Cell Service west coast of British Columbia

colbysmith

colbysmith

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Messages
5,085
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36
C Dory Year
2009
C Dory Model
25 Cruiser
Hull Identification Number
UWH25301J809
Vessel Name
C-Traveler
During May and June, I will be cruising with two other boats along the west coast of British Columbia. (Not on the ocean side of Vancouver Island.) Plan to launch in Blaine, and then possibly go as far as Prince Rupert, and visiting some of the many inlets in between. I hate to get Starlink for just two months of use, but how is Verizon Cell Service along this area? I expect it will be limited, but are there many areas that service might exist? TIA.
 
Starlink in suspended mode for $5 per month will let you text and make voice calls. Mini is on sell right now for $199 in some areas.
 
Hi Colby,

When we took a scouting cruise on the David B in Sept 2022, south of the Ketchikan start point there was Verizon coverage every third stop (each stop is listed in that trip report below, and each was lovely for a C-Dory). From the top of the Inside Passage at Vancouver Island, there was good coverage at each nightly stop, except at the Shearwater Native fishing marina. Verizon will automatically detect when you have an Unlimited Data device turned on in Canada and charge $5 per device per 24 hours. We have two phones and a tablet, each with max 15 gig Hotspot use per billing cycle. So keep only one device turned on at a time, and turn it off if you don’t need it. The Hotspot was fine for uploading pics. Five years later there are likely more, not less, Verizon towers in that area.

StarLink is even better and inexpensive compared to wine or gas by the liter in Canada. None of my Prepper friends would be without one when the cyberattacks begin. YMMV.

The correct address to the Blogger trip report is here, not the one first cited in the C-Brats forum:

https://highsmith2.blogspot.com/2022/09 ... bc-on.html

Now I use FindPenquins.com (credit to Betty on Molly Brown for that find).

The Sept 2022 C-Brats link is here:

G

Thread 'BC Inside Passage on the David B Adventure'

Here's our blog on doing the BC Inside Passage on the David B. We hope to utilize what we learned by trailering Cat O' Mine cross country to the San Juans area maybe in the summer of 2024. Hope this is helpful in your own planning if the PNW is something you have never experienced in person.

Safe Travels!

John

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/ ... 4862437187

In September, we’ll be flying out for another Inside Passage cruise, this time on American Cruise Lines. I wish we’d trailered the boat out there 15 years ago. It would have been cheaper to pay a guy to tow our boat and trailer out there, but now we’ve grown to like the private balcony and leave the driving to a pro. We’ll be following your blog, Safe travels!
John
 
Hi John,
Our Verizon plan includes both Mexico and Canada, so no additional charges in those countries. I would assume that your nightly stops on your cruise was at cities that would have cell service. Still you only had it every third stop, and I'm assuming you stopped every day. I think a lot of our cruising starting the end of April, will be in the back waters where there is more scenery and few cities. I would expect to have coverage around the communities, but most likely not, when we are any distance from them. It'll be interesting to see what cell service I end up with. I decided to bite the bullet and ordered the Starlink Mini. I had a hard time justifying it for the two months, but the internet is almost a necessity now days with online banking and billing. Other things like email, weather, and even my blogging, are a lot easier with daily or nightly access to the internet. I do have my Inreach, which allows for messaging with home, and for emergencies, and can even download weather. But even that is limited.
 
Colby, My experience is very dated by now, but we explored several of systems on the mainland of BC going in thru passes which only had one opening for our Cal 46 and a trawler we were sailing with, each day. These fjords are extensive and fun to explore--don't expect to see any other boats up these or get an telephone service. The Starlink is something I would have just for the convience if I was still able to cruise in our C Dory. We came upon a loging camp. It was days off for the crew, but the cook was still holding fort there. We tied up to the log raft and went ashore. The cook treated us to lunch, and then took us in one of the company crew cab trucks inland to view the area of selective logging. We had left our large boats anchored a few miles up into the fjord system, and were running our RIB inflatables 30 to 40 miles up in the arms, at 20 knots to explore these areas. If you get up this far, don't miss Ocean Falls--it has been changing, but is a complete logging camp which was just abandoned. They left everything there, and walked away. Some of the houses were kept in good shape (relatively) and sold to folks if they would inhabit and keep them up. So now there is a town there. They used to even have cable TV at the docks.
 
thataway said:
Colby, My experience is very dated by now, but we explored several of systems on the mainland of BC going in thru passes which only had one opening for our Cal 46 and a trawler we were sailing with, each day. These fjords are extensive and fun to explore--don't expect to see any other boats up these or get a telephone service. The Starlink is something I would have just for the convience if I was still able to cruise in our C Dory. We came upon a loging camp. It was days off for the crew, but the cook was still holding fort there. We tied up to the log raft and went ashore. The cook treated us to lunch, and then took us in one of the company crew cab trucks inland to view the area of selective logging. We had left our large boats anchored a few miles up into the fjord system, and were running our RIB inflatables 30 to 40 miles up in the arms, at 20 knots to explore these areas. If you get up this far, don't miss Ocean Falls--it has been changing, but is a complete logging camp which was just abandoned. They left everything there, and walked away. Some of the houses were kept in good shape (relatively) and sold to folks if they would inhabit and keep them up. So now there is a town there. They used to even have cable TV at the docks.
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Thanks Bob. I’ll have to see if I can find that on my charts and mark it to visit if near there.
 
