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Well we took our first trip to the San Jauns and it was both awesome and at one point pretty frightening. The trip was well worth it and a great learning experience. Roasario Straight (?) bcame very ruff at one point and was tossing us about like we were a little toy. We filled up the ballast and were on our way. Later on our way back we hit a small fogbank and it was a fun experience, we only had a GPS and no radar so we just slowed it down and tried to find another vessal to get behind, however, we had no luck. Thank god for GPS.

Anyway it was a blast and next year we plan on going up for 9 days and getting some sailing in.

We havnt done very many long trips but have had several week to 2 weeks spells on the boat and the long stays almost always include a frightening time...guess that's what make sailing so much fun. My husband almost always has a big smile when it's getting rough. I'd enclose a pic but dont know how to put them in the body of the message.

Rosario Strait can be bad particularly where it joins the east end of Juan de fu@, but don't think it's always that way. We crossed it on our way from Lopez Island to Deception Pass on July 12th at the end of our 3-1/2 week trip and it was smooth as glass. The two times we crossed last year out of Deception Pass it wasn't very rough either. Even our crossings of the Strait of Juan de fu@ and the Strait of Georgia this year were un-eventful and the weather forcast had small craft advisories up for all three crossings.

Just go at the speed the sea state gives you and you will find that the Mac can handle most anything these area's kick up. I did learn one interesting thing, unfortunately near the end of our trip, The going in 2'-3' chop in wind 10 to 20 knots was much easier at 11 knots than it is at 8 knots. The boat tracks much better and is far less work to drive. The motion is smoother as well. The difference in fuel consumption for my 2 stroke between the two speeds is very little. I find you only have to slow down when the waves get so steep and close together that you launch off them and slam down. It's always the second wave that launches you. Thankfully we only had one day where we had water with 3'-5' seas and 30 knots of wind right on the nose. Surprisingly it wasn't in a wide open crossing but was when we were coming south down Trincomali Channel along the inside of Galiona Island. That was an hour or so of the roughest going we have yet encountered.

Could get some quick opinions/advice?

1. Has antone launched at Cap Sante in Anacortes and used their lift? How did it go? Is there enough parking? Do you rig on shore or after you launch? Last year there was no avaialbale parking at the park in Anacortes that has the ramp.

2. Any advice as to the best route from Anacortes to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island?

3. Duane: when you went to the Candian gulf islands with your kids, how did you handle immigration?

Thanks. I'll be in the San Juans from Aug 21-28 with MacX "Little Princess"

Doug

Can't speak to the lift at Cap Sante, most everyone I know of launches at Washington Park. It's just up the road from Anacortes past the ferry dock. I would call the marina and discuss the specifics with them, ie launching with the mast up, assembly area, longterm parking. Last year almost the whole group from this board that went on the redezvous launched at Cornet Bay in Deception Pass state park and followed us out through Deception Pass. They have a good ramp and plenty of parking there. We have used it a number of times. The other closest launch is on the Swinomish channel under the bridge that goes to Anacortes. This is a county launch and I'm not sure of the parking, but the launch is fine.

Going from Anacortes to Deer Harbor you have two choices

It's 19.2 Nautical Miles From Cap Sante to Deer Harbor via Guemes channel and across Rosario Stait to Thatcher Pass at the south end of Blakely Island

or

It's 19.7 Nautical Miles From Cap Sante to Deer Harbor via Guemes Channel and across Rosario to Peavine Pass at the North end of Blakely Island.

From there for either you head west along the north side of Lopez and into Harney Channel on the north side of Shaw Island and south of Orcas Island. Continue west past West Sound and then through Pole Pass. This is a narrow pass between Crane Island and finger of Orcas that separates West Sound from Deer Harbor. It can look intimidating as it is narrow, but there is plenty of water even at low tides. Stay just to the west of center as you go through.

The Deer Harbor Marina is toward the north end of the inlet on the east shore. It is the first marina you come to of the two that are in the harbor.

If you do change your mind and elect to come out through Deception Pass I would suggest crossing to Lopez Pass on the south east end of the island then going north through Lopez Sound to Blakely. You can cut a little distance off this by passing to the west of Frost Island in the narrow passage between it and Spencer Spit.

I would base my choice between the two on what the currents in the strait and the passes are doing. If the current is flooding in Rosario you can gain some help by taking the north route through Peavine. This can also be easier if it is rough as most of the waves will be from the south and right on your beam going to Thatcher. Peavine can get some strong currents so you will want to go through near slack (+- and hour or so) or at least on a flood so you are not against it. Currents in Thatcher are less so timeing isn't as critical.

