Everett to San Juan Route

C

caution

New member
Hi all,

We recently purchased a new 25' Cruiser and want to take a trip to the San Juans, starting in Everett. What do you think is the best (safest) route to get north of Whidbey -- Deception Pass, the Swinomish Channel, or...? I've never been through Deception Pass -- is it as bad as the stories you hear, and / or is it safe for the 25-footer? Same for Swinomish Channel -- is it too shallow to be safe? (We have GPS and depth sounder.) Or should we just go on the outside of Whidbey and cross the Strait?

Side note, does anyone know about moorage at the marina in Cornet Bay? The books say it's for "small boats" only. Can it accommodate our C-Dory?

Thanks, any advice is welcome...

Caution Horse
 
Hi there, Caution Horse. Glad you found us. Just let us know if you want a photo album to go with your new boat, and one of us will whip one up for you.

Cornet Bay is the first choice for the TyBoo crew when we go up thataway. It will be our starting and ending point for the Blakely weekend. The marina can handle just about any size pleasure boat, and they are very accomodating. Nice folks.

Deception Pass has been very good to us the three times we went through it. The locals can tell you more about it than me, but I think that as long as the tidal currents are not at their peak, it is no problem at all. It's a lot wider than it looks when approaching it.

We haven't been too far up the Swinomish Channel, but will probably go the whole route when we are up there for Blakely. We hope to go early and stay late. We had a great time last year cruising the islands, and since our plans to go to Desolation Sound this year won't work out, we want to do the SJ's again. If you are anywhere close in the middle of July, you will never regret going to the Blakely Island gathering.
 
Hi Caution Horse, Deception Pass should be no problem for you in your 25'er. If you plan for the slack it is very easy but should be no real issue. The Swinomish Channel is plenty deep enough for you even at low tide. One thing to be cautious of is to stay within the channel markers. It is especially critical that you do this when you enter and leave the channel.
If you are heading to the outter islands (ie, Lopez, San Juan) Deception Pass will put you a lot closer than the Swinomish Channel will.
Cornet Bay Marina or the State docks are fine for your size boat. I hope this helps.

Fred
 
Guys,

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Will be in touch soon and will probably take you up on that photo album. :-)

Thanks again, and any additional input is appreciated...

ch
 
Welcome Caution Horse. You will have to enlighten us on your boat name . There must be a story there. I live on Guemes Island which is a mile due north from Anacortes. I have traveled the Swimomish Channel a lot. The only consideration I have in choosing is the time factor. The channel is No Wake from about a half mile south of La Conner all the way north to the Twin Bridges. It takes about 30 -40 minutes to make the distance. And then it is about another 30 minutes to go west through the Guemes Channel into Rosario. Depth is no problem in Swinomish. It is well marked. Deception Pass will put you into Rosario Strait quickly. From the Guemes Channel it is 30 more minutes across to the west and through Thatcher Pass. I make my decsion based on the seas and weather. If it is not that calm out on Rosario I go the more protected way through the Swinomish Channel and if it is fairly calm go out into the more open water of Rosario.

Looking forward to meeting you at Blakely Is in July.
 
Anna Leigh":2epkab36 said:
The channel is No Wake from about a half mile south of La Conner all the way north to the Twin Bridges.
Click to expand...
I hate to admit this, but that's not how I traveled it both times I came through (last two years returning from Lopez)...

Please enlighten me...how is one to know? Is this just local knowledge, common courtesy in a narrow area, or is it officially mentioned somewhere? I no-waked at Twin Bridges, but shortly after I opened up until I saw the no-wake signs near the homes - quite a ways, as I recall. There were several other areas between Twin Bridges and La Conner with no homes/docks/signs where I was cruising at 12-16 knots as well.

Don't want to be the bad guy again, please help out with the ignorance here...
 
Welcome Caution Horse,
Our first trip on our 25 was from Cornet Bay, and out Deception Pass to Lopez Island. Since then we have launched at Cornet and gone through Deception Pass several times. We had no problems, but I would try to avoid a big tide change during my first trip through just to lessen the anxiety.

We've stayed at Cornet Bay twice. We like over nighting there. Nice floats, but no power or water at the float. There is a manual waste pump near the park floats. Watch your charts or gps when in Cornet Bay as it does have some shallow spots. It's great to have another 25 in the area. I hope to see you out there.
Lyle
 
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