Crossing Haro Strait to Victoria

L

Lil Rascal

New member
Hi,

I am planning my inagural cruise in my new 22 for this May in the San Juans. I was wondering is it a big deal crossing Haro Strait to Victoria. Thanks for any information you have.

Scott
 
Crossing any strait out here is a big deal, or not a big deal, depending on the weather, wind and seas. The bigger the strait's reach of open water, the more of a big deal it becomes. No question, the Strait of Juan de Fuca is the worst, and then probably the Strait of Georgia. Georgia and Haro deserve respect but most of the time they are OK, Juan de Fuca, you would have to ask C-Lou Jon but it inspires unmitigated fear in me...

Scotty":5wnqnzer said:
Hi,

I am planning my inagural cruise in my new 22 for this May in the San Juans. I was wondering is it a big deal crossing Haro Strait to Victoria. Thanks for any information you have.

Scott
Click to expand...
 
Scott,

I usually use the route from Roche Harbor across Haro Str past Sydney Spit and into Port Sydney Marina. They have a Customs dock and you can clear there, and its a nice small town with walking-distance shopping and restaurants. This gets you across Haro quickly and at right angles to the freighter lanes.

From Port Sydney you can go south and around the Victoria peninsula and head west to the Victoria Harbor entrance. This route keeps you out of Haro Str proper and mostly 'inside' small islands.

The return route is the same, crossing over to Roche Harbor and the US Customs dock.

Or, since you are already checked into Canada, go north into the Gulf Islands for some great cruising.
 
Larry,

Thanks for the information. That sounds like a good plan especially for a beginner. I am going to plan my trip based on your suggestion. Thanks again,

Scott
 
Old Duster does the same as Larry. Hop, skip, jump, and a nice little place too if you want to overnight. We normally avoid Victoria and go on up to Sooke to RON after cleaning at Oak Bay if we are on our usual route to Bamfield and Uclulet. Doesn't mean Haro can't get nasty because it can. Early is better, and excellent weather reporting seems to work for the short crossing.

Dusty
 
Scott,

When boating the NW waters let the weather and seaway make the decision to cross or not to cross the bigger waters. If you head out and conditions get bad, just go back and try later or the next day. Sometimes the weather guys can't keep up with the quickly changing conditions.

Also, in the areas with strong currents, having the wind and current going the same direction smooths out the chop. Sometimes waiting for the current(or the wind) to switch directions changes a rough run into a tolerable one.
 
Dusty - are you saying here that you take your boats (and now your new CD22) up the west coast of Vancouver Island to Uclulet? I would really like to hear about that, because that is something I would like to do, but have been warned off it by folks...


Sawdust":3nt7qdn2 said:
Old Duster does the same as Larry. Hop, skip, jump, and a nice little place too if you want to overnight. We normally avoid Victoria and go on up to Sooke to RON after cleaning at Oak Bay if we are on our usual route to Bamfield and Uclulet. Doesn't mean Haro can't get nasty because it can. Early is better, and excellent weather reporting seems to work for the short crossing.

Dusty
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Pat,

BTDT so many times I can't count. Even once with a 9.9 Honda from Bamfield to Cornet Bay when the outdrive went tits up. (27 hrs). Probably worth a morning cup of coffee and a chart if you get up EQ way. I'm at EQ every morning, so let Les know when you are coming and I'll bring a chart.

That area and your 25 dreamboat are made for each other. Lyle and Shelley know!!!!

Dusty
 
Sounds like the early warning signs of another CBGT. I fished Ucluelet for many years but I always towed over. A cruise would be a great adventure?
 
OK, I don't know where Bamfield is, will have to look that up...but Lyle and Shelley take the ferry to Vancouver Island, drive up and then cross over to the west coast, they don't go up the west side of Vancouver Island (at least that is what I understood). Lyle? But I will figure out a way to stop by and have that cup of coffee and talk over going up the outside, count on it!


