Planning a trip up the inside passage to Alaska

[LordElsinore]

In 2025 I'll have been with my current employer for 15 years. As a perk, when you hit that milestone, you get one month off as a paid "sabbatical" to go do something awesome. And I want to do something awesome.

So....in the Summer of 2026 I am planning to sail - probably single handed - in my up the inside passage starting somewhere near Seattle, Victoria BC or even Port Hardy BC, and ending up near Ketchikan Alaska. I've been studying last year's Wagoneer's Cruising Guide (I hate that small print though!!), working on certain boat upgrades (like a Canada-legal head) and planning things I might like to purchase like a RADAR.

I would love advice from anyone who has made that trip. Here are some specific questions I have initially:

- Does anyone here have recommendations on a place for launching a Mac where you can leaving the tow vehicle and trailer in that neck of the woods for a month? I was originally thinking around Seattle (used to live there), Anacortes or somewhere else in Northern Washington, but launching from somewhere in British Columbia could help make doing that trip in that amount of time more feasible.

- Has anyone here ever taken their Mac on a trailer on a BC ferry? I would never have thought of that, but from what I've read it is possible!

- For anyone who has made the trip, I'd love to hear about your experience and especially what your favorite part along the way was.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as I continue to prepare. Thanks for any experiences or advice you can share!

Mike

[Stickinthemud57]

It is my privilege to be the first to wish you well on this journey! It is indeed awesome that you have an employer who supports the spirit of discovery and adventure! Popcorn bag in hand, I await the responses and ongoing updates.

[Starscream]

- Has anyone here ever taken their Mac on a trailer on a BC ferry? I would never have thought of that, but from what I've read it is possible!

Mike

Highlander did the ferry trip from the mainland to Vancouver Island a few years ago. You could look him up here on the members list and send him a PM. He's always been more than happy to share.

I've taken those ferries quite a few times myself, but never with a trailer. It should be very easy though; they're all roll-on/roll-off with no backing up or crazy maneuvers.

[NiceAft]

LordElsinore,

Try this to either send a Private Message or an e-mail to Highlander.

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1143

[dlandersson]

Color me with envy.

In 2025 I'll have been with my current employer for 15 years. As a perk, when you hit that milestone, you get one month off as a paid "sabbatical" to go do something awesome. And I want to do something awesome.

Mike

[Russ]

This sounds exciting.

I really hope you will post your journey here so we can live vicariously.

[LordElsinore]

I really hope you will post your journey here so we can live vicariously.

Oh, I'll definitely post about it! By the way, this was the article I read that got me excited about the idea:

[Russ]

I've never boated in that area, however, my neighbors crewed on a guy's sailboat up the coast of Puget Sound. He said it was amazing. Lots of crazy tides and current though.

[rsvpasap]

For launching and extended parking, one of the first places I would check is Point Roberts Marina. It's a nice marina with extensive parking and a great jumping off point for the San Juans or Canada. I would also expect it would be relatively safe. (I have never parked there, I've only been there by water. You need to be mindful of the weather, even in the summer.) I would question leaving my vehicle in an unlocked lot for an extended time in a highly urbanized area. Business is slow in Point Roberts in these post-COVID days, they would be the first place I would try to see if I could work something out. You have to drive through Canada to get to Point Roberts, but Point Roberts is a USA property. You might also consider Port Townsend or Sequim. These are also relatively secure small coastal towns and Port Townsend is a frequent starting point for sailing north. It's also the starting point for the Race To Alaska and it has a large grocery store and multiple marina facilities so it's good for provisioning.

People do take boats on trailers on the BC ferries. Here's a photo of a Macgregor on a BC ferry.

[LordElsinore]

Awesome advice and photos. Thank you!

[LordElsinore]

One of the items on my to do list was to get an international MSSI number for my DSC/VHF radio. For a US boat wanting to use DSC and radio in another country (Canada in this case) it's required. I've never used DSC before, nor do I have an MSSI number, but since I have the equipment I'd like to be able to use it.

Just finishing applying for it. Wow! What a pain! Mostly because the FCC website was super convoluted, with information scattered all over the place, and many of the reference pages "timing out" or blank for whatever reason. C'mon guys!

Anyway, the process was basically as follows:

- research MSSI numbers. Learn that there is a difference between a domestic-only MSSI and an international one. Domestic ones can be given out by authorized companies like BoatUS or US Power Squadrons. But if you're planning on sailing to a different country, you have to go a different route

- land on the FCC site. Learn that you need to get an ship's radio license in order to get an international MSSI.

- Create an FCC user account

- Use that to get something called an FRN

- Go back and associate that FRN with your user account (for some reason it's not done automatically when you create the FRN with your account)

- Start filling out FCC form 605 (online only)

- Be super confused when being asked for a two letter "radio service code".

