05/12 - 05/14 - Friday Harbor C-Brats Get-Together

May is still a few months off, but Rosanne and I are trying to build our summer schedule around her vacation slots. As of now, it looks like we will back out of the Friday Harbor gathering. We are looking at coming out in June (and going east in May). My Wife's vacation time limits how much time we can spend when we come out, and as much as I'd like to spend time at the FH gathering, I've also got a brother in the area I want to visit, and the rest of the time looking to cruise around the Islands. If things change, FH is still on my calendar. Colby
 
Hi Colby,

So sorry to read that you and Rosanne will not be able to attend this years gathering at FH. Your presence will be missed. You have a very busy schedule planned and we understand. When Rosanne retires, it gets easier. Speaking from experience. :)
 
Well traveling up from the south sound you could go to ways , 2 and a half really, and the best was just depends. I like the idea of traveling on the water the whole way but would make a 2 day trip out of it depending on the weather. I like to run the boat and if its smooth a 10 hour day is enjoyable. Stop some where for lunch or just looking around. But lets look at your choices . From Des Moines to Fh is 80 NM . So at 18 knots ( smooth water) its a 4 1/2 hour ride non stop. If you can only average 10 knots its a 8 hour run. Either one is a day trip. Going the other way on the inside and thru the pass is 93 NM and 9.25 hours at 10 knots . Now if you cut thru La conner to avoid the Deception pass, its 97 miles and 9.45 hours at 10 knots or 5 1/2 at 18 knots.

MYTH Busters " is the " inside " safer or smoother"? It depends. Some of the roughest rides we have ever had have been the inside of Whidbey island and just out side of deception pass. It has, at other times, been flat. Its all just matter of wind and currents. Same goes for the straits. You just have to keep an eye on the weather as you get close to the day of departure. There are a lot of neat places to stop for the night or for lunch with in the sound. I do not care what speed the current is under the bridge as much as I care what way the wind is blowing just out side the pass and whether its going with or against the wind. example- a 20 knot wind from the west or south on a incoming 12ft tide is going to be smooth. a 10 knot wind from the north on the same incoming tide is going to be a real bitch just out side the pass and across Rosario.

So It just depends and have all your info. Current, tide drop or raise ( how big) and wind speed ,direction.

I use this site for a lot of planning https://www.deepzoom.com/#/Views/Boat.xaml

so my go no go for the ( in my case) Everett to port Townsend to FH is the smith island wind station. if its blowing over 15-20 mph against the tide then its a no go. If the tide and wind are in sync then 25 is ok. You want the tide and wind working together. Same goes for the inside route.
 
Well traveling up from the south sound you could go to ways , 2 and a half really, and the best was just depends. I like the idea of traveling on the water the whole way but would make a 2 day trip out of it depending on the weather. I like to run the boat and if its smooth a 10 hour day is enjoyable. Stop some where for lunch or just looking around. But lets look at your choices . From Des Moines to Fh is 80 NM . So at 18 knots ( smooth water) its a 4 1/2 hour ride non stop. If you can only average 10 knots its a 8 hour run. Either one is a day trip. Going the other way on the inside and thru the pass is 93 NM and 9.25 hours at 10 knots . Now if you cut thru La conner to avoid the Deception pass, its 97 miles and 9.45 hours at 10 knots or 5 1/2 at 18 knots.

MYTH Busters " is the " inside " safer or smoother"? It depends. Some of the roughest rides we have ever had have been the inside of Whidbey island and just out side of deception pass. It has, at other times, been flat. Its all just matter of wind and currents. Same goes for the straits. You just have to keep an eye on the weather as you get close to the day of departure. There are a lot of neat places to stop for the night or for lunch with in the sound. I do not care what speed the current is under the bridge as much as I care what way the wind is blowing just out side the pass and whether its going with or against the wind. example- a 20 knot wind from the west or south on a incoming 12ft tide is going to be smooth. a 10 knot wind from the north on the same incoming tide is going to be a real bitch just out side the pass and across Rosario.

So It just depends and have all your info. Current, tide drop or raise ( how big) and wind speed ,direction.

I use this site for a lot of planning https://www.deepzoom.com/#/Views/Boat.xaml

so my go no go for the ( in my case) Everett to port Townsend to FH is the smith island wind station. if its blowing over 15-20 mph against the tide then its a no go. If the tide and wind are in sync then 25 is ok. You want the tide and wind working together. Same goes for the inside route.
 
