09/03 - 09/18 - Desolation Sound 2005

its also against the law to shoot camels in nevada. I think i will skip the license..wait theres a dark van in front of the house. it looks like the u.s..........
 
Just a few observations I have made on my four crossings/journeys in the Strait in Sailor-D. First I am not exactly an old salt (literally or figuratively). Many of you have a lot more experience than I. The Strait of Georgia is a very large body of water (comparitively a C-Dory is a very small boat). Weather can change rapidly, conditions do not always seem to reflect the forecast. When it blows (quite often) the seas are steep. I had a "perfect storm" last year in September between Oyster River and Comox, 25 to 30 kt headwind, 6 to 8 ft waves breaking over the bow and washing over the cabin windscreeen. 1st Mate, (my wife) totally incapciitated with seasickness, dog terrified. I found a safe anchorage to ride it out overnight, courtesy of the Master of the BC Ferry "Queen of Burnaby" who directed me to a small haven by the ferry terminal at Little River. Comox Coast Guard Radio was very reassuring putting me on a 30 minute safety call in. It is not a good place for the faint of heart or unprepared.
 
But seriously, Sailor D is right. Georgia Strait is no body of water to take lightly. I've been lucky in my five crossings, as the water was pretty calm to quite calm. Like last October's run from Sequim to Victoria. But every time out there I'm a little scared, I'm buzzing at peak torque, 4500 RPM, and I'm constantly thinking about an exit plan should spontaneous wind come from somewhere unexpected. And please, no deadheads. It is not a playground.

I try to leave with other boats, and always after monitoring Comox weather radio for several days, talking to locals, other boaters, ferry personnel, fishermen, the ice cream vendor, and summoning my previous experience. And if I have to wait a day or three, I will.

It is an exciting, potentially dangerous challenge. It tests my skills and inner strength. It teaches me self-trust and courage. For me it is worth the risk.
 
Catman, have you checked into the price for taking the Anacortes ferry? For car and trailer that are 30-40 feet in length it is $187 one way. The fare for 40 to 50 feet is $233. I think that I am 42 feet. The Coho is $36.50, plus $3 a foot over 18 feet. So I would be about $108. Big difference. I just remembered, you would have to get to the other side of the Sound to take the Coho! That adds a longer drive, or another ferry ride. All these complications. :shock:

Check the two web sites and see if you agree with my readings of the rates.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

http://www.cohoferry.com Robbi
 
I think it took me about 2 hours to come back to Guemes from Victoria last year. Thats not much gas or time compared to taking the State Ferry to Victoria. I think it is in the neighborhood of 200 miles up to Lund. At 4 miles/ gal that is only 50 gals. X $2.20 or so = $110.00 each way.
 
Hi, Roberta and David. Roberta, thanks for educating me on some changes I should have expected. Money's not much of a concern regarding transportation up there, but I had no idea WSF rates were that high. In 1990 I payed about $92 one way from Anacortes to Sydney. And my dad spent just $1100 for his '47 Ford. What the hell happened?

I didn't look at those websites, but the Tsawwassen to Nanaimo ferry can't be that high, can it? Okay, maybe it can and I need to do my homework. Either way it won't matter. I'll be on vacation, and planned months earlier for a financial spanking.
:smiled
 
I agree. When you are on vacation you can spend a little more freely. After all, it's a very special time. And this will be some trip! :beer :hot :beer :rose :beer :rainbow :beer :star . :beer :smilep Hum, I am getting a theme here. Robbi

P.S. 1947 was a very special year! Gawd, that car is almost 60 years old.
Well, I plan on being in Desolation Sound to celebrate my 1947 birth date! :cake
 
Catman and Roberta,

Last summer I paid $145.75 Canadian ($117.16 US) for the Tsawwassan to Duke Point ferry.

The Victoria to Port Angeles ferry was $109.00US.

My rig is 47 feet long. including two adults.

Hope this helps.
 
Ummm, Brock - that body of water we crossed from Sequim to Victoria was actually the Strait of Juan de Fuca, not the Georgia Strait...or maybe that was just an example, I don't know. Anyway, we do the Strait of Georgia crossing darn near every time we go out of Blaine, it still deserves respect...

Catman":2fapqch3 said:
But seriously, Sailor D is right. Georgia Strait is no body of water to take lightly. I've been lucky in my five crossings, as the water was pretty calm to quite calm. Like last October's run from Sequim to Victoria.
Click to expand...

You are, as always, right...not a playground for sure...


Catman":2fapqch3 said:
But every time out there I'm a little scared, I'm buzzing at peak torque, 4500 RPM, and I'm constantly thinking about an exit plan should spontaneous wind come from somewhere unexpected. And please, no deadheads. It is not a playground.
Click to expand...



Especially the ice cream vendor...but you have hit on the major point, if you can't afford to wait the three days or whatever, you had better trailer to Lund or Salmon Point...

