Reference Material
(click here for a printer friendly PDF version)  Updated: 21 Dec 2009   

This section contains information on the following topics:

• Web Sites - information on cruising in the Pacific Northwest
• Cruising Guides - books on cruising in the Pacific Northwest
• Marina Guides - information on the marinas we will be using
• Charts - lists the major charts and chart books covering the cruise
• Weather - brief discussion of the normal late Summer weather
• What to Wear and Bring - a style guide for the well-dressed yachter
• Docking Assistance - All you need to know about the docking support system and the Nor'westing  Wharfinger
• Water and Holding Tanks and Fuel - information about getting water during the cruise and management of your holding tank
• 50 Amp Power and Moorage for Larger Boats - discusses the generally low availability of 50 amp power at some of the docks and where boats over 50+ may be placed in Victoria Harbour.
• Whale Watching Etiquette - presents the standards for the professional whale watching companies follow. This section should be reviewed by all boaters.

Web Sites for more information (also see the links in the Agenda/Itinerary pages)

Marine Weather Forecast for Washington - http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/marine_report.html, Forecasts for seven areas in the cruising area as reported by the University of Washington. Updated several times daily. We will be cruising in the section Northern Inland Waters Including the San Juan Islands.

Smith Island Buoy Report - http://seaboard.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=sisw1 Reports on wind and barometer conditions at Smith Island, just below the San Juan Islands. Check before entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Updated hourly.

Washington State Ferry Weather - http://i90.atmos.washington.edu/ferry/Ferryjs/mainframe1.htm, Provides live wind reports on the WA State Ferry routes. Very useful when considering crossings of the open straits or seeing what the near real time winds are in the San Juan Islands.

Canadian Weather for BC - http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=03,  Weather reports from Environment Canada for the Georgia Basin (the upper part of our cruising area).

Waggoner Cruising Guide - www.waggonerguide.com/index.html, Cruising reports and links presented by the publishers of the annually updated cruising guide described below under Marina Guides. Many nautical links.

48° North - 48north.com. Local sailing-oriented magazine, many sailing links.

Cruising Guides

An assortment of useful printed publications for the Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Gulf Islands, and Desolation Sound. (Most descriptions courtesy of Fine Edge Publications, you can order them on-line at http://fineedge.com/readinglist.html)

• Gunkholing in the San Juan Islands, Jo Bailey and Carl Nyberg, 2nd edition, 304pp, 2000, The most popular cruising guide for the San Juan Islands, completely revised and updated from the original classic. Essential piloting information is clearly defined as the authors guide the cruiser into many ports and anchorages, and describe the “not to be missed” places to visit, where to go and what to see. In addition, their interesting vignettes of history, folklore, and natural phenomena add delicious interest to your cruise. NOT ON FINE EDGE.
• Dreamspeaker Cruising Guides: Anne & Laurence Yeadon-Jones, Five guides for the cruising areas in the Pacific Northwest. Dreamspeaker 1 covers Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, while Dreamspeaker 4 covers the San Juan islands. Illustrated by watercolor drawings of the nooks and crannies of the islands.
• Exploring the San Juans and Gulf Islands, Don Douglass and Reanne Hemmingway-Douglass, 2003, Extensive coverage of the San Juan Islands, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island from Victoria to Nanaimo with every place to tie up or anchor.

Marina Guides

• The Burgee, 5th Edition, David Kutz, 2007, David Kutz's complete marina guidebook for boaters has everything needed to find overnight moorage between Olympia to Desolation Sound and the Discovery Islands. Extensive coverage of reciprocal yacht clubs. Note: chartlets of the cruise marinas are reproduced on the Charts and Routes page.
• The Waggoner Cruising Guide, Robert Hale, editor, This annual cruising guide covers all of the marine facilities and many anchorages from Puget Sound to Prince Rupert with current information

Charts and Chart Guides

See the section Paper Charts in Charts and Routes.

Weather

The weather in the Pacific Northwest is impossible to forecast, so be prepared for several types of weather during the cruise. The late summer time can have warm to hot days with clear sky and temperatures of the high 70's and cooler evenings. It also can be rainy with several days of a slow drizzle and some wind. These wet days have temps ranging from the mid 50's to the low 60's in the days and the low to mid 40's at night. We also can have foggy days, which are wet and damp. In short, be prepared for both sunshine and rain. Sunscreen and face towels may be in equal demand. Seattle TV station channel 5 has a useful weather page.

What to Wear and Bring

With the weather described above in mind, you definitely need to layer your clothing. Dress in the San Juan Islands and Victoria is casual. While shorts and sandals are occasionally seen, the most common clothing worn by boaters is cotton pants and short and long-sleeved shirts. Sweaters and light jackets will be needed when the sun goes away. Light rain gear may be needed if you are caught out shopping or in Victoria's Butchard Gardens. Definitely bring an umbrella.