Thanks for this link Tom to help in planning a crossing. Would like to know why the NOAA Smith Island Buoy station is not showing wave height and period measurements lately? I like looking at these numbers to determine a go or no go in a crossing.
 
Gary, The Smith Island is a land based observation station so no wave info. Yes, Bummer. (Because I use that one too, as my east side check window.)

Coming form the south, IF you elect to do the east side of Whidbey, consider this. Stop at Port Townsend, Point Hudson, closer to old town, or Boat Haven, (Fuel dock, West Marine, and launch ramp,) and then do what I do to get (Generally) the smoothest water for crossing to Cattle Pass, Leave EARLY in the morning. It is about 30 miles to FH, from there, about 25 to Cattle Pass. IF you leave early (again VERY EARLY) like at first light, before sunrise, You WILL have less wind 90% of the time. And IF your wind and Tidal current are aligned, and you have 3 hours on that tide, you have it made. AT Cattle Pass, approach and enter along the sides, And you will love it a slack tide or following on a flood. It's a piece of cake -- double chocolate fudge :roll: but you made it in 2+ hours easy.

My go-no go wind speeds are lower than Tom's by 5-10. He is running a bigger, heavier boat. 10 - 15 Knot winds are my max, against and with respectively. (I am leaving form Sequim Bay to Cattle Pass. I check weather at Smith Island, Ediz Hook (Port Angeles), Race Rocks (Victoria), and the New Dungeness Buoy, (close to mid Juan de Fuca) Which has not been reporting since last November so the Angeles Point one for Wave period and height.


Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Great information here. Thanks Tom and Harvey. I meant New Dungeness buoy when I said Smith Island. I have found the wave height and period of New Dungeness to be very helpful in the past. Hope those numbers come back again in the Spring. Thanks Harvey for your information. I will use that to help determine a safe crossing in the future. Gary.
 
The myth of leaving early- Harvey thinks that its a good Idea and that is 90% of the time what he does. but the wind does not care what time it is. Leave when its the best conditions. I have seen cbrats leave really early and the wind and tide where not right at all and they got a bumpy ride home or even had to turn back. Susan and I hardly ever leave to or from the san Juan's before 5pm in the spring and summer. He don't have wind that would makes us turn back 95% of the time and we have 0 wind 80 present of the time. We want to spend the whole day Sunday enjoying the islands and not have to get up at 0 dark 30 just based on a myth. The wind can not tell time.
 
Like many things, this has been discussed before with probably the same results as now. If you ever get to make the Inland Passage north to Alaska & then explore there for a good period of time you will definitely find the general calming of wind & waters in early mornings & late evenings is not mythic. As I’ve stated before & you know well, weather fronts passing through come & go on their own time as you describe & should be taking into consideration foremost on planning a crossing such as the the Strait from Sequim to Cattle Pass, but for the majority of the time leaving early like Harvey suggest & I’ve done so many hundreds of times turned out to be the better choice, as we set at anchorage or at a Marina resting or just enjoying, as the wind picked up & the waves built as the afternoon passed. Even on mountain lakes or just plain in the mountains this is a normal thermal wind pattern. On Yellowstone Lake during settled weather patterns, the calm in the morning & evening with high winds every late morning or early afternoon is definitely to be counted on & this is the same most everywhere. And yes, like you, I’ve also experienced calm & windy conditions at all periods of the 24 hour clock, such as in 2019, when during the Friday Harbor Gathering, I crossed the Strait of San Juan De Fuca twice in the afternoon with the first crossing towing a 25 foot Ranger Tug & only minor wind, but as a general rule daily wind pattern’s are fact, not myth & weather wind patterns such as will blow up Johnston Strait or the Lynn Canol should be considered in planning along with the tides, their direction, weather fronts, capes, points & passes, that could be encountered.

On the the other hand for some, extending the pleasure of doing whatever for the day or not having to rise up in the morning, so early, might be worth the gamble of a later rough ride or even beating, as is often stated here, our boats can take much more than us & still stay afloat.

