Transferring from Blaine to Everett

Oct 20, 2021
63
C&C 34 Everett
Hello All-

I am on a waitlist to transfer from Blaine to Everett which will put me much closer to my home in Bothell. I am being told that I am around the 15th person on the waitlist and that they hope to get me a slip in the next 3-4 months. I know I am way outside the window for planning a specific trip, but I want to try to get as much info as I can so that when the time comes I am ready.

From my understanding there are three routes to consider:
  1. Down through Rosario Strait and then the west side of Whidbey. This seems pretty popular when discussing a trip from the Seattle area to the San Juans, but I have not seen much about then travelling up around Possession Point.
  2. Down through Rosario Strait and then through Deception Pass. Timing the tides would be important going through Deception Pass obviously.
  3. Down the west side of Lummi Island and through the 'ditch.' My C&C 34 drafts 6' so this seems feasible depending on tide.
The questions are as follows:
  1. Is this a reasonable trip to make in one day? I feel like 2 days is more realistic, but I don't know how to break it up? Should I try to make it to the Anacortes/Cypress Island area the first day? Or potentially push through Deception Pass?
  2. Is there something that would lead you to take one route over another? While this is a long trip for me, I am hoping to make it to the San Juans next summer so it is certainly not a one time trip.
  3. Given that this trip will most likely take place in January should I anticipate motoring the vast majority of the trip?
Any other tips, tricks, suggestions I should think about for this trip?

Thanks all!
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
When I brought our boat down to Everett from Semi-ah-moo may years ago, I came straight down past Lummi and then the ditch to Everett. Tide state will make a difference, but I allowed two days, especially with the shorter days. Also, follow an ebb to Anacortes, then a flood through the ditch to Laconner, which is a nice layover spot. The next day follow an ebb to Everett.
 
Oct 20, 2021
63
C&C 34 Everett
Thanks so much! Great info. LaConner seems like a nice spot to rest up for the night.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
You're welcome. When you get to the Laconner guest dock, pick a spot on the inside rather than the channel side. Calmer waters. Also, we draw five feet and to avoid any mishaps, I make it a point to transit the channel on at least a one plus tide state.

Wrote an article sometime ago regarding transiting the Swinomish Channel, AKA the ditch. That article is here:

 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Hello @colb218. Welcome to the SBO Forum.

I think of @Terry Cox as the "Master of the Swinomish Channel". Following his guidance let me make multiple trips through the "ditch" without incident. I think on my last trip I promised to bring the Bridge Master on the swing bridge a bag of donuts when we were chatting on VHF Channel 13. I wonder if he has a long term memory.

You have identified the primary routes. Terry raises a good point about winter cruising. Come January, the number of daylight hours will be limited. You want to adjust your travels to keep your departure/arrival in daylight with at least 30 minutes to spare. For me this means I can plan to cruise for about 6 hours. I try to plan my speed at 6 knots. This gives me a max distance of 36nm per day. If I wake and find that the fog has settled in (not uncommon in January) I wait with a hot cup of coffee in the cockpit till I can see where I am going.

Even though you may have radar and AIS and lots of navigational experience, cruising in the fog at 3-4 knts, Fog horn blaring every 2 minutes, looking into the grey abyss listening for the rumble of a tug or speeding fishing boat is stressful.

Distances...
  1. Blaine to Anacortes 34nm
    • Anacortes to Everett 42nm
  2. Blaine to Deception Pass via Rossario Strait 40nm
    • Great place to stop - Cornet Bay on the east side of Deception pass. Room to anchor or tie up to the float.
    • Deception Pass to Everett via Saratoga Passage 35nm
  3. Blaine to Watmough Bay 36nm
    • Watmough Bay to Port Townsend 20nm
    • Port Townsend to Everett 30nm
Which route I would take would be based on weather conditions and tides. Tides would be important at Deception Pass, the Swinomish Channel, and Admiralty Inlet / Pt Willson and Marrowstone Pt.

Even though you can cruise against a tide, you want to include the tidal effects on your time of arrival. Pushing the boat against a 2 knot tide makes your over the ground speed fall from 6 to 4 knots. Extending your time on the water and perhaps arriving at a critical tidal passage at the wrong time. You may only be able to make 20 nm a day instead of the hoped for 30.

All that as a preface, I am excited for you and this adventure. We will look forward to seeing you in Everett. It is an enjoyable marina to call home port.

Be glad to support you with answers to questions.

Resources to consider.
  • OpenCPN for free charting
  • DeepZoom.com for great graphical tide charts.
 
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Nov 21, 2007
631
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
If you find slack current at Deception Pass late in the day (and daylight), another option for staying overnight is Deception Pass State Park (inside of the pass, you can anchor or dock) or at Hope Island (State Park buoys). Then you can continue south the next day more or less at your leisure.

If you take Swinomish Channel, when Terry says stay in the channel until you're past the last markers and into Skagit Bay, he means it... the markers look farther out than they need to be, they're not.
 
Oct 20, 2021
63
C&C 34 Everett
Thank you so much all! I certainly lack navigational experience so trying to make this as simple as possible. My previous sailing was all done on a San Juan 24 and my longest journeys were a site seeing tour around Bainbridge and moving the boat from Everett back to Shilshole. Beyond that is a lot of day sails out of Shilshole and a couple trips through the locks.

Currently the boat has an older Garmin chart plotter, but I plan to get OpenCPN up and running on my phone as well. I do have radar and passive AIS but fog scares the bejeezus out of me so I won't be risking that. I have 2 separate depth finders so I guess if I go through the ditch I can watch nervously on two displays?

I am leaning towards the Swinomish Channel, but I'd really like to try to make it to LaConner if I head that way so that I can meet up with family/friends that evening. That looks to be about 40nm, but I doubt I will be doing a full 6knts through the channel and I don't want to get stuck in the dark there.

