San Juan Islands June 2014

colbysmith":3bnhz64j said:
Dustin, just looked at Hemingways album (But the boat name shows C-Minor...I'm confused. :-). Not sure my little raft is too much different from yours. Maybe a bit smaller in length. ;-) I keep it on the boat for an emergency...or in the rare case to just play with it.... maybe I'll have to blow it up and put it on the roof 0nce I get there, after seeing how it will work with both my wife and I. I haven't used it in a while, and we are both a little heavier than we used to be. ;-) I'm assuming it won't affect the radar, being all vinyl or whatever cheap rafts are made out of. Colby
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I felt a little uneasy moving from boat to raft for the first time but it sure opened up some doors for us. there are a lot of islands in the south sound that we plan to visit and i know they dont have docks. I have not yet been brave enough to beach my boat, although I know some do. I didn't even do that with an aluminum hull.
 
Hm, well that brings up another item then. Beaching boats in the San Juan Islands. I've beached my boat in many places here in the midwest. But we don't have tides. (Only currents on the Mississippi River. :-) And usually only on sandy shorelines, or those with very small pebbles. To be honest, I can't remember what kind of shoreline the San Juans have. Is beaching possible? If I did use my little "dingy", it would be with a small paddle. Not something I would want to do with much of a current. What about anchoring in very shallow water and wading in? I suspect tides don't allow that. Colby
 
tides here 6-10'+ so wading ashore or beaching could leave you waiting until the next tide. One can beach in several spots but substantial care is needed. Often there are rocks just under the surface so go slow! Most dinghies here have two oars or a small motor, there is enough current in many places to overpower just a single paddle. Just fyi.
 
starcrafttom":3lr2a7f5 said:
Day 4 - Friday Harbor to Reid Island

Do you mean Reid Harbor in Stuart island? Or have you been keeping a island all to your self?

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Thanks for keeping me honest, Tom. Yes, I meant Reid Harbor on Stuart Island (had mentioned it in an earlier post). Sorry for any confusion.

I see people riding bikes in Friday Harbor, but it is a steep uphill any direction from the marina. If you are into "lazy hikes", you better be in good shape or have really low gears for bicycling around Friday Harbor.

Beaching really isn't a safe option (IMHO) in most places in the San Juans. Fortunately, there are docks available at many of the places already mentioned (space available). There are times we like to get away and just anchor out, without the desire for going ashore. Since this is a relatively short visit, part of the charm of the San Juans, besides the gorgeous scenery, is the unique character of the different islands. Dock space at the marine parks on Stuart Island and Jones Island is very limited... a nice surprise when it is available, but not something you can count on during the summer. Timing.

Lots of options. We'll be looking forward to hearing about your choices. Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
This is what I'm tentatively looking at. A few nights at Lake Coeur d'Alene on the way out, then launching at Bellingham. Head out to Friday Harbor staying 6 nights and doing day trips out of there to the places you have all suggested. Would we be wise to head out skirting around south side of Blakely Island, then coming home through Obstruction Pass? I still haven't looked at the charts yet, but saw someone mentioned this.

Bikes are West Marine's port runner fold ups. Not geared very low, and I vaguely remember Friday Harbor as hilly now that you mention it. Are there any other places these bikes would come in handy, or should I just leave them back at the car saving space on the boat?

Sounds like my little dinghy won't be of much use either, so we'll just plan on docks to hike. Does it help to get to those islands early? (Or are folks allowed to tie up over night on them?)

Colby
 
Several of the islands, Jones, Sucia, Matia, James, stewart, etc. are WA state marine parks and have docks available up to 3 days for a small fee. Most docks are 4-6 boat docks with a small dinghy dock too. Using Friday Harbor as a base puts you in a good location. Getting there early (but not too early, leave time for folks to leave,) is a good idea. From Bellingham you may want to try Sucia or Matia on the way. It would be a little out of your way to Friday Harbor but if there is room to dock both are worth time.
 