Jay
 
smckean (Tosca)":2vbck1ie said:
The wind can not tell time.
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Certainly true for front driven winds, but not true for thermal driven winds.
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Agree with Sandy. YUP, wind can't tell time but the sun does. When it comes up and heats up the sides of the mountains it creates the diurnal thermal and in Sequim Bay You can almost set your watch by that wind. It will come into the Bay from the NE corner and across diagonally to the SW and it starts at 0930. By 1000 It is across the bay and it will be running 1-0-12 knots until sometime in the afternoon. That is when Tom leaves :wink:

Actually it is between 3-4 hours after sunrise.

That diurnal wind reaches out past the Dungeness lighthouse, that's 8-10 miles out past the bay entry.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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This is not pertinent to Friday Harbor, but since discussing thermal winds will add this.

Further north the thermal winds can become quite dangerous. This occurs on the water edge of mountains where glaciers or ice fields are above. During some very warm afternoons the warm air will rise & the cold air around the ice can dramatically come cascading down the mountains & blow out into anchorage bays with extreme wind gusts. These are known as Williwaw Winds. In these areas on warm afternoons it’s prudent to have your anchor well set. Another example of how usually high winds can hit in some areas are where high mountain ranges face the open ocean with a channel or open area of water on the opposite side of the range from the ocean. A front coming in will build pressure on the open ocean side then spill over down & out with winds much higher than on the ocean side. So one could think they are in a protected place from the incoming front & find the down slope & off shore winds to be much higher than anticipated.

Jay
 
Like I said. It all depends. So read a weather report and buoy report before you wake me up while leaving at 0 dark wtf thirty. :wink: We do not like to leave for home until we have too. Hell half the time susan calls in sick monday and we stay another day. but it is a myth that the morning ALWays HAS LESS WIND.
 
Great news today from the Friday Harbor portmaster in regard to our May event and gathering. Here is his quote, "Group discount is $.25 off the moorage rate, so for your group at that time it will be $0.80/ft per night. Power is an additional $0.10/ft per night. So for most of your party, I’d expect it to be a total of $0.90/ft per night."

Thank you so much for all who have sent in your sign-up information for the days you plan to attend.

Gary.
 
We just signed up for Friday Harbor. Here is our info:

Vessel Name & Length
Daydream, 25'

Captain / Co-Captain Name(s)
Pat and Patty Anderson

Additional Passenger Name(s)
None (well, Baxter I suppose)

Arrival Date
May 11, 2022

Departure Date
May 14, 2022

Safety Inspection Requested
Yes
 
Hi Pat,

Got your information and glad you can make it.

I am sure you meant that you will arrive on Thursday, May 12th and depart on Sunday, May 15th? I can change that. Hope so because we will either have the party barge on Saturday evening or a tent and tables on the breakwater.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon. Gary.
 
Received an e-mail today from Adam Parrott, Assistant Harbormaster for the Port of Friday Harbor. Not only do we get a reduced rate for group moorage but he said, "In any case, the C-Brats were the first group to make a request so we will be making sure you guys have a good entertainment space."

Lets plan to gather together at the Breakwater A/Party Barge (end of H-Dock) at 5 PM Saturday evening. While we would love to have a potluck, we should probably stick to bringing your own food and utensils. We will follow the Port of Friday Harbor Covid-19 protocol.
 
I will be doing boat christenings again at Friday Harbor, if you would like your boat christened, PLEASE PM ME and I will keep a list. Christenings are typically done on Saturday. I will need the boat name (obviously) and the owners's names!
 
DayBreak":23xt7ztf said:
While we would love to have a potluck, we should probably stick to bringing your own food and utensils. We will follow the Port of Friday Harbor Covid-19 protocol.
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Hi Gary,
Since we have over 3 months, perhaps we should just wait and see before calling off the potluck. A lot can happen by that time. Not sure if sharing a few dishes is much different that everyone bringing their own. Gathering in close proximity is the issue. Absolutely we need to follow the Port's protocol, but we have plenty of time to decide.
 
Steve,

I think you are right. The Saturday gathering will be held in an outside environment on Breakwater A. At last years gathering, we met together to share fellowship and ate Joe and Ruth's sheet cake along with Tom and Susan's fresh caught Lingcod (even though there wasn't an official potluck) on the Party Barge. I appreciate what they did for the group. I would love to have a potluck at this years gathering. I know the group has had some very successful gatherings with a potluck in the past. Why not this year! :)
 
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