As Far as Canada, My wife and I both had our passports (expired but still fine as long as the picture still looks like you) and we had the birth certificates for each of our children. Going into Canada everything was done by phone at Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island and they just asked for names and birthdates and a couple simple questions. Coming back into the US at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island they looked at the documents and I assume typed the same information into their database then after a few simple questions said have a nice day. You will also want to have your boat registration documents. I was told also to have the boat insurance documents so I did, but these were not ever asked for. Smile and be patient, they seem to have a lot of typing to do, and you will have no problem.

Doug:
My brother launched from Cap Sante this year. He said the lift fee was $50 and parking was $30 for 2 weeks. His friend Chris launched at Washington Park but his wife drove his rig over to Cap Sante to park it and he picked her up there (just around the point). What we do to save a buck. My bro didn't want to dunk his trailer.

We are going to have to meet up one of these days. Geez, we live in the same city but have yet to do so.

Don, you just launched at Washington Park for your recent trip didn't you? What is the cost of the launch / parking there? I know Cornet bay is $7 a day and the cost includes the launch. The best deal around is still Everett with it's 14 launch lanes with docks and a vast paved parking lot. $5 to launch, park as long as you want at no extra charge. The San Juans are a solid days trip from Everett (40 miles).

Thanks for the tips and info. We have already planned our next trip for 10 days. We'd love to go with BWY, but our sched. never seems to work. Duane please keep sharing all your experience on this board. I've learned alot reading your posts, as well as many others.
Thanks.

The lift is $45.00 per use. So you will pay out $90.00 round trip. I spoke with the Cap Sante last month. That was the price I was quoted for a 26. I did not ask about rigging. The few sail boats I have watched rigged on the water. Short term parking for the lift is across the street behind the Safeway. They also have a large lot on the west side of the marina for long term parking. I did not want to pay that much to launch but I have stayed in the marina four different times. They have a very nice facility. My favorite place to launch is at the Swinomish channel. There is plenty of parking with lots of room.

Graham Carr wrote:My favorite place to launch is at the Swinomish channel. There is plenty of parking with lots of room.

What is the cost for launching and parking at the Swinomish launch? I though about using it for the rendezvous last year, but decided Coronet was better as it has lot's of overnight dock space right next to the launch. This let us all get the boats in the water on Sunday and head out through Deception Pass first thing Monday Morning. That was a cool sight I still remember, 15 Macs all heading under the Deception Pass bridge at one time.

smidnite,

Is BWY doing a San Juan trip? All I ever hear about are their weekend gatherings at a marina such as the one the had recently at Port Orchard. I was refering to the trip we organized last year through this discussion board. We had 18 boats with half of them from out of state and the farthest couple from Southern California.

Hello:
We paid $25 a week at Washington Park. I think it's $5 a day. No additional charge to launch. For us it just makes sense to pay the $50 for 2 weeks even though we were out by the 12th day. I don't know how they keep track. By the time we got back, the little paper ticket was blank from the sun.

Doug:

We'll be in the San Juans the exact same week as you. We're getting slung in at Cap Sante, there one night , then 3 nights a Deer harbor, 2 nights at Islander Lopez Marina/resort, and then back to Anacortes for one more night.

Have you made your guest reservations? Keep your eye out for 'Pacific Star II, I'm sure we'll cross paths.

Cheers,
Jesse

CapSante has two lifts. Mast down lift is 15 bucks per time. The walking mast up lift is 45 bucks. We're going to use the mast down lilft and then step it when we're tied up.

Jesse

"only had a GPS and no radar" - If you have a fish finder/depth sounder, and a chart, that would give you another reference point.

Hi Duane
You choose the best launch site for the rendezvous. Coronet bay is a great place to launch! For a large group, Swinomish channel would be a tough place for 15 boats of any kind to meet at the same time. At one time I had to wait 15 minutes to pull into the pier. The tide was a flood with about a 3-4 knot current. I held a dead stop just off the ramp so I could get in between other boats. That is not the norm but if you had several Macs waiting to get in, you could just imagine what that would look like. If you recall I was working in the area at the time of the rendezvous (I had contacted you via email). I regret not joining in, but I had already spent 1-1/2 months working and sailing and my schedule just did not work out. Swinomish channel is $3 to launch and $5 per overnight.
The BTW Port Orchard rendezvous was June 1720th. I missed it by not paying attention to the calendar. My understanding is they do something every year. I am not sure if a San Juan trip is in the plans. Anyone that is interested can just check out their events schedule. I met a couple while lunching at Everett and they said they had a lot of fun and learned a few new things.
After spending 3 months in the San Juan area, it was hard to leave. I was heading home last week and while driving up the west side of Snoqualmie Pass, I passed I guy heading west pulling his X and then 10 min later I passes another guy pulling his X. We waved as we passed. I had a hard time not turning back.