While a few of you here have recommended the marina at Bellingham, I was just wondering how many have used the Port of Ancortes Cap Sante Marina? Looking at it's website, it looks like it could provide an acceptable place to launch also with trailer storage. I don't mind paying the $44+tax sling fee to keep my fresh water trailer....fresh.... :-) This location would be somewhat closer to my brothers home and to the SEA airport. Colby
 
Cool video. So how do they get the straps under and back out while the boat is on the trailer? Is their parking pretty safe. Think I'll check into costs. If it's reasonable, this location really would work a little better for me... I think.... I've got to also get some different charts. The one I have is a chart book, West Marine's San Juan Islands. It's a little too detailed and I'd like to have one large chart to overall plan a route, before using my chart book for more detail. Any recommendations before I buy anything? Colby
 
Colby,

If you have Google Earth, start there. You can use the ruler function and draw out a route pretty quick. That will give you idea as to scale. Then go for the charts to make sure you dont run aground. I wouldn't over think this too much. I also believe that Skyline Marina (near the ferry and farther west) has a sling. They have lifties there who do all the strapping. I believe they use a block of wood and a floor jack on the stern to get the strap under. I believe the bow they just work it on.
 
chromer":1yzwxy48 said:
They have lifties there who do all the strapping. I believe they use a block of wood and a floor jack on the stern to get the strap under. I believe the bow they just work it on.
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how long does that process take? seems like there would be a long line waiting to get boats in the water, but maybe the price helps deter a crowd a little bit. at the places where I launch there is always a line of boats and there are 9 or 12 launches being used at once. :disgust

also, this won't help in terms of depth, rocks, or anything like that, but its a free mapping tool I like to use to gauge trip distances:

http://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm
 
Never thought of Google Earth. THanks! I'll look at that this afternoon. I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this. I've been up to Door County and Green Bay many times, and I'm just now getting comfortable pretty much running around in my boat without paying too much attention to the charts or preplanning before I go. ;-) (Of course I'm more familiar with the area and pretty much go over the same routes.... :-)
 
colbysmith":36u2soeu said:
Never thought of Google Earth. THanks! I'll look at that this afternoon. I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this. I've been up to Door County and Green Bay many times, and I'm just now getting comfortable pretty much running around in my boat without paying too much attention to the charts or preplanning before I go. ;-) (Of course I'm more familiar with the area and pretty much go over the same routes.... :-)
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my first trip into the San Juans I was planning long in advance too. At some point I accept that I just have to 'get my feet wet' and hope for the best, but to be honest my San Juan trip was the best boating trip I've ever had and I think a lot of it was because we were super prepared, knew the routes, marinas, etc that we wanted to hit, and then just took each day as it came without forcing a schedule. the islands are amazing and surreal to boat through. I've been through a number of times now between Ferries and my own boat, and they never cease to amaze me.
 
I / WE had never been into the San Juans and I picked up a map tech chart , not to high in cost for what ya get. has a large over view on one side and details on the other.
 
colbysmith":1logf093 said:
While a few of you here have recommended the marina at Bellingham, I was just wondering how many have used the Port of Ancortes Cap Sante Marina? Looking at it's website, it looks like it could provide an acceptable place to launch also with trailer storage. I don't mind paying the $44+tax sling fee to keep my fresh water trailer....fresh.... :-) This location would be somewhat closer to my brothers home and to the SEA airport. Colby
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Colby, we like Cap Sante marina and love the town of Anacortes. Good restaurants, good shopping if you're so inclined. We used the sling launch for a long weekend about 5 years ago. We parked the truck and trailer on the north side of the marina where they instructed us to, which was a little bit a ways. But if you're concerned about whether it's safe to store your trailer there, unbeknownst to me, I kept the driver window open for the whole weekend and the truck remained undisturbed. I'm sure I was lucky but at least I know the truck and trailer were secure.

In any case, great facilities, great town, you can't go wrong keeping your boat in Anacortes.

Peter
C-Dancer
 
Right now, unless someone can provide a better reason not to, I'm leaning heavily towards Anacortes. I did get a reply that trailer parking is $5/day or $30/week. For my boat, $47 sling launch total. I have been on the Ferry out of Anacortes twice, altho it was some time ago, but think I would be most familiar with this area. This is probably a little more expensive than Bellingham, but not so much relatively speaking for such an excursion for me.
 
I launched at Anacortes the few times I've been over to the San Juans. The facilities are good and I felt the truck and trailer parking was safe.
 
Does Anacortes have a wash down for motors? the trailer obviously wont need it. that would be my only thought, driving home for a few days with salty motors.

I plan to use Anacortes on my next SJ excursion, but its only about 2-3hrs from home for me so I can scrub and flush motors same day.
 
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