Cruise of a Lifetime - Anacortes to ???????

[ksanders]

It's time to start the next part of my solo cruising adventure!

The plan is to fly back to Washington from La Paz Baja on Thursday where I have spent a month relaxing in the sun.
The boat gets launched on Friday and I will start cruising again.

The plan is to have no plan except to head South. I will leave Anacortes on either Friday or Saturday if the weather is nice and head for Port Angeles. From there I will round Cape Flattery and enter a different world than I have ever experienced.

This world will center around Tide Timing and Bar Crossings. What is my timeframe???? Well I want to be in Ensenada where I have a slip rented by August 15th or so. How quickly will I travel??? That depends on how interesting the little towns I stop in are. This is my retirement cruise, so I'm just relaxing. No hurry.

My plan is to make each "hop" 6-10 hours in length. Where that leaves me as far as ports of call, I really do not know. I'm going to plan the next leg of the journey when I have completed the last one.
If I end up in a harbor with little that interests me I might leave as soon as the next day. If I am somewhere I find interesting I'll spend a few days or more.

There is also some work I plan to do...

I have waiting for me to arrive on the boat, two Renology 175W flexible Solar Panels, along with two Victron Charge controllers. I plan on getting these installed and plugged into my Victron Cerbo display/controller.
I also have a new Starlink system to install. If course like I'll at first simply plug it in, but quickly I'll get it mounted and share the experience.

[talman]

Kevin, are you going to take day runs only? Your son is travelling with you, too, as I recall. Any extra safety precautions? I remember a testy exchange here years ago when several members crewed another member's boat down the coast and were under the impression that a emergency raft was onboard, but was not. Best wishes for a beautiful and uneventful cruise. Lets see some bar crossing videos!
Will be watching and living this vicariously.

[Cool Change 4788]

What a great adventure and attitude Kevin! I installed my renogy flexible panels (4 X175) on my hard top. I mounted the 50 amp Victron in the back of the "normal" stereo cabinet, it is out of site and easy to access if needed. (I removed all the home stereo gear for this as a storage area). It connects from the solar, down the radar arch 2 in series then join to parallel in the radar arch access on the stbd side. 12 ga series, then 10 gage parallel to the controller and switch, across behind the bridge bench and down into the electrical cabinet, positive leg thru a 25 amp breaker/switch then over to the blue tooth charge controller. Super easy install. The charge controller output is then routed through a 50 amp CB, resettable that is mounted next to the controller, then a short run to my main 12 volt buss at the feeder where the main house batteries wire attaches to a buss plate and divides to the 3 12 volt CB busses. Made for an easy and clean install. I was a little disappointed with the solar output during this last winter, but now that summer is here, my first weekend at Catalina found me only having to run the gen for hot water!! My batteries were fully charged after all night on the mooring by 2PM, and that was with overcast mornings. I think the highest output I saw was 630 watts - not bad for a 700 watt system. I only have 4 AGM 6 volt house batteries. (wish I would have made the Lithium plunge when I did that!)

Have a safe trip and can't wait to track and see your next adventure!

[kwb]

I don't know your cruising history but San Juans and Gulf Islands are worth a few stops. I think you have probably blown through when in the area previously.

I haven't gone out into the Pacific on the water but I have been to a lot of the places you will stop along the coast through WA & OR. The marinas are geared to the fishing fleet and towns are hit and miss to how much they cater to visitors v. working waterfront.

[ksanders]

Kevin, are you going to take day runs only? Your son is travelling with you, too, as I recall. Any extra safety precautions? I remember a testy exchange here years ago when several members crewed another member's boat down the coast and were under the impression that a emergency raft was onboard, but was not. Best wishes for a beautiful and uneventful cruise. Lets see some bar crossing videos!
Will be watching and living this vicariously.

Nope, my son is joining me for the Endenada to La Paz run in November.

This is a solo run, like my cruising life. Day trips only, 6-10 hour runs which means I'll be planning on 50-80 miles between harbors.

I remember the adventure you are referring to. Several BOC members were on board the 5788 Starship I believe. That boat is actually moored at Marina La Paz or at least it was last December.

