05/16 - 05/18 - Friday Harbor Spring CBGT

Well, I went to Friday Harbor Monday to get things set up and all is OK. We have the Downrigger restaurant for the Friday dinner, (5:30PM) and I found three or four well regarded places for Breakfast and lunch. West Marine is giving us selected discounts, identify yourself as being with the C-Brats group. There's pretty good deal on a stainless barbeque and I'm not sure what else. They're being very helpful and glad to have us. We're set up for the whale museum, (worth seeing) with reduced rates and if anyone wants a guided tour we can set that up just let me know in advance and if we have 10 or more interested they'll do a guided tour for that group. We are set up for mopeds from Susie's, she also has two passenger fancy golf cart thingy's (technical term). The local car dealer does daily rentals for pretty good rate and is expecting us. I'm hoping for a discount there. They have 7 pass vans that would be good for folks wanting to go to English or American camps or even to Roche. If you split the rental they're dirt cheap. I walked the dock and we will have most of "E" dock plus the "A" breakwater and overflow will spill over to another dock. One change, the $ 0.60/ft rate I was quoted was for last year, our rate is 10 cents off the regular rate for this year and will be $0.75/ft. Sorry but that's still a good deal. There are not any really large hotel/motel type lodgings but there are many nice B&b's. I recommend going to the San Juan Island website and working from there to set up your reservations. I have a group rate working at the Best Western but it is still pretty pricy so I think doing it on your own is the best plan for those of you who want to stay ashore. The ferry from Anacortes runs frequently and it is an easy walk from the ferry terminal to the gathering location. Patti and I will be on the "A" breakwater when you arrive and will help you get moored plus we will have bags of info, (including the crucial locations of public bathrooms :lol: ) for everybody.

I'm not sure what the record for a gathering is but this one is shaping up to be much fun and Big!

More updates to come. When we get closer I'd like to be able to give the Downrigger and Whale museum headcounts and will be asking for some planning data. See you all there.
 
Shhh! Don't give away my trade secrets! By the way, the Brats now have a discount on car rentals at that distinctive location :)
Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
 
I've just gotten the first request for a boat christening at Friday Harbor. If you would like to have your boat christened please drop me a PM so I can let the "revs" know what to expect.


And...Dave McKibben will be doing Vessel Safety Examinations (I'll be tagging along as I am still in the trainee role). If you would like to have your vessel checked while at Friday Harbor please let me know so we can plan to have enough stuff. Remember, the exam is entirely voluntary, free, and if there is a problem, at the dock is the time to find out about it. If there is a problem, outdated flares, etc. we'll simply note that for you, we don't pull your license or anything OOoops...wait, there is no license...that's a scary thought :lol:
 
Hopefully we'll finally make one of these gatherings. We've missed the first two we signed up for.

Coming from Tacoma area, what would be the smartest place to launch/store vehicle for this trip? Do others from the South Sound trailer north and launch? If so, where?
 
re: The best place to launch and park for a multi day trip to the San Juan Islands.
Much has been said up thread.
The state park just past the Anacortes ferry terminal offers the shortest run but some have said parking can be less than secure. I have not had this problem. In rough conditions it is a bit exposed.
Bellingham has a large and secure facility but it can be rough getting across the bay. Once in the islands though, this approach offers a very nice cruse and a chance to navigate and get into adventure mode. The islands have some hazards so a bit of study and caution is in order.
Other options were detailed which I am less up to date on.
 
C-Dawg,

You could trailer to John Wayne Marina in Sequim and run across the Straits with the Sequim Posse. Parking there is secure with a night watchman. It's about 18 miles to Cattle Pass at the S. tip of San Juan Island. Degree of dificulty always depends on the weather, of course. Early mornings are usually best. Roger
 
Spanaway to Bellingham is a straight shot up I-5. Everett is a shorter drive but a longer boat ride. Bellingham and Everett are the two best launch ramps just about anywhere. Bellingham is a 30 mile run to Friday Harbor, Everett is, well, farther. Anacortes is nearly as far as Bellingham by the time you run out Hwy 20, and the ramps there are crappy IMHO. We are going to launch at Bellingham to do Friday Harbor. On return, the boat will go into dry storage at Hilton Marina through the end of August for what we hope will be a summer of boating fun in the San Juans and Gulf Islands...Bellingham Bay has a well-deserved reputation for frequently being snotty, but it is not that far until you are around the south end of Lummi Island, where conditions will usually be better.
 
C-Dawg,

I haven't confirmed this with Sleepy C and J C Lately, but Dreamer will probably leave JW Marina about 10 AM. Slack tide at Cattle Pass is 11:30, then turning to flood. Schedules are meant to be broken however! Roger
 
OK,

Time for an update. Right now there are 42 boats signed up on the site and another 9 that have told me they are (probably) coming for a grand total of Tah Dah 51!. With the usual folks who can't make it at the last minute or who decide they can make it at the last minute, we should end up with around 45-50. Figuring most boats will have two people on board we should have nearly 100 brats there. There is plenty of room according to Friday Harbor so if you decide to come at the last minute don't worry about finding moorage. But I'd appreciate a note about last minute changes, (makes for easier planning), in any event.

