07/20 - 07/22 - La Conner, WA
- Thread starter starcrafttom
- Start date
Don and Brenda
New member
This is good news, there have been many soft groundings in the past couple of years.
kevin ware
New member
Tom:
I spoke to the La Conner Marina manager (Paul) today, and to the Port of Skagit's public relations guy (Carl) next week, about the proposed C-Dory trip in July.
Suggested to Paul that he and Carl might want to think up some nice things to do for the group while in La Conner. Over the phone Paul's first idea was "how about we put on a BBQ", second idea was "maybe we can offer free discounts at local restaurants, or a free day of moorage upon a return trip"...anyway, I got him thinking.
Not sure which of these ideas rock your boat, and what others you may have. Suggest you call Paul (available through the Port's number 360 757 7712) and use my name. Once you are done with that, talk to Carl (same number but works part time).
If you think it worth while, I can also ask the La Conner mayor (Ramon Hayes) to think up some things they or the Chamber of Commerce might do for the group while in town. Let me know how far you want to run with this sort of thing.
Many of the things to do in La Conner are fairly well known, but one thing my wife and I have found interesting to do which is not well known is visit the little museum a couple of blocks uphill from downtown, that shows how the Skagit River Valley was drained and diked by the early Dutch settlers.
Basically, in the mid 1800s no one wanted the land because it was so wet, but when the Dutch arrived they immediately recognised it's potential, and in the late 1800s dug nearly all of the drainage system that still exist today, by hand. They then planted what they knew...tulips.
Kevin E. Ware
Commissioner, District 1
Port of Skagit/La Conner Marina
Owner
C-Dory Tom Cat 25.5
"El Gato Tomas"
I spoke to the La Conner Marina manager (Paul) today, and to the Port of Skagit's public relations guy (Carl) next week, about the proposed C-Dory trip in July.
Suggested to Paul that he and Carl might want to think up some nice things to do for the group while in La Conner. Over the phone Paul's first idea was "how about we put on a BBQ", second idea was "maybe we can offer free discounts at local restaurants, or a free day of moorage upon a return trip"...anyway, I got him thinking.
Not sure which of these ideas rock your boat, and what others you may have. Suggest you call Paul (available through the Port's number 360 757 7712) and use my name. Once you are done with that, talk to Carl (same number but works part time).
If you think it worth while, I can also ask the La Conner mayor (Ramon Hayes) to think up some things they or the Chamber of Commerce might do for the group while in town. Let me know how far you want to run with this sort of thing.
Many of the things to do in La Conner are fairly well known, but one thing my wife and I have found interesting to do which is not well known is visit the little museum a couple of blocks uphill from downtown, that shows how the Skagit River Valley was drained and diked by the early Dutch settlers.
Basically, in the mid 1800s no one wanted the land because it was so wet, but when the Dutch arrived they immediately recognised it's potential, and in the late 1800s dug nearly all of the drainage system that still exist today, by hand. They then planted what they knew...tulips.
Kevin E. Ware
Commissioner, District 1
Port of Skagit/La Conner Marina
Owner
C-Dory Tom Cat 25.5
"El Gato Tomas"
Kevin, thanks for the good info. My wife paddles in the Tribal Canoe Journey every year. There's not going to be any conflict with the selected dates is there? I know the landing was in Swinomish (La Conner) last year so I don't expect a lot of boats to be staying in town but there may be some. Let us know what you hear.
Peter,
We were on the dock at La Conner for the last night of the celebrations in 2011. Some other boaters walked over and had a real good free feast but we just sat and listened to the singing. (not that there was much choice about that :lol: )
Isn't it someplace else this year ?
La Conner is pretty dog friendly. The brewery does good food and your dog can go with you on the small terrace.
Merv
We were on the dock at La Conner for the last night of the celebrations in 2011. Some other boaters walked over and had a real good free feast but we just sat and listened to the singing. (not that there was much choice about that :lol: )
Isn't it someplace else this year ?
La Conner is pretty dog friendly. The brewery does good food and your dog can go with you on the small terrace.
Merv
Tom and Susan,
I'm with Harvey on the Deception Pass tour. We haven't had the boat through there yet and it sounds like fun as well as a good photo opp.
Marti would feel much better about it if we are following along with others that have done it before and who know what they are doing. In fact, my guess is she will "need" to ride with Barry and Patti in order to get a good picture of our boat.