[ksanders]

What a great adventure and attitude Kevin! I installed my renogy flexible panels (4 X175) on my hard top. I mounted the 50 amp Victron in the back of the "normal" stereo cabinet, it is out of site and easy to access if needed. (I removed all the home stereo gear for this as a storage area). It connects from the solar, down the radar arch 2 in series then join to parallel in the radar arch access on the stbd side. 12 ga series, then 10 gage parallel to the controller and switch, across behind the bridge bench and down into the electrical cabinet, positive leg thru a 25 amp breaker/switch then over to the blue tooth charge controller. Super easy install. The charge controller output is then routed through a 50 amp CB, resettable that is mounted next to the controller, then a short run to my main 12 volt buss at the feeder where the main house batteries wire attaches to a buss plate and divides to the 3 12 volt CB busses. Made for an easy and clean install. I was a little disappointed with the solar output during this last winter, but now that summer is here, my first weekend at Catalina found me only having to run the gen for hot water!! My batteries were fully charged after all night on the mooring by 2PM, and that was with overcast mornings. I think the highest output I saw was 630 watts - not bad for a 700 watt system. I only have 4 AGM 6 volt house batteries. (wish I would have made the Lithium plunge when I did that!)

Have a safe trip and can't wait to track and see your next adventure!

It's fantastic that you got that kind of output from the same paqnels, and the same mounting location!

My thought wiring wise is to use the area behind the valance above the windshields as a wire run. I might run Albums runs back to charge controllers in the old stereo cabinet (which is my electronics cabinet now) and I might just do a #6 run from buss bars to the main DC breaker in the main electrical panel, and have the charge controllers behind the valance.

[ksanders]

I don't know your cruising history but San Juans and Gulf Islands are worth a few stops. I think you have probably blown through when in the area previously.

I haven't gone out into the Pacific on the water but I have been to a lot of the places you will stop along the coast through WA & OR. The marinas are geared to the fishing fleet and towns are hit and miss to how much they cater to visitors v. working waterfront.

The San Juans are gorgeous!

As far as the pacific coast towns, I am not sure what I'll find, but that is the adventure!

There will be nothing like the Malecon in La Paz but if I can find shopping, and perhaps a restaurant or two within bike riding range I'm happy.

[ksanders]

I am flying back to Bellingham this afternoon from La Paz.
Tomorrow we launch, and tomorrow night I have a slip at Cap Sante.

Saturday if the weather holds I'll be starting the trip south!

Here is my basic plan listed by travel days. I do not know what days I'll be traveling. That will be dependent on the weather, and how much I like where I'm at.


1 Anacortes to Port Angeles

2 Port Angeles to Neah Bay

3 Neah Bay to Grays Harbor

4 Grays Harbor to Astoria

5 Astoria to tillimook

6 Tillimook to Newport

7 Newport to winchester bay

8 winchester bay to Bandon

9 Bandon to Brookings

10 Brookings to cresent city

11 Cresent city to Eureka

12 eureka to Ft Brag

13 Ft Bragg to bogeda bay

14 Bogeda Bay to San Francisco

[WorkerB]

Not sure of your timeline or cruising history but, since you are close and if you haven't done it, I highly suggest cruising the San Juans and Puget Sound some before heading south forever. It's the right season and too many great stops to list.

[RDH3818]

Out of pure curiosity did you have NHD install rolling chalks while you were in Mexico
cheers
Roy
Ketchikan Alaska

[ksanders]

Out of pure curiosity did you have NHD install rolling chalks while you were in Mexico
cheers
Roy
Ketchikan Alaska

Nope, no rolling chocks.

They might go on in the future, but for now I have decided against them. Not because of anything bad about them, just because I decided not to install them right now.

[ksanders]

As of this morning I am cruising again!

I have just left Anacortes and am making way for Port Angeles!

It's about 0630 and and I expect to dock in Port Angeles sometime early afternoon.

[Cool Change 4788]

And so the next leg of your adventure begins. Looks like a great morning in the sound! We love to see the pictures! Good luck Kevin and fair weather and seas to you.

[ksanders]

And so the next leg of your adventure begins. Looks like a great morning in the sound! We love to see the pictures! Good luck Kevin and fair weather and seas to you.

Thanks!!!

Change of plans!

I had a strong tide with me this morning, and the weather is so perfect I decided to travel to Neah Bay today.

This puts me in position to round Cape Flattery tomorrow. It's around 14 hours of driving, and there is a low tide at 5:33 PM.

So... if I leave at daybreak I'll hit the bar just after slack, and flooding. which is where I want to be.

Monday the weather is turning so I might be stuck in grays harbor for a couple of days, but we will have to see.

The Strait of JuanDe Fuca is perfect today. I currently have about 8 knots of breeze on my nose and flat seas.

[ksanders]

Tonight I am happily anchor's off in Neah Bay. today was a perfect day on the boat. Calm to following winds/seas, perfect.

I filled up with diesel at $5.69 per gallon and am leaving for Westport at around 0430.

Westport appears to be a cool place to hang out. It has bike trails, a lighthouse, and several restaurants in the Marina District.