Catman":2fapqch3 said:
I try to leave with other boats, and always after monitoring Comox weather radio for several days, talking to locals, other boaters, ferry personnel, fishermen, the ice cream vendor, and summoning my previous experience. And if I have to wait a day or three, I will.

It is an exciting, potentially dangerous challenge. It tests my skills and inner strength. It teaches me self-trust and courage. For me it is worth the risk.
Click to expand...
 
Hi, Pat. Yeah, that Fuca crossing was just an example. And your point about waiting at Nanaimo or wherever for decent crossing weather has me thinking. Maybe it doesn't matter but it might be selfish of me to sit 90 miles south of the group, doin' my own thing. Previously I've always been alone.
 
Hey Brats, We live in Lantzville, Vancouver Island just north of Nanaimo.We can have our boat "Cute-C" in the waters of Nanoose Bay in about 5 mins. We have been watching your plans for the Sept cruise to D.S. Sounds like fun! We would like to meet up with you, if possible. We will be camping and fishing with our friends Del and Trudy ( C-U ) just north of Campbell River , at that time.
In my opinion, from my 50+ years on the B. C. coast and 35 of those years with BC Ferries, if you can trailer your boats from Tsawwassen/Duke Pt. to the Campbell River area that would be the quickest and safest way to go. The Gulf of Georgia can go from a mill pond to just PLAIN UGLY in no time at all and with very little warning.
Take heed of the words of Sailor-D. If you trailer you also have the option of seeing other parts of the Island. In case of emergency or foul boating weather you can get home safely especially if you are on a time limit.
Note: Please measure your vehicle from bumper to prop. and 7ft and over is classified as overheight when calculating BC Ferries fares. Check BC Ferry website for peak and shoulder fare dates and reservations.
www.bcferries.com
Here are some links you might find helpful and interesting.
www.islandfishermanmagazine.com
or via search BC Marine Parks
and Canadian Hydrographic Services
Hope to see you in Sept. Please feel free to ask us any questions and we will try to answer as best as we can.
from the Big Island, Dave and Martha
 
Wow, I sure hope you guys can join us for some or all of our Great Northern Adventure! Having some "local knowledge" would be extremely valuable. We met Del and Trudy at the SBS/CBC (Seattle Boat Show / C-Brat Convention) in January, and would love to hear the rest of their story.

DaveMar":150zt93a said:
Hey Brats, We live in Lantzville, Vancouver Island just north of Nanaimo.We can have our boat "Cute-C" in the waters of Nanoose Bay in about 5 mins. We have been watching your plans for the Sept cruise to D.S. Sounds like fun! We would like to meet up with you, if possible. We will be camping and fishing with our friends Del and Trudy ( C-U ) just north of Campbell River , at that time.
Click to expand...


Well, that about settles it. Can't argue with 50 years on the coast and 35 years on the ferries! I have three years dinking around in the far southern end of the Strait of Georgia, mainly crossing from Blaine over to Matia/Sucia/Patos or Stuart. Down here, it is rough but passable most of the time, I really only worry about fog or winds above 20 knots. I have been on the fence about boating up from Blaine or the Tswwassen ferry - the ferry is SO pricey - but getting caught out in "just plain ugly" is not the least bit appealing, especially with a somewhat tight time frame (two weekends and the week in-between). Another question - what is you opinion of Salmon Point as a jumping off point for Desolation?


DaveMar":150zt93a said:
In my opinion, from my 50+ years on the B. C. coast and 35 of those years with BC Ferries, if you can trailer your boats from Tsawwassen/Duke Pt. to the Campbell River area that would be the quickest and safest way to go. The Gulf of Georgia can go from a mill pond to just PLAIN UGLY in no time at all and with very little warning.

Take heed of the words of Sailor-D. If you trailer you also have the option of seeing other parts of the Island. In case of emergency or foul boating weather you can get home safely especially if you are on a time limit.
Click to expand...


Do we need to make a reservation for the ferry or would it likely be OK to just show up? And thanks for all the info!


DaveMar":150zt93a said:
Note: Please measure your vehicle from bumper to prop. and 7ft and over is classified as overheight when calculating BC Ferries fares. Check BC Ferry website for peak and shoulder fare dates and reservations.
www.bcferries.com
Here are some links you might find helpful and interesting.
www.islandfishermanmagazine.com
or via search BC Marine Parks
and Canadian Hydrographic Services
Hope to see you in Sept. Please feel free to ask us any questions and we will try to answer as best as we can.
from the Big Island, Dave and Martha
Click to expand...
 
OK, more travel thoughts.

Here is the BC Ferry route map.

map_mainland.jpg


From the BC Ferries fare page, I calculated the fare assuming peak season and 50 foot overall length (just a guess, will actually measure when I have something to measure)

One way fare (all $CDN):

Overheight vehicle up to 20' is $60
30' additional feet @$3/ft is $90
2 passengers @10.50 is $21
Total is $171.