- Search around for what that means, since the 'help' section of the FCC site links to dead pages or pages that timeout. Eventually discover that for a small pleasure sailboat like ours, it's "SA" (Ship Recreational or Voluntarily Equipped"

- Fill out a bunch of personal information about yourself and your boat, people on land that the coast guard should contact if you go missing, and what kind of radio equipment you have onboard. (VHF and DSC in my case)

- Review and submit everything. (Almost as convoluted as filing your taxes)

- Search around more obscure parts of the site to figure out how to pay the $185 fee to apply for the license and keep it for 10 years

- Rant about the experience on the MacGregorsailors.com site

[Russ]

- Rant about the experience on the MacGregorsailors.com site

Best part

[wakataka]

I've taken my X on the Blackball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria BC twice. It's no problem if you've got a reservation and a few hundred $$. The first trip I launched from Comox and left the truck and trailer at a friends house. The second trip I launched from Port McNeil and left the rig in an un-fenced overflow parking lot by the baseball diamond. It was dusty but otherwise unmolested when I returned a month later. Their normal parking lot is fenced and looked very secure. I wouldn't hesitate to leave my rig in the normal parking lot. The overflow looked sketchy but they reportedly had no problems. It's a very small town, after all.

If I only had a month and was hoping to make it to Alaska, I would trailer as far north as I could. One day on the road heading north = about a week on the water. One thing to be mindful of, once you get north of Port Hardy, fuel, water, and supplies get pretty scarce. You're going to need to be well prepared for self sufficiency. One advantage to launching further south is that you get to shakedown your boat prior to heading into the real wilderness further north, but you might run out of time to reach Alaska and return. Don't put yourself in a position where you are hurrying to get back home. Bad decisions tend to get made when you are boating to a schedule.

I carried 26 gallons of fuel and burned a little less than 1 gph at 5 knots with my Yamaha 50hp. That gave me about 130 miles of range, which was plenty for the Broughton Islands and Desolation Sound. Not sure it would suffice for going further north. Potable water is scarce in the Broughtons. I filled up from small streams and ran it through a ceramic filter. A lot of the water in the small streams is stained brown from tannin's, but the taste was OK. Fish were relatively plentiful in the Broughtons but stopping to fish wouldn't be prudent if you are trying to make miles to AK.

Anchoring in the inside passage can be tricky. The bottom slopes away steeply in many locations, and currents can run fast. I usually put out a stern tie to shore, which prevents the boat from swinging on the anchor and helps keep the anchor dug into the upward sloping bottom. Stern tie would be difficult if single handed, so your anchoring options may be more limited than you'd like. You've also got to be very aware of the tidal stage when you select an anchorage. You can anchor with 15' under the keel and find yourself bumping bottom when the tide goes out. I carried 50' of chain with 300' of rode, and I don't think I ever had more than 200' deployed. Take a couple of spare anchors and rodes. There is foul bottom in a lot of the coves from former logging and fish farming operations. You don't want to be without good ground tackle in that part of the world.

It would also be prudent to have a kicker motor just in case the primary one packs up. The currents are constant and the wind is intermittent at best, so if the big motor stops, the sails may not be sufficient to keep you out of trouble. A 5 hp kicker could save your boat. I know the R2AK fleet manages to make it without motors, but they all have some reasonably effective secondary means of propulsion. Although I've never had any problems with bad fuel in the Broughtons or Desolation Sound, I've read that it can occur in the less traveled marinas. I installed a Racor filter on my boat just in case I happened on some watery gas somewhere.

I highly recommend a trip in this part of the world. I believe it's some of the best cruising waters anywhere. It's big powerful country, far from 'civilization' and therefore requires good preparation, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Go there, even if you don't make it to Alaska.

[LordElsinore]

Thank you for taking the time to give such great advice

[wakataka]

One thing I forgot to mention, I believe the Mac is an excellent boat for the inside passage. One of the big navigational challenges / hazards is the current through the narrow passages. There are places, like Skookumchuck Narrows where it runs 16 knots. Most boats have to time their passage through the rapids for 30 minutes either side of slack. In a Mac, you can pull up the boards and just skim over the swirly water, like a skiff with 4' of freeboard. It's still prudent to make passages near slack water, but if necessary, you can pull the boards, push the throttle forward, and just skim through places where conventional sailboats and most trawlers would be spinning out of control.

I always envisioned having some speakers on deck and playing bagpipe music while effortlessly skimming through the rapids as all the other boats are sitting waiting for slack water.
She's a MacGregor, after all. Play the pipes man!