We spent 11 days exploring the Canadian Gulf and San Juan Islands this summer. There were many firsts on this trip – first time visiting Canada by personal boat, fastest transit from home to the San Juans, and many first marinas and anchorages.
Eleven days, ten nights, 268 nautical miles, 119 gallons of diesel burned (for 2.25 nmpg). We also put 29.7 hours on the generator and it burns .32-.59 gph depending on load, so add ~13 gallons for the generator and ~5 for hydronic heat/hot water for ~137 gallons consumed. At our last fuel up, diesel was $4.15/gal so the trip cost ~$570 in fuel.
Despite hearing how endless the cruising was up in the Gulf, everyone seemed to make the same few recommendations – Ganges, Pender Island(s), Genoa Bay, etc. And, while these are great destinations, I had dreams of calm anchorages near ample hiking and panoramic views. Instead, what we found was a lot like the San Juans in peak season: bustling sea-side towns, busy marinas, and packed anchorages. Some of our planned locations turned out to be very tight harbors requiring stern-ties. While, we have a stern-tie setup, I chickened out. Backing our 45′ trawler between two little 20′ sail boats in rocky seas wasn’t a good first-time scenario.
Over time, we began to see more possibilities. Like any cruising grounds, local knowledge is key. Many of the exposed anchorages would have been perfectly calm in the beautiful weather we had. Prevost, in particular, looked beautiful. The next time we head up there, we’ll be better informed for some off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Day 1 – Liberty Bay to Hunter Bay (Lopez Island)
This is the first time we’ve taken Admiralty Inlet north. We had amazingly clear weather and following tides the whole way. It took 7 hours, 19 minutes from Liberty Bay to Hunter Bay off Lopez, thanks to calm weather and favorable currents. At ~60 nm that’s about 8.2 kts, a full 1.5 kts faster than our average speed. Hunter Bay is a great first- or last-stop after/before transiting the strait of Juan De Fuca. There’s not much to do there (or so we thought, proximity to James Island and Kimball Preserve was something we discovered later), but the holding is very good and there’s plenty of swing room for everyone.
Day 2 – Hunter Bay to Poet’s Cove (South Pender Island)
This was our first time crossing the border and, despite ample preparations, we still screwed it up. First, we tried calling when we actually crossed the border, but they said that calling ahead was only available if we had Nexus (despite a message that said, “If you are calling to pre-clear, please press 1. Nexus holders press 2….”). Then, when we got to the customs dock at Poet’s Cove, we called again and they cleared us – actually gave us a clearance number. But, when we tried to walk up the dock, the agent there made us go grab all of our documentation and bring it to him. Everyone was nice about it and it was relatively low-stress, but it’s weird how chaotic everything always feels. The right way is to arrive at the dock, bring your documentation to the agent there, and use the phone on the dock to call for a clearance number. Note that we arrived around noon and there was only one boat there, but by 1:00 pm there was a queue of 7-8 boats waiting for a spot on the customs dock. Earlier seems to be better.
Also, despite our carefully-documented lack of groceries, they only asked about Marijuana and CBD products. Ultimately, clearing in was easy.
Poet’s Cove is small and kind of boring. The marina didn’t have any slips, so we paid $10 CN to tie up to the linear float with no power. There are two small pools (great for the kids), but the hot tub was out of order. The cafe closed early so we had dinner at the restaurant, who fit us right in. For some reason, the kids loved it (the food was fine – bar-quality). We got breakfast at the cafe the next morning and there was one worker managing a massive queue – took a while to get our food. All-in-all not a great destination, except as a stop-over. Amusingly, in what would become a pattern, we ran into two boats from our tiny home marina there (Final Approach and Skywater).
Bedwell Harbor is the huge harbor that is home to Poet’s Cove. There are several parks and preserves around the harbor and it looks like there’s plenty of room to anchor (though it’s exposed to the SE and there’s a lot of boat traffic). There’s a fun dinghy ride through the channel that connects Bedwell to Port Browning on North Pender. Next time, we’ll likely anchor in Bedwell and spend more time exploring the trails.