Jim
I'm with Harvey on the Deception Pass tour. We haven't had the boat through there yet and it sounds like fun as well as a good photo opp.
Marti would feel much better about it if we are following along with others that have done it before and who know what they are doing. In fact, my guess is she will "need" to ride with Barry and Patti in order to get a good picture of our boat.
Jim
20dauntless
New member
If there's a group trip through Deception Pass (Canoe Pass would be fun to do at the same time) perhaps someone could stand on the bridge and get some pictures of the boats like this...
starcrafttom
Active member
Kevin, Man its great to be the boss. I talked with Paul in person several months ago when I reserved the dock. I asked about a discount on the moorage., fuel, a place to have a bbq ( which he suggested the open picnic area on a first come basic) and was told that no discounts could be given. I will give him a call back again now that you have motivated him.
As for the tour and the crabbing. I will lead a crabbing trip up the channel north to a nice area and we can all raft up there for a few hours. I could even give a impromptu class on how to to those that have not done it before.
If I am busy with that i would need someone else to lead a trip thru the deception pass area. Looking for a sucke....volunteer....
As for the tour and the crabbing. I will lead a crabbing trip up the channel north to a nice area and we can all raft up there for a few hours. I could even give a impromptu class on how to to those that have not done it before.
If I am busy with that i would need someone else to lead a trip thru the deception pass area. Looking for a sucke....volunteer....
kevin ware
New member
Tom:
The fuel in La Conner is supplied by an independent vendor, not the Port of Skagit itself. Not sure it will always remain that way, but that is the way it is right now. The contract pre-dated my election as District 1 Commissioner, and does not expire for another couple of years. If the Port controlled it, then some accommodation could almost certainly be made.
The La Conner Yacht Club is also independent from the Port of Skagit (although is a tenant). Was sorry to hear about their pricing, which at $650 seemed very quite high.
The Commissions policy for the Port of Skagit staff (both for the airport and marina), is that they are to be to be as friendly and helpful as if the Port was a private for profit business and they were dealing with private sector customers.
In order to improve execution of that policy, a couple of years ago we changed executives. The executive is Patsy Martin (360 757 7712), who spends at least one day a week at the marina, and likes to be made aware of how customers are treated, good or bad.
Ramon Hayes, the mayor of La Conner is also very customer and public relations sensitive...a very good guy, with whom the Port Commission has a good working relationship. You might give him a call, and use my name if that is helpful.
The Port also has a public relations person (Carl), who's specific job is to interface with both the media, and groups such as the C-Dory owners. You might also give him a call (360 757 0012).
Feedback I have been getting from the various boating groups who have held get togethers at La Conner has been very positive, since we initiated these changes.
The Swinomish Channel does indeed silt in at the rate of 1 foot per year. We just received at $2,000,000 grant to keep it dredged and open...unusual for this to happen in this economy, and primarily the result of good staff work.
Let me know how it goes, and/or if you need any further input from me.
Thanks,
Kevin Ware
The fuel in La Conner is supplied by an independent vendor, not the Port of Skagit itself. Not sure it will always remain that way, but that is the way it is right now. The contract pre-dated my election as District 1 Commissioner, and does not expire for another couple of years. If the Port controlled it, then some accommodation could almost certainly be made.
The La Conner Yacht Club is also independent from the Port of Skagit (although is a tenant). Was sorry to hear about their pricing, which at $650 seemed very quite high.
The Commissions policy for the Port of Skagit staff (both for the airport and marina), is that they are to be to be as friendly and helpful as if the Port was a private for profit business and they were dealing with private sector customers.
In order to improve execution of that policy, a couple of years ago we changed executives. The executive is Patsy Martin (360 757 7712), who spends at least one day a week at the marina, and likes to be made aware of how customers are treated, good or bad.
Ramon Hayes, the mayor of La Conner is also very customer and public relations sensitive...a very good guy, with whom the Port Commission has a good working relationship. You might give him a call, and use my name if that is helpful.
The Port also has a public relations person (Carl), who's specific job is to interface with both the media, and groups such as the C-Dory owners. You might also give him a call (360 757 0012).
Feedback I have been getting from the various boating groups who have held get togethers at La Conner has been very positive, since we initiated these changes.