Hi Colby,

Dream Catcher will be heading north from Poulsbo in late April. We'll be cruising BC through about mid-May, when we plan to be crossing the Dixon into SE Alaska. Maybe we'll see you along the way.
 
Colby; I boated south from Prince Rupert last August, a trip to help a friend that found he had a deep tumor on the way to Alaska from Anderson Island that required surgery. They were able to moor in PR and fly back for his surgery. Then, they needed to bring their boat back. He was told not to lift anything heavier than a coho until his stitches healed in a few months. I did check my phone for bars along the way. Not good except for Vancouver Island and south. You'll likely only have cell service near major towns like PR north of VancouverIs. I have T-Mobile, so results may vary. You'll want to stay at the absolutely stunning anchorages along the way and there will definitely be no cell coverage there. Starlink worked everywhere except for winking out temporarily in a few deep fjords. It also doesn't work under trees. After 3 years of use, I now have three dishes, a "fixed priority" for our home (we have few options for internet and shitty cell service on Anderson Is), a mini for our mountaintop yurt (normally kept on standby at $/mo), and another mini for our camper or CD22 (sometimes canoe/kayak). I found it useful in the Everglades since I could phone the ranger station and change the chickees I camped on. Otherwise, your are supposed to camp at specific chickees on specific days. Not ideal. There is no cell service in the Everglades. Starlink has 3 tiers of roaming, standby $5/mo slow service but quite useful, 100GB at $50/mo and unlimited at $165/mo. We've never used more than 50GB in a month. We don't watch TV but like to listen to KUOW, KNKX and BBC. You can make phone calls most of the time in Standby. I think it works better in remote places, probably due to the lack of use by others. If you have trouble and your radio doesn't have coverage you'll be able to call the CoastGuard. You can see weather maps, forecasts and other information. Very useful, and I believe worth the cost. Sounds like a great trip. You'll want to get a BC saltwater fishing license, for sure.
 
NewMoon said:
Hi Colby,

Dream Catcher will be heading north from Poulsbo in late April. We'll be cruising BC through about mid-May, when we plan to be crossing the Dixon into SE Alaska. Maybe we'll see you along the way.
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I’ll be looking for you, I have AIS as well and will dm you my Inreach id, we’ll launch at Blaine on April 28 and be running slow going north,
 
robhwa said:
Colby; I boated south from Prince Rupert last August, a trip to help a friend that found he had a deep tumor on the way to Alaska from Anderson Island that required surgery. They were able to moor in PR and fly back for his surgery. Then, they needed to bring their boat back. He was told not to lift anything heavier than a coho until his stitches healed in a few months. I did check my phone for bars along the way. Not good except for Vancouver Island and south. You'll likely only have cell service near major towns like PR north of VancouverIs. I have T-Mobile, so results may vary. You'll want to stay at the absolutely stunning anchorages along the way and there will definitely be no cell coverage there. Starlink worked everywhere except for winking out temporarily in a few deep fjords. It also doesn't work under trees. After 3 years of use, I now have three dishes, a "fixed priority" for our home (we have few options for internet and shitty cell service on Anderson Is), a mini for our mountaintop yurt (normally kept on standby at $/mo), and another mini for our camper or CD22 (sometimes canoe/kayak). I found it useful in the Everglades since I could phone the ranger station and change the chickees I camped on. Otherwise, your are supposed to camp at specific chickees on specific days. Not ideal. There is no cell service in the Everglades. Starlink has 3 tiers of roaming, standby $5/mo slow service but quite useful, 100GB at $50/mo and unlimited at $165/mo. We've never used more than 50GB in a month. We don't watch TV but like to listen to KUOW, KNKX and BBC. You can make phone calls most of the time in Standby. I think it works better in remote places, probably due to the lack of use by others. If you have trouble and your radio doesn't have coverage you'll be able to call the CoastGuard. You can see weather maps, forecasts and other information. Very useful, and I believe worth the cost. Sounds like a great trip. You'll want to get a BC saltwater fishing license, for sure.
Click to expand...
I’m looking into the license as I would like to take my crab pot and ring along! 😊 I decided to purchase the Mini and should get it this week, I’ll get the $50 plan and see how it goes. I ordered the roof rack mount as well and look at mounting it on one of the rails (bow, roof or cockpit). Or see if it can work just sitting inside the boat somewhere. Plan to power it with the ac adapter and power cord that comes with it. Can either run the generator or plug it in thru my inverter,
 
Coming home from Blaine, after our PNW trip, in July, I'm looking at a different routing than I usually do, to steer clear of Seattle. Has anyone ever driven, or are familiar with, Hwy 20 to Twisp, then 153 to Patros, then 17 and 174 across Coulee to 2 and into Spokane? Do you recommend any other routes to get back to Spokane without dealing with Seattle traffic?
 
