Possible June Trip to PNW ... questions

BB, more video torture...James Island. Nice place, good trails. We BBQ'd lunch there and then went off towards Spencer Spit for happy hour. Pretty much all hours up here in the summer are Happy Hours!

I'm new to this forum, but I know the San Juans and Gulfs intimately after cruising these grounds on my sailboat for the last 8 or so years. Figured I'd throw my $.02 in.

I always advise people not to worry about fine tuning an itinerary for a trip through the islands. The beauty of these islands is that no matter where you are, you've got your choice of marinas or anchorages for the next stop. We typically discuss our next destination over that morning's coffee. Do we feel like a marina with all the amenities? A remote beautiful little harbor to anchor in? State park with dock or mooring balls? Then we flip open the charts, pick the spot and go there. Keep in mind that you'll be chatting with lots of fellow boaters on this trip, and your itinerary may change based on those chats!

Make sure you have good current tables and you know how to use them. Part of selecting that days destination may be the decision between fighting the current Vs riding it.

There are a few of us who are working a 2 week group trip (flotilla? armada?) up to Desolation Sound and back in mid June. If you could adjust your schedule and duration, a trip like this with buddy boaters who know the area is a great way to go!

GoneFarrell, my wife and I have watched the video many times, these videos are great to see ... especially when mornings here are single digits.

Toki

Man I would love to travel with you guys - but our trip is partially based on a business trip my wife has in Vancouver, and those dates can not change - bummer.

Lived in Washington for 60+ years, never heard a Washington resident call a B.C. resident anything of the sort!!

This is in reference to the prior statement that “people from Washington call people from B.C. ‘cheeseheads’.”

Spinner said:

Lived in Washington for 60+ years, never heard a Washington resident call a B.C. resident anything of the sort!!

This is in reference to the prior statement that “people from Washington call people from B.C. ‘cheeseheads’.”

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Having lived in BC since 1952 and boated here most of my life, I confess surprise at the term. Never heard it before, though it may be one used only out of our hearing, by those envious of where we live and boat.

Have lived in Wa for over 60 years and I have indeed heard the term for BC folk. Never made any sense to me but I have heard it.

The reason BC folks are called Cheese Heads is that cheese is significantly cheaper in Washington state (or was before our dollar dropped so badly against the American dollar). So many a Canadian has been observed by many an American purchasing a large quantity of various cheeses in your wonderful state.

rsn48 said:

The reason BC folks are called Cheese Heads is that cheese is significantly cheaper in Washington state (or was before our dollar dropped so badly against the American dollar). So many a Canadian has been observed by many an American purchasing a large quantity of various cheeses in your wonderful state.

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I concur, back in the 70's and 80's the term was used but not in any bad way.

The boat I grew up on and cruised the PNW until last year used a Danforth on rope+chain rode. We had about a 45# anchor with 30' of chain then nylon, held in all sorts of blows over the past 40 years. In PNW you can mostly anchor in 18-30' of water, the smaller your boat the easier it is to tuck in close to shore. That ability to get in close gives you access to anchorage space when a larger boat would not be able to find space. As others have mentioned, watch the tide and depth.

The only time I've ever heard anyone called a Cheese Head is in reference to people (a.k.a. Packer Backers) from Wisconsin.

We are chartering a trawler for 9 nine days in the San Juan Islands at the end of May next year. There is a lot of information posted in this thread that I find useful for our trip. so a big thank you to all the contributors.

Soo-Valley said:

I concur, back in the 70's and 80's the term was used but not in any bad way.

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Yes, correct.
I travelled Europe in the mid seventies with two yanks from Bellingham. They referred to Canadians as 'cheeseheads'.