Planning for a San Juan Islands sailing trip

For those who wish to follow along, I’ll be planning an August 2011 sailing trip in the San Juan Islands. Sailors, feel free to make this interactive and ask questions in the comments section as the plan develops.

I’ll be using the approach I described in my February 2009 post about planning a Puget Sound sailing trip. I’ll also be using information we learned from our August 2007 San Juans Wonderland sailing trip.

Departure

At this point a good date in August to leave from Bellingham appears to be Saturday, August 13. A mid-morning departure will get us into Hale Passage in time to catch the turn of the tide and race to the north end of Lummi Island with a boost from the flood current. Bailey and Nyberg say the flood current flows northward, and that’s where we want to go.

However, Rosario Strait current is predicted to be up to two knots. In our 2007 trip, we underestimated the effect of this persistent current and ended up getting flushed northward, motoring back against the current to make our Sucia Island anchorage. We started from Lummi Island by aiming at Matia Island. I think this time I’ll aim south of Matia and more closely monitor how far the current sets us to the north as we cross the strait.

(I’m using tidal predictions generated by MobileGeographics.com. Tidal predictions are available http://www.mobilegeographics.com/pugetsoundtides.html. Current predictions are available at http://www.mobilegeographics.com/pugetsoundcurrents.html.)

I suggest trailering to Bellingham on Friday so you can get the boat in the water and enjoy a relaxing evening in a local bistro. In August 2007, Squalicum Harbor Marina emailed these directions to me:

If you were to take the exit 256, since I am assuming you are coming up from the South this will allow you to not have to deal with driving thru Bellingham.  You would take that exit turning left onto Meridian St., going past the Bellingham Golf and Country Club going to the second light in which you will take a right turn on to Squalicum parkway.  This road leads you right down to the water onto Roeder Ave., where you will pass the Bellingham Cold Storage complex, go over the railroad tracks and then you will see Boondocks and Lummi Fisheries Supply on the corner of Coho Way which is where you will need to turn Right to come to our office anyways.  We can then point you in the direction of the boat launch which is further down the road on Roeder Ave.

More coming soon!