Posts In The “North America Pacific Coast” Category
We spent July 4th this year at the Tacoma Freedom Fair. This was the first time we’d attended–it was a huge affair. The fair extended over two miles along the waterfront adjacent to Ruston Way with all kinds of booths and exhibits along the way. We landed the dinghy and climbed ashore at the Fantasy…
We’ve anchored overnight about a thousand times over the past decade. We love the privacy and independence of anchoring out, and enjoy the ever-changing view as the boat drifts around the anchor and the tide rises and falls. Key ingredients for a restful night are not worrying about our anchor dragging, or another boat swinging…
Eagle Island Marine State Park has long been one of our South Sound favorites. The park has everything we look for in a destination—solitude, wildlife, interesting dinghy territory, and dramatic views. The island—tucked between McNeil and Anderson islands in Balch Passage off the southeast tip of Key Peninsula—is accessible only by boat and is day-use…
Laredo Inlet extends deep into Princess Royal Island through two and three thousand-foot mountain ranges. The scenery, particularly on a clear day, is spectacular. After anchoring overnight in Weld Cove one summer, we cruised to the head the next morning to see what we could find. The morning started foggy, but lifted to a deep…
The Pacific Northwest Trawler Fest will be held at Anacortes this year on May 7th through 9th. We’ll be presenting on Saturday the 9th at 10:30am on Queen Charlotte Sound. This is our favorite cruising destination—if we could only visit one place year after year, this would be the place. The terrain is complex, the…
Anyone who’s written about Seymour and Belize Inlets says that Alison Sound, off Belize Inlet, is the most beautiful spot here. We agree. Several waterfalls gush from the north shore en route, and the entrance to the sound itself is striking. A massive slide has scoured a huge section of shoreline. Kilometer-high mountains soar above…
Although bald eagles are among the largest birds we see on the coast, often we see gulls and other much smaller birds chasing eagles through the sky or tormenting them on a tree branch. This seems curious, given the difference in size. While eagles are excellent hunters, according to Bald Eagles: Their Life and Behavior…
We’ve cruised as far north as the Broughtons in winter, but this year’s winter cruise to the Gulf Islands (map of area) was colder, with more snow and stronger winds, than any other. This was the first time we’ve had to actually shovel the boat off. The cold weather gave our furnace a workout, but…
On Monday we passed Anacortes and went through Swinomish Channel (area map) during a significant, and poorly forecast, wind event, with an amazing variety of weather. The barometer gained 10 mb in 4 hours and peak winds approached 60 knots. We had just crossed Rosario Strait in 4-5 feet seas, with 40-knot winds from the…
We didn’t think we’d ever stop at Pirates Cove Marine Park, at the north end of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. The BC Marine Parks Guide bills it as one of the more popular parks in the Gulf Islands, with room for 75 boats. This is remarkable, given that the cove from shore to shore is…
Mount Tzouhalem is the 1,500-foot bluff directly west of Genoa Bay. We’ve eyed it every time we’ve anchored in the bay, but this year, we finally climbed it. We’d arrived on a cold, crisp winter day, after a recent snowfall. The weather was cold enough to freeze the surface water around the marina. …
A big winter storm swept through the region yesterday. The barometer fell hard as the storm approached: from 1032 at 9pm the night before, to 1009 at 5am yesterday, down to 988 by 3pm yesterday afternoon. We recorded gusts to nearly 50 knots as the storm intensified. The pressure slope hit…
Tod Inlet is a busy anchorage in the summer months. The basin has all-weather protection, but the main attraction is nearby Butchart Gardens. The gardens have a dinghy dock that makes for easy landing and access to the spectacular garden display. And boats crowd the waterway on Saturday nights to watch their firework show. …
Francis Point Marine Park, established in 2000, is a relatively new addition to the BC Parks system. The park takes up about a third of Francis Peninsula, just south of the entrance to Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast, and has sweeping views across Malaspina Strait to Texada Island. We visited one winter while at…
Approaching the head of Blakely Harbor this weekend, we saw what looked like a rock near where we planned to anchor. It turned out to a small boat, submerged bow-up. It was covered with barnacles and appeared to have been underwater for a while. We guessed that it must have blown in from farther out…
At the southern end of Laredo Channel, several bays and waterways indent the shoreline along Princess Royal Island. Some appear on the chart as possible anchorages, but most feel open and exposed. Hague Point Lagoon is a notable exception. The almost land-locked basin has a somewhat tricky entrance, but inside is sheltered anchorage with room…
Like many Puget Sound boaters, we’ve passed Point No Point dozens of times on our way to and from places north of Seattle. The last time was on a sunny, warm day with calm winds. It was time for lunch, so we decided to stop there. We found good anchoring depths and holding on the…
The vast majority of time, close quarters maneuvering at low speed is fine. But strong current or big wind gusts can greatly reduce the margin for error. We recently saw an example of exactly that at Eagle Island, where strong currents wrap around the island. A particularly large exchange that weekend made for especially swift…