wait it out for half an hour. Aside from that, it was just riding the seas. We only got to sail for an hour, between Mukilteo and Edmonds.

Then again, we can say we went 90 nm in a BOMB CYCLONE! Ha!

[redhead]

Congrats!

I realized that I had misread your original post - I thought you were northbound, duh. Must remember to read more carefully.

You chose quite a "weather window" for your journey - yesterday at 4:10 we had a gust of 74kts! I'm glad you made it before the nasty stuff was in full swing.

Enjoy your new boat.