PNW Cruising Outfits

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

So this summer, we have run into the 3 outfits that operate in the PNW. NW Expeditions, Slow Boat and Waggoner.

I believe all 3 groups are top notch, professional and offers a valuable service.

However (you knew this was coming) with all these groups docking, taking small anchorages, and such, it can get a little crowded. Some of the marinas will tell you there are no slips available.

I'm not complaining. The group cruises, marinas, and all the other folks makes money. Good for them. It's just when you come around the corner and there is a cruising group taking up the anchorage.....

We are also seeing more boat traffic on the Inside Passage this year.

End of soapbox

What say you?

[bkcorwin]

When we crossed cape caution a few weeks ago, there was two guided groups behind us. Probably 10 boats total. They definitely are a presence when they all go into an anchorage. I watched them follow each other into pruth bay. I wasn't there but i imagine it was noticeable.

Brian

[Insequent]

If the cruising groups have not published their itineraries beforehand you could always ask them. And maintain contact if weather impacts their plans.

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I think the question needs to be rephrase. It appears to me the amount of boats heading north, even more Bayliner (They are a great boat) lol seems to have increased. Before COVID the same boats seem to reappear each summer. During COVID a lot of folks figured a great cruise north could be done. Many succeeded. Now it's the volume of cruisers have increased.

[Comodave]

When I saw the title I thought maybe you guys in the PNW wore special clothes when cruising…

[twistedtree]

I would say there are more boats this year than ever before. And the Mother Goose groups so all seem to be closely timed. We heard groups trying to jamb themselves into Meyer's Chuck and Thorne Bay today, and space in Ketchikan was very thin on Sunday as well.

[Portage_Bay]

I just wrote and deleted a long rant. Here's the short version. I hear ya. I think it comes down to technology making boating and navigation easy. Access to information via the internet. You don't have to dig for information anymore. No need to learn anything the hard way from experience. Starlink is only gonna ramp that up. Very little skill needed anymore. Now add in money, lots more of that around these days. And people, lots more people. In the late 70's I spent the month of August on Knight Inlet and saw one other boat. One. The entire month. I was back there again a few years ago. Now it seems like a traffic jam. Same goes for many areas.

Outfits like you mentioned only add to the crowding.

Mini rant over. Climbing off my soapbox now.

Originally Posted by Alaskan Sea-Duction

I think the question needs to be rephrase. It appears to me the amount of boats heading north, even more Bayliner (They are a great boat) lol seems to have increased. Before COVID the same boats seem to reappear each summer. During COVID a lot of folks figured a great cruise north could be done. Many succeeded. Now it's the volume of cruisers have increased.

[Retriever]

Come on over to the other side of Alaska and you won’t have to worry about crowds. We’ve done 600nm since arriving in Attu and haven’t seen another boat of any type, in person or on AIS.

[Airstream345]

This is our first trip to Alaska. We've been cruising the up IP since leaving Friday Harbor on April 1 (we're in Juneau today) so I can't really comment if there are more boats or less this season. I can say we don't see many other recreational boats in general. We've not had any issues getting a dock or finding an open spot in an anchorage. We're often the only boat in an anchorage so we're bummed when we see one other boat already there. To be fair, we're up here earlier than most and now we're north of many of the boats we saw in BC. I'd say after Petersburg things thinned out and we mostly see charter or tour operators not to mention cruise ships....so many cruise ships.

We ran across the Slowboat Flotilla in Wrangell for one night but there was plenty of space left on the dock (we briefly met them, and they were lovely). While we're not in any specific flotilla or group we certainly have been getting to know and keeping in touch with our "cohort" of boats that all seemed to group up while staging for Cape Caution and Dixon. It's been great to meet other boaters and share weather or sea state conditions and various "must-see" anchorages ahead or behind you.

We're one of those highly connected vessels. Lots of navigation equipment, the latest electronic Raster, Vector, C-MAP charts, and Starlink internet now allows many of those "cohort boat" interactions to happen over WhatsApp, Facebook, or Text while in the more remote places. Knowledge sharing, remote troubleshooting, and "best local bar" recommendations are invaluable.

Despite this level of connectivity and tech, we still spend considerable time reading through the tried-and-true guidebooks, talking to locals and "old timers", confirming information we've read, or learning about new off-the-beaten-path places to explore. For us, it's all information gathering and a large part of the fun of cruising.

Honestly, more or fewer boats, newbies or old timers, solo sailors or flotillas, connected helms or paper charts, and a lead line - who cares? There seems to be plenty of space for all of us and no end of things to do and see up here.