The Swinomish Channel does indeed silt in at the rate of 1 foot per year. We just received at $2,000,000 grant to keep it dredged and open...unusual for this to happen in this economy, and primarily the result of good staff work.
Let me know how it goes, and/or if you need any further input from me.
Thanks,
Kevin Ware
starcrafttom
Active member
Kevin,
Thank you for the help and the numbers to the key people. We will be call all of them in the near future. I hope to make this a great event.
Thank you for the help and the numbers to the key people. We will be call all of them in the near future. I hope to make this a great event.
We launch at Cornet Bay and go through Deception and Canoe passes all the time. We are willing to be Tom's guides/suckers but there is a very good professional tour boat that leaves from Cornet Bay for about a one hour tour with an historian/naturalist on-board. That might be fun. Any interest?
On the 21st you have a 7.2K ebb at 0740 Hrs.
Low slack at about 1043 Hrs which is a +1 tide so care needed at exit from Swinomish at either end.
6.6K flood at 1405 Hrs which is easy and good for your fuel economy on the way home.
Why not make a round trip of Fidalgo. Up the Swinomish in the morning. Lunch in Anacortes or on the dock at Cornet Bay and pay a visit to Les and the Marinaut.
If you really want fun you could go the other way around and experience the "Royal Flush" of the 7.2 ebb :shock:
M
Low slack at about 1043 Hrs which is a +1 tide so care needed at exit from Swinomish at either end.
6.6K flood at 1405 Hrs which is easy and good for your fuel economy on the way home.
Why not make a round trip of Fidalgo. Up the Swinomish in the morning. Lunch in Anacortes or on the dock at Cornet Bay and pay a visit to Les and the Marinaut.
If you really want fun you could go the other way around and experience the "Royal Flush" of the 7.2 ebb :shock:
M
starcrafttom
Active member
About the low tides and lack of water. We had the 27 at La Conner all last summer. On anything better then a minus 2 tide we had no problems getting in and out of either end of the channel.
We did however see several sail and power boats either stuck or kicking up mud. But all of them where larger boats with a far deeper draft or where on the edge of the channel. In the south entrance all that is needed it to stay a lined with the far channel markers. These are the markers at the far end of the channel. There are two each with a black or red line ( i forget which). You just keep the lines lined up as you travel the distance from the entrance to the far turn. If you do that you will have 4 ft plus under you at a minus 2 tide. No problem.
We did however see several sail and power boats either stuck or kicking up mud. But all of them where larger boats with a far deeper draft or where on the edge of the channel. In the south entrance all that is needed it to stay a lined with the far channel markers. These are the markers at the far end of the channel. There are two each with a black or red line ( i forget which). You just keep the lines lined up as you travel the distance from the entrance to the far turn. If you do that you will have 4 ft plus under you at a minus 2 tide. No problem.
kevin ware
New member
Tom:
A year or so ago, when the Army Corp of Engineers made it clear that they no longer had the money to take care of dredging the Swin. Channel, The Port of Skagit hired a hydraulic engineering firm to study the siltation problem. The report is in the public domain, and would be available to anyone requesting it from the Port.
In summary however, it said this:
The channel has always had a problem with siltation, primarily from sand coming down the Skagit River from the Mt. Baker watershed and has required dredging every 2 - 3 years since it was constructed nearly 100 years ago. For most of that time it has required dredging every 2 - 3 years in order to accommodate a 12 foot draft at mean low tide.
The overall rate siltation averages about 1 foot per year, but there are 3 areas where due to their peculiar hydraulics the rate may be much greater. On the south end, they are near the "Eye of the Needle" particularly on the east side. Northbound from there, on the west side near the entrance to Shelter Bay, and finally just outside of the RR bridge on the far north end. Further, because the material is sand in a moving body of water, the shallow areas move around a bit from time to time, making accurate prediction of their location difficult, i.e. on one trip there is no problem, on the next there is.
The Port of Anacortes dredged the far north end last year up by the RR bridge in order to use the material as fill, and since then it has seemingly been OK for most vessels. This is not necessarily so for the two areas further to the south.
Knowing all this, when I go through the channel I avoid the shoreline near Shelter Bay, and really slow down once I get near the Eye of the Needle. From there I really try to stick to mid channel all the way to the far markers at the exit of the channel on the far west side. If you run that portion at very low tide sometime, it will surprise you how narrow it really is.