We have two boats signed up for christening and five signed up for CGAUX vessel safety checks (done by Dave on Anna Leigh). If you think you'd like your boat checked or christened PM me please. Only one taker for a guided tour at the whale museum so as of right now those who visit the museum (really neat!) will do so on their own-no guided tour.

If you are not planning to make the Friday evening dinner at the Downrigger please let me know ASAP, I'm trying to help the owner plan for us and the better forecast she has the easier it will be.

This should be a great chance for newcomers to meet people from the site, see every kind of C-Dory, lots of modifications, and get questions answered. So, if you are not yet a C-Dory owner and are lurking, the ferry ride from Anacortes is cheap, there are 8:10 and 11:40PM sailings from Friday Harbor to Anacortes; you could even make the Friday evening dinner and still get back to Anacortes that night.

if you have questions or comments please post them on this thread so everyone can get a chance to respond/gain from your question.

See you all there.
 
Barry & Patti,

Thanks for all your work on this. I'm assuming you have ordered 10 straight days of sunny weather for FH-Gulf Islands-Anacortes! If not, make it a high priority please....

Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Guess who'll be driving the boat and who'll be leaping onto the dock. Roger
 
This is the first gathering for C-Dawg and the dawgette, so we are very excited and somewhat anxious of what to expect. One of my biggest concerns is knowing what to pack for three days considering the limited storage space of a 22' Cruiser. What are some of the absolute necessities? We've never been on an over-nighter, so we have basically nothing.

I will be bringing a shore power connection to run through the window; I haven't installed a through hull shore power connector yet. My plan was to use a power strip to power any small appliance or laptop. Any problems with this?

Thanks.
 
C-Dawg,

The shore power on the dock will be 30 amp with a round receptacle. So you will need at least an adapter from that to your 15 amp extension cord. PM me for a Home Depot solution to that. Pack like you would for any trip in the PNW, layers and something waterproof! A couple of your favorite Hors d' ouvres to share goes a long way to meld into this group...

Have you decided where to launch yet?
 
Thanks for the help.

We're planning to launch at Sequim and travel over with the Posse. If everything works out, we'll head over Thursday eve and sleep in Sequim.
 
C-Dawg,

Roger (Dreamer) pretty much covered it. Remember to bring your favorite beverages, it would be great if you had the wallas or some kind of heater, it still gets cold in May, and if you have a camperback, that is also something that comes in handy. As for the shorepower, until recently we too used a extension cord connected thru the window with 30 amp shorepower cord and adaptor.

Good luck and we'll see you in Friday Harbor!

Peter
C-Dancer
 
I just spoke with Bitter End blogger and Vessel Assist skipper Captain Richard Rodriguez (http://captrichardrodriguez.blogspot.com). He's stationed in Friday Harbor for the summer. He told me he could stop by sometime during the weekend, bring the Vessel Assist boat over to where we are, and maybe give a little talk and answer questions.

The huge caveat, of course, is that he could receive a call at any time and need to leave. In general, he says that the mornings are less busy than the afternoons, but I suspect most C-Brats will be off on their own in the mornings.

What do you think? Is there a best time/place to try to fit this in?

Thanks!

Tim Flanagan
 
Hi Barry,

51 - what a great gathering in the making! We enjoyed traveling with you in the Gulf Islands last year and wish we could make this event. We will be looking forward to seeing the photos and reading the reports on this.

For C-Dawg, pack like you were going camping for three days: comfortable bedding, layered clothing, a cooler with food (but there is a good grocery store and plenty of restaurants in Friday Harbor), towels and toiletries (there are showers available at the marina), and... a sense of humor and a spirit of adventure. You are going to have a great time and will meet lots of wonderful people. :D

Roger and Janet - I can imagine your docking roles will be reversed. Roger, just be very careful in your "leap" to the dock. :wink: It's a good idea for couples to swap duties once in a while... just in case. Good to hear that the pretty part of the couple is feeling up to being out and about in the boat. :thup

Wish we could join y'all - have a great time!

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
C-Dawg,

Jassmanic stated,
it would be great if you had the wallas or some kind of heater, it still gets cold in May
Click to expand...

Since you're hooking up to shorepower you could bring a small ceramic heater with a thermostat for the nights and evenings. That's what I plan on doing.

Also, as mentioned before this is more like camping. Don't worry about looking like Thurston Howell III and Lovey. Dress comfortably. If you wear the same pants for a few days...no one will notice. Just bring enough to wear layers and have dry clothing available.

With power - I might also bring:

small coffee maker

Oh, don't forget to bring pillows!

I look forward to seeing/meeting you there.
 
I have just booked a room at an Inn in town and will be arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday. C-Run will just have to sit this one out. Robbi
 
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