AK inside passage cruise guide

C

C-Wolfe

Member
Looking for recommendation for a cruising guide to the inside passage.

The idea of doing this cruise got stuck in my head a few days ago and I would like to start planning this trip, knowing it may or may not happen (at least in near future), but the planning will be still enjoyable.
I'm not far from the northern end so I could start there, I'm revisiting the report from Jay on his 2022 adventure on Hunkydory, I could plan a variation of this trip. I'm also considering upgrading my boat, if i find the right boat in the PNW, I could use this as an opportunity to bring the boat here throughout the inside passage.
 
I would get the yearly Waggoner's guide, and the "Exploring Southeast Alaska, 4th Edition
by Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway Douglass"

I have not seen the BEST ANCHORAGES OF THE INSIDE PASSAGE – 2nd Edition. but it sounds good also.

Also"North West Boat Travels" Another one I have not seen.

Also you need the tables for currents and tides. They are essential for planing daily runs to do passes mostly at high slack water.

My first trip (1993), we did not have any single guide. There are a few minor errors in the Exploring SE, but mostly have been corrected. We did 4 trips in our Cal 46 from Sequim. Each of these started in late April and returned in Oct. One 6 week trip in the 25 from Sequin to the Broughtons, and one 5 week trip in the 25 from Prince Rupert to Alaska. (and a month cruising). The C Dory was fast (averaged about 15 knots) in comparison to the Cal 46 (6 knots)

This is a trip to be savored. There are a number of wonderful anchorages, and camps along the way. I like to have my last stop on Vancouver Island at Port Mc Neil. Then overnight at God' Pocket (a diving camp). Don't miss Ocean Falls, and Bella Bella. You can stay at night in Foggy Bay if it is late in the day, rather than arriving late to Ketchikan.
 
The best cruising guides for the area you are interested in my opinion are as Gary suggested, Wagooner & Bob’s suggestion of Exploring Southeast Alaska. Like Bob, I don’t know about Gary’s other suggestion, but worth checking on Gary’s advice.

I seldom need a guide book in these areas now, but I’ve about worn out my old ones from many hours of use, especially in planning. Now for the most part, I prefer getting new information from those, I can communicate directly to, like former C-Dory owner & still C-Brat, New Moon, Richard, who has cruised SE Alaska for 32 years. He has written a published book on small boat cruising & has personally shared much valuable information with me in the past & now cruises the Inland Passage north & south each year in a 37 foot Nordic Tug. The cruising guides are all written primarily for boats much larger than our C-Dory’s & in many instances not relevant to our small boats. As you are presently doing with my account of our last trip there in 2022, the Grand Adventure Forum right here, can be some of the most relevant & helpful information available. Every year in the planning for my next SE Alaska cruise, I go back to my first cruise here & re read them all to refresh my memory on past mistakes, places preferred & what worked out well along with the pure enjoyment of reliving adventures. Several others have made well documented accounts of their cruises with extremely valuable information for a first timer or even the experienced in the Inland Passage Area.

C-Wolfe, Haines or Skagway would both be good for you to start with Haines closer, but I don’t know about truck/trailer storage, where Skagway in all ways has worked out great for me. Also, you might consider keeping your cruising area north of Petersburg, Port Protection & Port Alexander the first time. That line in the south to Skagway contains the very best, the Inland Passage & SE Alaska has to offer in a more condensed area. I would also advise just like when viewing & pre planning, using a guide book along with a map, you read the available Grand Adventure Forum threads with Navionics on a IPad, Google Earth, the Inland Passage Maps by FineEdge or their combination. Hard to beat, best pre learning, the routes & best places, while reading, the accounts of being there & viewing where on a map or chart.

JoLee & I are considering another cruise out of Skagway this year, so we might see you somewhere up there.

Jay
 
I would get the yearly Waggoner's guide, and the "Exploring Southeast Alaska, 4th Edition
by Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway Douglass"
Click to expand...