The currency conversion web site tells me that is $138.70 USD at today's rates.

Tsawwassen to Duke Point is looking VERY good indeed. Probably make a pre-paid reservation...

 
Pat,

I would recommend a reservation. We arrived at the ferry terminal about 4:00 pm without a reservation.

We got in line and watched as hundreds? of cars and trucks and campers loaded onto the ferry. When we got to the front of the line, they were letting the campers and trailers on one at a time, to see if there was any more room. We made it on! We were the last vehicle loaded!

As the huge doors closed, we sighed with relief! The next ferry wasn't till 8:00pm that evening.

If you go without a reservation, get there early enough to wait for a space.
 
And even more travel thoughts.
As a mentioned a few posts ago, an alternate choice to taking the two ferry trip to Lund (approx US 250.00 return) would be just use the first ferry and launch in either Pender Harbour or Egmont (approx $125 return). This would be a compromise on the ferry cost but still cut off a large part of the Georgia Strait run. It is also the closest point to Princess Louisa if anyone is interested in adding even more to their itinerary. Check out Pat's map or mapquest. Egmont is pretty well right at Earl's cove ferry landing. Pender Harbour is not shown but its about the same distance by water from Lund as is Egmont. I called the Egmont Marina http://www.egmont-marina.com and they say no problem with launching and parking, launch C$6.00 and C$6.00 per day for parking. The ramp is gravel. If you check out their web site the launch is shown in the same picture as the PUB. Handy hey1 :D Pender Harbour has more facilities and at least a couple of launches. I've used the one at Madeira Park. Its a good paved launch. Plenty of dock space and stores for provisioning. The highway between Langdale ferry terminal and Pender Harbour or Egmont is two lane paved. Pretty windy and slow but scenic as well. It would be kinda of cool if everyone took a different route and then got together in Desolation Sound over a sundowner or two to compare adventures! :lol:
Happy Planning
Ron
 
Hey Brats, Another point to ponder --- gasoline regulations aboard BC Ferries -- transportation of gas for personal use is considered dangerous goods. Individuals may take on board , no more than 100 liters. They will be taken ONLY if the containers are split between the towing vehicle ( max 25 liters) and the boat where the gas is carried as 25 liters in the vessel tank and two 25 Liter portable tanks in the boat. Vessel tank must be "built in". You are allowed to transport NEW/unused, empty gas containers.
Fares -- note -- Peak Rates starting June 28th ending Sept. 11
Rates drop ,to shoulder, starting Sept 12 ending Nov 13th (Tsawwassen\Duke Pt )
Horseshoe Bay\Nanaimo has a surcharge for over heights on weekends during peak season.
Reservations should be made, ASAP. Another $15 !! :( But well worth it. :lol:
WORK IS FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO FISH !!! :beer :beer
Dave & Martha
 
We will have a 107 US gallon built-in tank on the new CD25. I was not planning on having any 5 gallon containers or portable tanks. As I read this I cannot fill my built-in tank here and then take the ferry? I had heard about no portable gas containers (but it seems a couple of those ARE allowed?) but not about not being able to have a filled gas tank...I would really prefer to fill it at whatever the US gas price is, so how much is it going to set us back to fill up at a station near Duke Point? 25 liters is 6.5 US gallons, so how do the ferry folks know how much gas is sloshing around in my built-in tank, 6.5 or 50? Do they just take my word for it? Not that I would try to pull the wool over their eyes...


DaveMar":gzk8hyre said:
Hey Brats, Another point to ponder --- gasoline regulations aboard BC Ferries -- transportation of gas for personal use is considered dangerous goods. Individuals may take on board , no more than 100 liters. They will be taken ONLY if the containers are split between the towing vehicle ( max 25 liters) and the boat where the gas is carried as 25 liters in the vessel tank and two 25 Liter portable tanks in the boat. Vessel tank must be "built in". You are allowed to transport NEW/unused, empty gas containers.
Dave & Martha
Click to expand...
 
OK, went to the BC Ferries site, and what it says there about gas appears to relate to "spare" containers (no mention of built-in tank on trailer boat)...but as the site says, they have tried to sumarize complex Canadian regulations. I assume Dave as an ex-ferry man knows the straight dope, but I would sure like to put 107 gallons of the least expensive gas I can find into that tank. Here is the link:

Dangerous cargo

Here is a cut and paste:

Gasoline: Approved spare containers of gasoline are permitted on our ferries, but only in limited amounts. The containers cannot exceed 25L.

* RVs/vehicles may carry one spare container,
* a boat towed behind a vehicle may carry two, and
* a vehicle carrying a boat on top, may carry only one spare container.
* Foot passengers are not allowed to carry gasoline on board.
 
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