Picture of us in front of North Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm (the only boat at the time)

[Moonfish]

Originally Posted by Comodave

When I saw the title I thought maybe you guys in the PNW wore special clothes when cruising…

Me, too!

[Moonfish]

An interesting observation about flotillas. We were part of a Waggoner flotilla to the Broughtons in 2015, but we only had seven boats and weren't always even anchored in the same cove. However, I can see that a group of a dozen or more boats could impact the more off-the-beaten-path spots or smaller marinas.

As far as more traffic and an increase in the overall number of cruising boats, might it be a post pandemic pent up release? I was under the impression that the last few years have seen a decrease in general numbers north.

The situation reminds we of when we first began creating our video cruising guides back in 2013, we received mostly positive feedback. There were a few Negative Nellies, though, with two primary concerns:

1. "Now everybody is going to find our favorite spots!"

2. "Well, if I watch a video, why would I need to go there in person?" (Yes, more than one person actually said this...)

Contradictory statements, indeed. To the first we would typically reply that there are and have been for many years multiple cruising guidebooks, YouTube videos, and hundreds of articles and web pages already extolling the virtues of their "secret anchorage", and we weren't going to make THAT much of an impact.

To the second sentiment, I would just respond with a shake my head and remark that I've seen documentaries, many, many pics, and read lots off articles about Machu Picchu and I STILL WANT TO GO THERE!

[AlaskaProf]

Originally Posted by Portage_Bay

Now add in money, lots more of that around these days. And people, lots more people. In the late 70's I spent the month of August on Knight Inlet and saw one other boat. Climbing off my soapbox now.

P.B.
Doin my part, staying in Oregon. You're welcome.


--AlaskaProf in Ashland

[soin2la]

It is what it is, everyone is a visitor and entitled to be. Complaining isn’t going to change it.

It is the same with recreational camping in BC; non locals swamping all available space. The large RV rental companies marketing in Europe and connected with travel agents book huge numbers of campsites, many of which sit empty because of no shows.

Popular destination accommodations and wildlife tours booked months in advance. Ferries at capacity much of the time; two lane highways akin to interstates.

It is what it is.

Roll back 20 years, or even less and we were all cursing the entitled invaders from the south taking over our favorite anchorages. Now we just plan accordingly. June used to be “off season,” now its April.

The flotillas do publish their itineraries, at least in the spring when organizing and yes a quick check with them will confirm, but that won’t help much as the overflow will go where you are going anyway.

Long gone are the days when a spot was there just for “ME.”

[w8n4sun]

Originally Posted by soin2la

Roll back 20 years, or even less and we were all cursing the entitled invaders from the south taking over our favorite anchorages.

Hope this was written in jest? I am one of those from the south that love your cruising grounds and don't take it for granted.

[soin2la]

Just pointing out the evolution, what ASD is experiencing today, BC boaters experienced once, as did the indigenous people. Heck, folks are complaining about the San Juans being overrun.

It's really not that long ago the west coast from Puget Sound to AK, was as described by Retriever.

[w8n4sun]

I abhor entitled behavior, and don't want to be labeled as one as a generalization. And by the number of pink targets on marinetraffic.com it really does look to be extremely busy up north.

[soin2la]

Originally Posted by w8n4sun

And by the number of pink targets on marinetraffic.com it really does look to be extremely busy up north.

That isn't even an accurate count. Like when Marine Traffic shows 18 boats in Squirrel Cove and there really are 53.

It's just starting earlier and spreading farther. You just have to adjust, accept and carry on. I doubt it will get any better. NW Explorations alone, have probably trippled their numbers from five years ago.

[w8n4sun]

You are right, most don't have AIS so I normally double what I see on MT. Patience required and flexible routing and attitudes.

[Bmarler]

Originally Posted by soin2la

Just pointing out the evolution, what ASD is experiencing today, BC boaters experienced once, as did the indigenous people. Heck, folks are complaining about the San Juans being overrun.

It's really not that long ago the west coast from Puget Sound to AK, was as described by Retriever.

The San Juan’s have been overrun for a long time. I don’t go there during the summer, it’s just not enjoyable. I will go in September after school is back in session.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Comodave

When I saw the title I thought maybe you guys in the PNW wore special clothes when cruising…

I had the same thought.....



Guessing it's all cyclical. The old Yogi Berra quote comes to mind: "Nobody goes there anymore.......it's too crowded!"