I will certainly be reaching out when the trip gets closer for more specific advice based on weather and tides. Hopefully we get the call sometime in mid to late January when the days start getting a bit longer. I am excited for the move! Great to see some of the experts I have seen on other threads that I have searched on this topic on this forum chiming in. I really appreciate it!
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I plan to get OpenCPN up and running on my phone as well.
OpenCPN is a busy app with a lot of data. I find it runs much better on a laptop (either windows or Mac). On your phone I would check out iNavX or AquaMap (which is lower cost). Both do a fair job of supporting you if you already know where you are going and just want the details as you go. I have been using iNavX for 4 years and just downloaded AquaMap to get the Canadian chart data for a couple of days. (They give you a 14day trial). AquaMap charts for Washington and Oregon are only about $5/yr and the APP in the "Master" level with NEMA and AIS data is $10/yr. It uses a Vector style chart that provides a lot of data. Be sure you zoom in to pick up all of the hazards along your intended route.

Here is a tidbit regarding the south end of the ditch. Captured on OpenCPN from my Mac laptop. Start on the Right side then progress to the left side of the map.
7A4EDA33-9190-4879-B792-5FBDFAD23366.png


You do not turn out of the channel till you reach the water identified on the chart in "white". The blue area is shallow water. Mud that will grab your keel and hold on tighter than a pit bull. Don't go there even if it looks inviting and wide open. Others have tried with out success.
 
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Nov 21, 2007
631
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
SoSound... Isn't that Cornet Bay?
Cornet Bay is where Deception Pass State Park is located. I was trying to emphasize remaining in the channel at the end of the ditch before attempting to head south again in Skagit Bay, as you described above.

IMG_0148.PNG
 
Nov 21, 2007
631
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
I there a charge for iNavX? I’ve had it for so long, it was GPSNavX for a Mac when I got it. I have it on my iPad, and use it for planning my travels using free NOAA raster charts that I downloaded. I had a subscription to Canadian charts, but I’ve let that expire until it’s time to plan for some longer cruises next year. Barbara and I might try to sneak across to Bedwell Harbor/Poet’s Cove for Thanksgiving, but we’ve been there before, have paper charts, and plenty of chart plotter coverage using our native B&G charts or Navionics. I just received my “Get back into the country” sticker from CBP this afternoon! :p
 
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Dec 1, 2020
129
CAL 27 Illahee / Brownsville WA
You may also want to check out C-Map which is iPhone or Android (I believe). It's got some nice features that I wish the iNavX product had, like $19 per year for AIS tracking. I use both on my iPhone for summer sailing mostly.

I did do the ditch when I brought my Cal27 to Kitsap last December from Anacortes. It was a hoot moving through the narrow channel and watching the depth finder. No real issues, but pay attention at the south end where we found we wanted to be on the South-Side of the channel center line and "A-Hole" power boaters that would not give way to our 5' draft. We ended up overnighting at the cute marina and Langley, before reaching Brownsville Marina on the end of the 2nd day.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@SoSound
I think the app is $50. It will function with free NOAA Raster maps as along as they are available. You can purchase other maps in the APP. AIS and weather are also additional annual subscription charges.

I understand that the iNavX upgrades are without charge. I loaded the program on my iPhone and my iPad - no additional charge.

While paper charts and my laptop remain my primary navigation tools, it is nice to use iNavX (with it's disclaimer that it is not a navigation tool) in the cockpit to check progress. By attaching it to the Vesper gateway, the data on the SeatalkNG network is available in the instruments. The app does a credible job at providing ETA's to "GoTo waypoints" and routes. The GUI is at times a little frustrating. You have to use your finger on a small screen as the boat rides up and down the chop.

For what it does it is a decent tool in the box.

Not sure what will happen when NOAA terminates raster charts.
 
Nov 21, 2007
631
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
The raster charts are downloaded onto the device running iNavX, they should continue to work until iNavX decides to stop reading them. I use my B&G Zeus2 for navigating underway, it's securely mounted at the helm and also does a great job of estimating ETAs both motoring and sailing. I can just touch the screen and tell it to "Go To" the cursor and it will keep all of the navigation information that I want scrolling on my display. I use iNavX for planning cruises and I have about a half-a-bazillion waypoints and routes created on it. When I want to plan a cruise to the San Juans or Canada, I just open up the app and choose specific route segments that I have previously created and saved.
 
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Oct 20, 2021
63
C&C 34 Everett
Well... we are still in Blaine. I have been checking in with Everett and we have not moved from spot number 6 since January. It sounds like this has to do with the fuel dock upgrade that is set to begin soon. From what I can tell A and B docks will be removed. There are a few 36' slips that will need to be relocated for that to happen. I think it is at least 7 and potentially a few more slips that are being relocated. Completely understandable, just wish it had been communicated to us earlier.

The good news is we have had the chance to sail out of Blaine to shake everything down. A few day sails, one overnight in Point Roberts and planning a trip to Friday Harbor over spring break. The drive is certainly longer than I'd like to get to Blaine, but might as well take advantage of the proximity to the San Juans!

Now I just hope we can get to Everett in time to do bottom paint. Doing the job in Blaine doesn't sound ideal with drive time, but I also don't want to bring it down to Everett just to do that job.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Give the Marina call. There have been a few openings on Q dock that support 36ft boats.
 
Oct 20, 2021
63
C&C 34 Everett
Interesting. I have been calling regularly. I typically call around the end of the month as I believe the marina requires current slip holders to give notice by the 15th(at least that is what I was told). I even asked if I could squeeze into a 32 as I am technically 33.5 but was told no. I have started escalating my frustration about not moving up from spot 6 in 3 months now and that is when I was told about the upcoming construction.