Sawdust":1ve21o9k said:
Pat,

BTDT so many times I can't count. Even once with a 9.9 Honda from Bamfield to Cornet Bay when the outdrive went tits up. (27 hrs). Probably worth a morning cup of coffee and a chart if you get up EQ way. I'm at EQ every morning, so let Les know when you are coming and I'll bring a chart.

That area and your 25 dreamboat are made for each other. Lyle and Shelley know!!!!

Dusty
Click to expand...
 
Hi Pat,
There is a lot of area to explore on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. We trailered over there with Bess-C the last two years in September.

I think you asked the question about going through the strait and around from Anacortes after we got back from there last September. I said that Dusty had done it, but I didn't trust my open ocean experience enough to have done it. Dusty has probably spent more time on the ocean than I've lived (and I'm not that young), so I'll defer to his experience and judgement.

Don and Reanne Douglass have written a great guide to the West Coast called Vancouver Island's West Coast. In their usual thorough way, they have covered this trip. They say it is 92 nautical miles from Victoria to Bamfield. With great weather you could make it in one day. However, most people go to Sooke from Victoria. The last stopping point heading west is Port San Juan with the sportfishing village of Port Renfrew at it's head. I think it's about 35-40 miles from there to Bamfield in Barkley Sound. In that stretch you're committed as there isn't a really good place to get off the water if the weather turns ugly.

Once you get to Bamfield you are at the start of some great fishing and cruising in Barkley Sound. Bamfield itself is a beautiful little fishing village. In August it will be crowded with people sportfishing. By early September it is starting to feel deserted.

I certainly haven't ruled the trip out and it sounds exciting. I had a friend get caught out in bad weather on the outside there in a 26' boat. He said he'd trailer if he ever went back.

Another interesting way to go would be to go to Neah Bay and run across to Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island and then up the West Coast. It looks like it is about 12 miles north across the Strait.
Lyle
 
Pat,

The trip outside isn't that bad -- the Douglass book is a must! With the weather buoys, sat. info, etc., weather guessing is pretty good now. I've towed up several times, both to Bamfield and Uclulet -- real PITA, but lots of folks do it. I much prefer to go by water -- some great sightseeing, and a couple of places to stop. The run from Sooke to Bamfield (a.k.a. man, you've got it made), is not a long run, and you can duck into Port Refrew if necessary. I really like that little place, but I like to fish. Nice folks there too, and I try to stay in touch because it's a great place to base if you fish Swiftsure.

Only one trip of many have I had to sweat weather. And back then we didn't have all of the weather aids. I'd recommend a buddy boat (boats) for your first time. Our norm is to leave Sooke at first light -- and if it's foggy just stay!!! The Sooke channel is a tough one iin zero-zero. If you leave early you should be fishing in Bamfield before noon. Even without radar you can follow the 20 fathom curve on your depthsounder if visibility gets low.

I don't recommend the Neah Bay to Bamfield run until you have have some more at-sea experience. I commercially fished for a while out of Neah Bay and Lapush -- the Strait's entrance can be a real mixing bowl without much warning, and I'd save that one for later. We have here in our little friendly pub some C-Brats who routinely fish Swiftsure from Neah Bay -- they can add a whole lot.

Pat, so many great places to go, so little time! I've got some photos of one of our trips - I'll try to find 'em and post. No, no! Not tin-types or glass plates.

Lyle and Shelley have made recent trips, so they can really give you the best cruising areas. I cruise to fish, but still enjoy the evenings swinging around the hook in a cove where you are the only boat!!!

Dusty
 
Hey Scott,

I travel from Seattle to Stuart Island quite a bit and cross the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait quite often. We have experinced everything from flat calm to steep enough waves you can't even idle into them.

Pay attention to the weather forecasts and always leave a way out. Try to run on the lee side of the windward shore if possible and the waves will be much kinder. Victoria Harbor is a fun destination but pay attention to the channel markers going in as there is a seaplane take off and landing lane. There is a dock right in front of the Empress and if for some reason you don't want to stay on the boat some night the Hartleigh Inn is delightful (a short stroll from the dock).

Rhys
 
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. :beer 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
 
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...


Rooster 27509":1bmk6i5z said:
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. :beer 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
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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
 
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