Crossing Haro Strait to Victoria

[Rooster 27509]

We made much the same trip your looking into. What worked for us was to Island hop hitting most of the state parks in the San Juan Islands and having a great time. Take your crab trap and cooking pot for same. Once your at Stuart island you pick the day and the tide, and it's a short jump to a small group of islands then your in Sidney which is I feel nicer and cleaner than Victoria.
Have fun in Victoria it is quit a site, and with the 22 foot C-Dory we were able to get berthing with no problem. Keep an eye open for sea-planes and the harbor prtrol as you enter the harbor. Don't forget to check in with Customs (which is something we did in Sidney)

Have a fun and safe trip

Jim from the Catch-22

[Pat Anderson]

Yeah, especially since we usually launch in Bellingham, where we can head out Hale Passage, and we are looking right at Matia, then a short little hop over to South Pender, and as you say, then we can scoot down to Sydney and on to Victoria, or as we did on one great trip, head north into the Gulf Islands...What I am really curious about, and I am going to sit down and de-brief Dusty one of these days, is starting out from Victoria and heading up the west coast. I have looked up Sooke, Renfrew and Bamfield now, and I don't see why this can't be done, just the way Dusty says. But a few people have told me horror stories, and I have just been sort of scared off. Of course, if I believed all the horror stories other people tell about the Strait of Georgia (and a lot of them are true, I am sure), I probably wouldn't have tried the run from Blaine to Matia / Sucia / Patos, which I did first in a 16' aluminum boat, Crabby Lou II (pix in Daydream album), and which is just routine in a CD22. But somehow I believe them more about Juan de Fuca and the open ocean...

[Larry H]

Pat,

You may already have this, but here is a link to the Canada marine weather forecasts.

http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/marine/region_03_e.html

And here is a link to the Juan de Fuca Str.

http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/marine/marine_e.html?c-jfs

Forecasts for that area often have strong winds either from the east or west. I have heard forecasts in the summer that called for gale to storm force winds in that area!

[Sawdust]

Pat,

It ain't all that bad. If this old grunt can do it anybody can. Need a little study/prep -- example -- Port Renfrew can be a rotten overnight experience because it's open -- gotta know where to go, and how to avoid the kelp, rocky anchorages and what docks are available, etc. Good internet info is always available. I hope/plan to work Swiftsure Bank out of Port Renfrew in a few weeks.

Renfrew doesn't have customs so you must clear before you head up the coast. Both Douglass and Watmough West Coast of Vancouver Island give good information on the area. Both books should be in your library - good reading, good information.

Also Larry (Nancy H) has a great little cove near Race Rocks that could be a good place to overnight and wait for ideal weather. I try to avoid an ebb in the afternoon when the west wind (onshore flow) usually makes up, and don't go if there is a front moving through. BTDT and won't do it again.

Don't let the horror stories stop you. There are enough of them for any chunk of open water in our area that we'd all stay home... good preparation, good weather analysis, and knowing when to do a 180 and go back are all important factors. (Or as my old Navy pilot buddies said, "lets do a 360 and get the heck outa here.")

If you decide to tow up you might consider Port Alberni. I've towed several times to Port Alberni, left the truck and trailer in a secure area, and run down the river. Fun trip, and you avoid the gravel road (windshield buster) to Bamfield, and the hills enroute to Uclulet. Good launch.

So enough already!

Dusty

[Larry H]

Dusty and Pat,

Since Dusty mentioned it, here is a link to Pedder Bay Marina. Located on the Victoria side of Race Rocks, it is a good place to wait for the weather prior to rounding Race Rocks on the way to Sooke.

http://www.pedderbaymarina.com/index.htm