Day 3 – Poet’s Cove to Salt Spring Marina (Ganges, Salt Spring Island)
Backed into a very tight slip with the finger pier at a sharp angle. To get our bow-and-anchor out of the channel, we had to back in far enough that the line that connected the finger pier to the main dock rubbed across the back corner of the boat. I rigged some chafe protection, which was pretty ground up after one day. The main retail area in Ganges is a short walk along a very busy road. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, and a well-stocked grocery store. While this is a good stop-over, there wasn’t enough there to really be a destination. We ate at Moby that evening. The food was fine – definitely a bar vibe. Our favorite part was seeing all of the locals come in – many of them dressed up as if for fine dining. Treehouse, the next day for breakfast, was outstanding.
The next time we come to Ganges, we’d likely anchor in the harbor and take our dinghy to the rotary dock, which is right next to the grocery store. That said, there seem to be a fair number of derelict boats in the harbor, so I’m not sure how safe it would be.
Day 4 & 5 – Salt Spring to Portland Island Montague Harbor (Galliano Island)
I was really excited to try a stern-tie in a wild harbor. Unfortunately, both the north and south sides of Portland Island were fairly crowded. I think there were some free spots, but with the waves and our inexperience, I really couldn’t figure out how we’d fit. Stern ties are really tight (which, I guess, is the point). The other thing we didn’t realize is how close Portland is to Sydney – this is their Blake Island and there were a ton of small boats there. After fully circumnavigating and finding nowhere to drop the hook, we went with option B.
Montague Harbor on Galliano Island is quite large. While it was packed with boats, we were able to find a spot fairly easily. (Though, that evening, someone dropped the hook well within our swing radius and said “are you ok with this?” Which was weird – like, if you’re asking, you can see that there’s a risk of us hitting each other, so why are you ok with this? I said “you seem to know what you’re doing” and shrugged. It was a very calm night so there was no further drama). It was so nice to actually be at anchor, we stayed here two days. The park is lovely and the next day we towed the paddle board behind the dinghy to the north cove for some beach swimming. This cove looks like a very beautiful anchorage in the right weather. But, some friends of ours confirmed that they once anchored there in beautiful calm and then got absolutely nailed by a northerly over night.
The marina has a little store but there’s not much to recommend it. We sat waiting in our dinghy for 15 minutes while a 20′ speed boat, tied up along one whole edge of the dinghy dock, finished their ice cream. They sat there watching us, slowly licking ice cream cones, and only left once we drove off. I’ll try not to bitch too much, but high boating season really seems to bring out the assholes and amateurs.
Galiano is known for its party bus, but apparently the guy who leads the sing-alongs isn’t there any more. This is the kind of thing that sounds fun to extroverts (like communal seating at fancy restaurants), but is slow torture to a boatfull of introverts. Instead, we enjoyed quiet sunsets.
Day 6 – Montague Harbor to Fisherman’s Wharf (Cowichan Bay).
We squeezed into a tight U-turn moorage here. The Harbormaster and locals were friendly, helpful, and laid back. Our friend owns a pottery studio here. After grabbing some excellent lunch and visiting the Maritime Center, we got takeout and had our friends over for dinner and happy hour. Very fun evening and nice to know some locals.
If we had not found room in any Cowichan marinas, we would have anchored in Genoa Bay – a short dingy ride away. Genoa is (in)famous for hosting the Travels with Geordie boat house.
Day 7 – Fisherman’s Wharf to Roche Harbor Resort (San Juan Island)
We decided to start working our way back south, so we could do it at a leisurely pace. Roche Harbor had space available, so we grabbed a reservation. We got all set up in the CPB app ahead of time, including paying for our sticker. When we crossed the border we just clicked a button in the app and 30 seconds later we were cleared. I hear it’s not always like that, but this time it was. We didn’t even have to talk to anyone. We sacrificed those avocados for nothing!
Roche is Roche. Friendly, professional, efficient, super super busy. our slip was tight, but there were two people on-hand to help us tie up. The kids swam, we re-provisioned, and then did some touristy shopping. We ran into two more people we know here: another friend from our home marina (Wastin’ Time) and another North Pacific who we’d met two years back on the same dock. We also have a friend who lives right on the harbor who invited us over. He picked us up in a golf cart and we enjoyed pizza and wine while the kids made little terrariums for the tiny crabs they caught (Mean Dad made them release them before we left). After so many years of boating we’ve really collected something of a community.