The tug operators who use the channel all the time get to be like Mark Twain style river boat pilots in their knowledge of where the shallow water is, and therefore generally do not have much of a problem.
Luckily, should a mishap occur, the material is pretty clean sand rather than rock, so vessels that have enough draft to likely go aground generally have a pretty gentle experience. Usually these are vessels of more than 4 - 5 foot of draft, who for whatever reason were navigating in locations everyone else knew enough to avoid.
With a recent (and unexpected) federal waterways grant of about $2,000,000, plus some local tax contributions, the needed dredging should ultimately be taken care of, at least for the next several cycles. However, the dredging process itself requires an interminable series of permit approvals from all kinds of government agencies, and so is not likely to begin until later in the year.
At one time I was running a Nordhavn 46 through the channel and then out through Deception Pass year round on a fairly regular basis. This caused me a lot more consternation than now when running lighter outboard powered boats. With the Tom Cat (or our previous Sea Sport) given a little caution I really do not consider the channel or for that matter Deception Pass much of a problem in most conditions.
Kevin E. Ware
A year or so ago, when the Army Corp of Engineers made it clear that they no longer had the money to take care of dredging the Swin. Channel, The Port of Skagit hired a hydraulic engineering firm to study the siltation problem. The report is in the public domain, and would be available to anyone requesting it from the Port.
In summary however, it said this:
The channel has always had a problem with siltation, primarily from sand coming down the Skagit River from the Mt. Baker watershed and has required dredging every 2 - 3 years since it was constructed nearly 100 years ago. For most of that time it has required dredging every 2 - 3 years in order to accommodate a 12 foot draft at mean low tide.
The overall rate siltation averages about 1 foot per year, but there are 3 areas where due to their peculiar hydraulics the rate may be much greater. On the south end, they are near the "Eye of the Needle" particularly on the east side. Northbound from there, on the west side near the entrance to Shelter Bay, and finally just outside of the RR bridge on the far north end. Further, because the material is sand in a moving body of water, the shallow areas move around a bit from time to time, making accurate prediction of their location difficult, i.e. on one trip there is no problem, on the next there is.
The Port of Anacortes dredged the far north end last year up by the RR bridge in order to use the material as fill, and since then it has seemingly been OK for most vessels. This is not necessarily so for the two areas further to the south.
Knowing all this, when I go through the channel I avoid the shoreline near Shelter Bay, and really slow down once I get near the Eye of the Needle. From there I really try to stick to mid channel all the way to the far markers at the exit of the channel on the far west side. If you run that portion at very low tide sometime, it will surprise you how narrow it really is.
The tug operators who use the channel all the time get to be like Mark Twain style river boat pilots in their knowledge of where the shallow water is, and therefore generally do not have much of a problem.
Luckily, should a mishap occur, the material is pretty clean sand rather than rock, so vessels that have enough draft to likely go aground generally have a pretty gentle experience. Usually these are vessels of more than 4 - 5 foot of draft, who for whatever reason were navigating in locations everyone else knew enough to avoid.
With a recent (and unexpected) federal waterways grant of about $2,000,000, plus some local tax contributions, the needed dredging should ultimately be taken care of, at least for the next several cycles. However, the dredging process itself requires an interminable series of permit approvals from all kinds of government agencies, and so is not likely to begin until later in the year.
At one time I was running a Nordhavn 46 through the channel and then out through Deception Pass year round on a fairly regular basis. This caused me a lot more consternation than now when running lighter outboard powered boats. With the Tom Cat (or our previous Sea Sport) given a little caution I really do not consider the channel or for that matter Deception Pass much of a problem in most conditions.
Kevin E. Ware
kevin ware
New member
Thomas Elliott:
I need your phone number so the Port staff can call you.
Kevin Ware
kevinkari@aol.com
I need your phone number so the Port staff can call you.
Kevin Ware
kevinkari@aol.com
Just an FYI for planning purposes. There will be a minus 1'3" tide in the Swinomish Channel at 1PM on Friday the 20th and a minus 0'1" tide at 2:16PM on Sunday the 22nd. There will be 3' at 10:00 AM on Friday the 20th. Tides changes are steep on both days. which, I think, means stronger than normal currents in the channel.