Both of these guides are worth every bit of the cost! Also, if you will be traveling along Canada, the British Columbia counterpart of that Douglass Book is also worth having. Along with those three books, the only other thing I found very worth while was the chart, Inside Passage Route Planning Map (Northern Portion) by Fine Edge. I also purchased the Ports and Passes tides book, but didn't find it was worth the money spent. It made for an easy reference to look up tides and currents, however all that information was also on my Garmin Chart Plotter. However, it does include some good information for cruising in the area. Colby
 
Also, as Jay mentioned, I had the pleasure of getting a lot of good advice from Richard Cook before I made my Inside Passage Cruise. And a lot of information from Jay's writings. However, during my cruise, we chose to start and end our trip at Prince Rupert. While I believe the drive to Skagway would be another vacation within itself, it was Richard that suggested due to weather the Lynn Canal can get kind of rough, with few places to duck in to. (However, I know when Jay and a group went there a year ago, they didn't seem to have any problem during their Lynn Canal voyage.) When we used Prince Rupert, Coastal Propane was providing rig storage. However, they are a small business and I know of at least one Brat that was unable to store his rig there after making reservations. Since then, I know at least two places that have opened up and provide storage. (I forget at this time who they are, but I did mention it in one of the previous Inside Passage threads.) I don't know if I'll get back to the Inside Passage or not, but I think on my next trip I would plan to go out of Skagway, to see some different scenery.
Colby
 
Thanks for all those recommandations, I certainly have plenty of homework ahead of me but it's all very exciting. now if it can stop snowing so I don't have to spent so much time shoveling and have more time to read and plan :D
 
Hunkydory":30x75kh4 said:
The cruising guides are all written primarily for boats much larger than our C-Dory’s & in many instances not relevant to our small boats.
Click to expand...

I second the book recommendations and the comments. On our CD 16, we have spent many nights in anchorages not shown in the books. They just aren't written for boats with 10" draft that can sit on a mud bottom, and we've spent a few nights on mudflats. So far, I've been amazed at the accuracy of my Garmin charts in showing backwater areas that a guidebook would not bother mentioning.

When at Ocean Falls, be sure to take a walk through the abandoned town. It looks like a movie set for after the apocalypse. If you get as far as Ocean Falls, continue to Eucott Bay. You will pass Alexander Mackenzie rock, and will then have "I've been there" bragging rights. Eucott Bay has a natural hot spring tub that looks out on to a river delta with grazing grizzlies. We didn't see bear sign on the tub side, but watch any snacks brought ashore. Aggressive mice.

Some of the notes in the guide books are out of date. Some floating businesses have moved or gone out of business. Probably only really matters if you're looking for fuel and find the business gone. The Waggoner Guide is your best bet for keeping up to date on fuel/food. Gods Pocket is now completely ringed with shore leases, floating docks, and moorage balls. We probably would have had enough swing room, but after all our remote anchorages it felt like anchoring in a suburban cul-de-sac.

It turns out that our best anchorages/experiences/sightseeing were things we came across unexpectedly travelling to a "known destination" in a guide book.
 
Thanks for the kind words, Jay and Colby!

Hi Stephan,

If you like I could email you lists of anchorages we have considered or used.

One winter years ago, we sat down with the guides and paper charts, and started to build lists of anchorages we thought would work for us in our CD22. By now we've stayed in most, but not all, of these anchorages, and all the towns/marinas mentioned. Page numbers shown are from the Douglass Exploring series cruising guides.

When we started cruising the PNW we would study charts and cruising guides together, and write down anchorages we thought would be useful. With experience, we added brief comments on some, when we thought there was something worth remembering that was not necessarily in the cruising guide. Anchorages without comments may be ones we have not yet used, or ones where no additional comment seemed necessary.

They are listed roughly in the sequence you might come upon them as you travel (if you start from the south). When we're deciding where to go next, we often look at the lists rather than hauling out the cruising guide. Makes it easy to select the day's destination, and to have in mind a few places along the way where we might bail out, if weather begins to be a problem. We check the weather forecast at least twice/day, and choose our anchorage to be protected from the wind we expect.

Holler if you'd like me to send these lists, or if there's anything you might like to discuss. My email is richardcook257@gmail.com
 
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