Day 8 – Roche Harbor to James Island
James Island is a gem. There’s no adjacent anchorage, so we got very lucky in finding a spot on the single park dock. The neighbors were friendly, so we chit-chatted a bit and then went for a hike. We made the mistake of climbing the north side of the island, which turned out to be very steep and rugged. It was fun, but a bit treacherous at times. We got a peek-a-boo view of a single, large transient Orca headed north near the island. Later, I took a solo hike around the south end of the island, which was much more relaxing. It’s a beautiful little place. If we hadn’t found space on the dock, it’s a reasonably short dinghy ride from Hunter Bay. This may be an annual stop.
The next morning, there were two boats waiting for a spot on the dock. The current pushing us into the dock was very strong, and even leaning on the thrusters it was hard to get the right angle to engage the main for better control. One of the waiting boats kept circling and evaluating. Since they didn’t have thrusters, I suspect once they were docked they would need to wait for slack to make any adjustments.
Day 9 – James Island to Everett Marina
Similar to other years, the Straight seemed fine, until it wasn’t. We’d planned on trying for a spot in Port Townsend, but no one had responded to our moorage query from the previous day and no one was answering the phone. If we’d had a spot we may have toughed out the rollers on the beam, but with our destination uncertain we opted for Deception Pass and Saratoga Passage. We’d timed our departure so slack through the pass was a valid plan B.
We always forget that there’s a state park with a large dock and spacious anchorage right at Deception Pass. We’ve anchored at nearby Hope Island to wait for slack, but have not spent much time at Deception itself. I think the crowds and its easy access by car has biased us. This is something we plan on remedying next year. The southbound passage was uneventful – we joke that Saratoga Passage is the most boring passage in Puget Sound. Port Townsend eventually called us back and said the online booking system was busted, but that they didn’t have any room. I really appreciated the call-back. Langley, on the other hand, continues its track record of either completely ignoring our queries or responding only with form emails. For slow boats coming north or south, there’s a big chunk of miles between Puget Sound and the San Juans. Sheltered anchorages are few and the marina options are Langley and Port Townsend to the South, and Oak Harbor to the North. So, when planning a trip, it’s really nice to know where you’ll be spending the night. Most Harbor Masters know this and work with cruisers. But, Langley consistently doesn’t even respond. While my family likes the town, I find it crowded and snobbish. So, when they blew us off yet again, I added them to the Dead to Turtle list.
Instead, we visited the Port of Everett for the first time and were pleasantly surprised. It’s definitely out of the way for a North/South transit, but it’s a very large facility with lots of amenities. We stayed at the newest dock – #5 – which is the only one they take reservations for. It’s tucked back deep in the marina, but it’s near a modern boardwalk and several restaurants. Guest Docks 1 & 3 are first-come-first-serve. They are near the outside of the marina, but they are older, somewhat run-down, and exposed to the west. The port is very large and Dock #1 has access to the facilities to the south, whereas #3 has access to the North. Dock #5 is in the center, has 50-amp power and slip-side pump-out (though it wasn’t working well when I used it – low pressure). Note that the dock is open to the public and the nearby boardwalk is busy.
We ate at the Jetty Bar and Grill at Hotel Indigo. The food was OK, but the service was excellent. The server seemed really proud of the upgrades the port was making. In contrast to anti-growth locations like Langley and Port Townsend, Everett is bullish on economic development and has really turned the port around.
Day 10 – Everett to Manzanita
We didn’t get nearly enough anchoring in. We decided to end our summer trip at our favorite anchorage. It was a beautiful, warm day and we had a lovely sunset. The next morning, home was only 20 minutes away, so we had a very relaxing final day.
High Season
Boating year-round, we really get a taste of the differences between high- and low- season. I thought about compiling a list of all of the obnoxious behaviors we saw, but thought better of it to try and keep it positive. It suffices to say that the nice weather of summer cruising is definitely off-set by the crowds. It’s some combination of the Hanlon’s Razor of inexperienced seasonal boaters, overcrowding bringing out the worst in people, and the 10% Jerk quotient being more obvious in larger populations.
All-in-all, the trip just got better every day. We met a lot of great people. Next year, we’d like to make it all the way up to Desolation. So, this was just another step into a larger sea.