Hwy 20 is a nice drive that time of year, Hwy 2 is also a nice drive and goes all the way to Spokane using mostly 2 lane roads. Although they may take a little longer I prefer either of these routes to I-90. You won't be sorry you purchased your starlink mini. It will work well from inside the cabin through the fiberglass roof. I place ours on the shelf above the helm.
 
drbridge said:
Hwy 20 is a nice drive that time of year, Hwy 2 is also a nice drive and goes all the way to Spokane using mostly 2 lane roads. Although they may take a little longer I prefer either of these routes to I-90. You won't be sorry you purchased your starlink mini. It will work well from inside the cabin through the fiberglass roof. I place ours on the shelf above the helm.
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Thanks. That's good to hear, on both routing and Starlink. I'm ok with 2 lane roads. I don't travel max posted speeds on the interstate anyway, and find that sometimes it doesn't always take that much longer skipping the interstate, and city traffic! :)
 
Good idea for the mini...it may eventually become something you use regularly as it has with me. Being truly isolated may be fun, but having weather forecasts, letting the significant other(s) know you are OK, and being able to make an informational or emergency phone call (rather than summon an all-out SOS) could be useful. I pulled up how to lower the cutoff voltage for my DCtoAC inverter while remote, allowing me to continue to use the coffeemaker.

I drive US 20, 2 and others regularly, as I have forest property near Bodie in WA, and I canoe/kayak Ross Lake. The route you mention is beautiful, and you'll enjoy it if you haven't already done it. BTW, it's Pateros, not Patros. You can also continue on US20 East through Republic, through Republic (interesting town...visit and dig the Stonerose fossil beds). Continue to Colville and then S on US395 to Spokane. WA25 S from Kettle Falls to Davenport and US-2 is also interesting, as you have good access to some interesting parts of the Columbia.
 
robhwa said:
The route you mention is beautiful, and you'll enjoy it if you haven't already done it. BTW, it's Pateros, not Patros. You can also continue on US20 East through Republic, through Republic (interesting town...visit and dig the Stonerose fossil beds). Continue to Colville and then S on US395 to Spokane. WA25 S from Kettle Falls to Davenport and US-2 is also interesting, as you have good access to some interesting parts of the Columbia.
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So if you were to recommend one route to take, which would it be? Preferably without adding very many additional miles? Remember, I'll be on the go home leg. lol. I'll add, I've never been on any of those roads. So they'll all be new territory for me. Colby
 
colbysmith said:
So if you were to recommend one route to take, which would it be? Preferably without adding very many additional miles? Remember, I'll be on the go home leg. lol. I'll add, I've never been on any of those roads. So they'll all be new territory for me. Colby
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Seems to me they might be about the same actual miles, but US20 to US2 to Spokane is probably quicker. I'd still take smaller roads through Bridgeport and Grand Coulee to cut corners off the drive, but I'm towing a CD22, not a CD25. I can't judge personally, though I've driven most of the roads, and gone W to E and back many times for work. I don't know how to check with Google Maps since US20 is closed in the winter. You'll be able to check later in the year after they clear the snow from US20 in the North Cascades. It's all beautiful and if you're interested in Geology, super fascinating.
 
robhwa said:
Seems to me they might be about the same actual miles, but US20 to US2 to Spokane is probably quicker. I'd still take smaller roads through Bridgeport and Grand Coulee to cut corners off the drive, but I'm towing a CD22, not a CD25. I can't judge personally, though I've driven most of the roads, and gone W to E and back many times for work. I don't know how to check with Google Maps since US20 is closed in the winter. You'll be able to check later in the year after they clear the snow from US20 in the North Cascades. It's all beautiful and if you're interested in Geology, super fascinating.
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Thanks. I'll probably stick to that routing I posted above then. Towing the 25 isn't much different than towing the 22. (Except when pulling into parking lots. It seems to find the curbs easier. lol!) I'll assume the snow will be cleared by Independence Day. :) Interested in Geology? My degree in college was a B.S. in Earth Science. :)
 
colbysmith said:
Thanks. I'll probably stick to that routing I posted above then. Towing the 25 isn't much different than towing the 22. (Except when pulling into parking lots. It seems to find the curbs easier. lol!) I'll assume the snow will be cleared by Independence Day. :) Interested in Geology? My degree in college was a B.S. in Earth Science. :)
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Awesome! I would suggest this book, and there are others for other states:
https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geo...a8516ea0773c16a99158de0&qid=1774760884&sr=8-1
 
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