05/18 - 05/20 - 2018 Friday Harbor CBGT

Wish I could make it but we have a wedding up near Comox and might trailer the boat up for it.

Crabbing is open pretty much year round in Canada, with Sidney spit being a good spot not too far from the gathering. Just buy a license online and check in with Customs at one of the islands. (maybe check with customs about bringing the crabs back).
 
C Horse 1":3utlvf8x said:
Hello just purchased my C Dory and am planning on going to FH in May and look forward to meeting you all. Jim and Kandi. Thanks
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You only thought you "purchased a C-Dory"! What you actually did was to buy into a family who will become your new best friends over the years!
 
John and Kathy, Looking forward to meeting you and seeing “Cattitude”. I like the name. We have friends that own a 24 Tom Cat. Their little family of 4 took the 24TC to Alaska with us in 2016. It did the trip quite nicely. 4 on a 24.
 
Gene,
thanks for the "holler" we look forward to meeting you folks and chasing tides with the group. Your friend with the 24, do you know how much fuel they hold. I haven't a guess yet?
john
 
Reefmadness,
your friends boat name is great, Kathy was medical so she got a great laugh. thanks for the note on fuel, I have not been able to find that info anywhere.
We are thinking of Alaska in her too. I can't see or dip the tanks and it is driving me crazy. the pilot in me is haveing a fit.. :-)

we both are retired and designing a home for our lot on fisherman bay... the dream
john
 
I see that the Anacortes Boat and Yacht Show will be May 17-20. Wonder if CDory will be on display. I’d say we’ll have a show of our own in Friday Harbor.
 
As this is getting closer, I am slowly firming up my plans. My intent is to launch, probably using the sling at Cap Sante Marina, on Wednesday, then cruise over to Friday Harbor on Thursday. It's my understanding reservations for all of us have already been made for Fri-Sun, but we check in to the marina to pay our dockage fee. And also that if arriving early, we're on our own for any necessary reservations.

I'm also considering Billingham instead of Anacortes. What facilities are recommended there? (That are safe and reasonably priced for leaving a rig for a month!) I'm planning on staying till the last week of June to cruise into the south end of the Inside Passage, perhaps as far as Desolation Sound, but mostly up the east side of Vancouver Island. I'll have to get my wife on a flight back home the end of the weekend following the gathering weekend (May 27-28), so will likely stay in the US area and not cross into Canada until after that. Anyone that wants to cruise with me north or that would let me cruise with them, would be greatly appreciated, since I'm not familiar with the area or have much experience with "ocean" cruising. Colby
 
We joined C-Brats last year to learn more about C-Dory boats. We are planning to become owners but have not seen many due to our geographic location in central Oregon. Colby Smith suggested we attend this gathering to be able to view multiple boats, so we booked a trip. We met Colby and the gang on the Columbia trip last fall but the water was too rough to be out the day we visited them. So Colby will be giving us a ride while we are in Friday Harbor. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Paul and Vicky
 
Looking forward to seeing you guys, Paul and Vicky. I'm sure you can also get a ride on some of the other sized C-Dory's as well for comparison. But you should have gone out in that rough water, to see how the boat handles in that as well! Maybe we can still find some rough stuff around Friday Harbor. :mrgreen: Colby
 
colbysmith":2yco6zfz said:
I'm also considering Billingham instead of Anacortes. What facilities are recommended there? (That are safe and reasonably priced for leaving a rig for a month!) I'm planning on staying till the last week of June to cruise into the south end of the Inside Passage, perhaps as far as Desolation Sound, but mostly up the east side of Vancouver Island.
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Hi Colby,
I frequent both Anacortes/ Cap Sante and Bellingham (born and raised in Bellingham), and would personally prefer Anacortes from a launch perspective and parking, if month-long parking is available. The ramp and wash-down facilities at Bellingham are first rate, but you can also count on Bellingham Bay being nasty from even the slightest breeze from the South.

The sling launch in Anacortes is easy-peasy hassle free, and your trailer stays dry so no need to wash it off with fresh water like you would at Bellingham. When trailering I always preferred using the Cap Sante sling launch especially for single-handing...you have a crew launching and tying off your boat while you go and park, then your boat is ready by the time you walk back. Also if you launch Wed, Cap Sante is a great marina to overnight in, with lots of dining and grocery shopping options literally across the street. In Bellingham everything is quite a haul from the marina, except for about 3 marina restaurants.

Regarding parking, I'm not sure about Anacortes, but in the past you were able to make special arrangements with the Port of Bellingham to park for longer than the usual max (10 days?), and you'd park in a lot across the street. Others have reported no problems security-wise doing this in the past, however I personally would no longer trust that, with the homeless "encampments" setting up shop half a block away in recent times. I'm sure these exist in Anacortes somewhere too, as they do everywhere in the PNW, however I haven't noticed this any encampments in the vicinity of the Cap Sante marina. Also Bellingham is notorious as a "hippie" and "college" town whereas Anacortes is known as a "retirement" town and so maybe as a result, Anacortes feels a bit more low-key and perhaps more secure.

Looking forward to meeting you at Friday Harbor!
-Mike
 
Mike, thanks for that info on Bellingham vs. Anacortes. Several years ago my wife and I did come out and cruise to Friday Harbor on our own. I used Cap Sante and it's sling launch then, and stayed one night in the marina, so I have some familiarity there. (Great restaurant next door!) There was no problem parking in a very large lot just south of the marina. I think the marina charged me $5/day parking... Likely I will use this marina again, especially after reading your remarks. The sling launch worked quite well and I felt was reasonably priced. I should give them a call and double check on parking for the longer period of time.

Some other minor changes to our plans. We are foregoing a visit with my brother after the gathering, and my wife will fly into Seattle to join me. So I need to check flights out of Victoria or Vancouver for her to head home May 29th. So that will give her time to see some other areas north of the San Juans that she hasn't seen before, and give me a head start going farther north. Colby
 
I just started doing my trip planning and was looking at area boat launches. Be advised that the CBGT weekend will have spring tides with the mid-day low at about -2.5. That takes quite a few small launches out of contention for at least a few hours. Those that remain operational will be slippery slimy. Also, Deception Pass will be at maximum current. A beautiful sight to watch (from shore.)

I am kind of interested in the Anacortes sling launch just because I've never done it. What does it cost? Is there likely a waiting line mid-day on Friday? Do I get a price break for a cute little boat?

Mark
 
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