The hosted dinners are casual. You probably will need a light sweater or jacket for the evenings, unless there is a rare hot spell.

Afternoon High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria is a grand tradition and dressing up is part of the process. Ladies wear nice summer dresses and often are seen with hats and gloves. You can accessorize in Victoria before heading over to the hotel.

Victoria and Sidney are walking towns and good sturdy walking shoes are a must. Since antiquing and shopping in all of our stops are justly famous, you may want to bring along one or two carry bags to lug your loot back to the boat.

Swimming is at your own risk. The summer water temps may hit the mid 50's, chilly. Walking, hiking, and biking are great activities on Orcas and San Juan islands, so bring good shoes and a small daypack for water, etc.

Wildlife viewing is fantastic, from orcas to dolphins to eagles to herons. Birders and wildlife enthusiasts will need a good pair of binoculars and local birding and wildlife guides. These books are readily available at all of the stops.

Docking Assistance

The Tacoma Sail and Power Squadron will provide Docking Assistance for the cruise. This cruise is one of the larger group cruises hitting the marinas in our area. Because of this, "parking" 60 boats into fairly small spaces requires lots of coordination. For these reasons, the Tacoma squadron has come up with some suggestions:

Pre-Planning - The docking committee will pre-plan the docking locations of the boats in the fleet for each marina based upon the overall length of each boat. If you have any special preference (port or starboard tie, bow-in or stern-in), then send an e-mail message to the Docking Assistance team on the Contact Information page.

Handicap Support - Please inform the Docking Assistance group of any special needs to support people with handicaps.

Wharfinger Contact -  Skippers contact the docking committee via VHF channel 78 by hailing "Nor'westing Docking Crew" when they are 15 to 20 minutes out from their destination. The cruise wharfinger informs the skipper of the proper slip assignment and and lets him know if he should proceed right in or perhaps take it a little slow so that boats ahead can get tied up. The incoming boats generally will be met on the water by an escort dingy to guide them right to their slip. The docking crew will be at the assigned slip to help "catch" the vessel when it arrives and to handle mooring lines.

Be Ready - Tacoma requests that the skippers have fenders and docking lines out and set before they approach the moorage area. This made it easy for a person on board to get a line to one of the dock crew so they can help get control of the incoming vessel to make a safe landing. Remember that there 60 boats getting tied-up during a 2-3 hour period, so be prepared.

Not Using the Docking Service? We will need to have information about boats that are not planning to moor with the group at any given destination. With this information we can do the slip planning for the boats we know are going to be there. In this case, we won't be looking for a boat that has not arrived and becoming concerned as to its whereabouts. You know, that old communications thing. Tell us your plans!!!

Water and Holding Tank and Fuel

Potable Water May Be Limited - Skippers should make sure their water tanks are topped off  before they leave from their charter moorage. For those with their own vessels, they should top off water tanks before heading to Roche Harbor. With the usual short supply of water in the San Juan Islands during summer time, not having enough potable water may present some problems as the cruise unfolds. Also, most of the marinas do not allow washing boats during the summer months.

Holding tanks!! - Make sure that you are aware of the capacity of your boat's holding tank. Overboard discharge of black water is prohibited in all of the marinas and in the waters within the San Juan Islands (three mile limit). Also you should know how to check on the level of the tank so that you can plan a calm and peaceful pump-out at a pump-out station (available in each of the marinas) as needed. It's embarrassing to awaken your neighbor and ask to use the head in the middle of the night, because you just overflowed your holding tank. Roche Harbor has its famous MV Phecal Phreak "sanitation" launch which visits each boat at their slip. The pump-out service is free, but boaters always tip the crew very generously (it is a sought-after position for the summer staff).

Each of the marinas have good shore-based toilet and shower facilities.

Fuel - Gasoline and Diesel fuel is available in each marina we visit. Be prepared for rather high prices.

50 Amp Power and Moorage Locations for Larger Boats

50 Amp Power is limited a some of the marinas, namely Friday Harbor and Victoria, and on some of the docks at Roche Harbor. If you absolutely must have 50 amp power for your boat, check the button on the Vessel Information section of the Registration form. The guest slips on the Causeway Floats in Victoria Harbor have only 30 amp connections. Boats requiring 50 amps will be berthed at the nearby Large Vessel Moorage float on the Ship Point Wharf.

Moorage for 50+ Foot Boats - Boats with an overall length of more than 50 feet may be moored slightly apart from the rest of the fleet due to space considerations. The fairways at Causeway Floats in Victoria are fairly narrow and larger boats may request being moored at nearby Ship Point floats.

Whale Watching Etiquette

The orca whales in Puget Sound are listed as an endangered species and special precautions should be taken when sighting a pod of orcas.

• The Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest (a professional association) presents its Whale Watching Guidelines.
• The Be Whale Wise website lists some additional guidelines and has links to several other whale watching web sites.
• Wikipedia has a good section on Killer Whales or Orcas