San Juan’s for the winter

[luna]

You remember that occasion well, your Grandson will likely never forget it.

70 years from now, with a twinkle in his eye he will recount the story to a wide eyed 8 year old.

Boats, the ultimate memory makers.

 

[GrandWood]

Cruised down to Blind Bay this am, anchored out on the southwest side. Be our first time in big winds that are forecasted for the weekend. Hopefully the boat does well holding. We are in 25 ft of water, should drop to 15 at low tide, and have 125ft of chain out.

 

[Frosty]

Cruised down to Blind Bay this am, anchored out on the southwest side. Be our first time in big winds that are forecasted for the weekend. Hopefully the boat does well holding. We are in 25 ft of water, should drop to 15 at low tide, and have 125ft of chain out.

I'm not there, but.... I might like a bit more chain out if possible. Guessing it's not crowded

My math for chain amount out:

25' at high tide
5' to bow roller (guessing)
So total 30'

7:1 scope (presuming you have room) = 7x30 = 210'
5:1 scope (if you must) = 5 x 30 = 150'

 

[SteveK]

Cruised down to Blind Bay this am, anchored out on the southwest side. Be our first time in big winds that are forecasted for the weekend. Hopefully the boat does well holding. We are in 25 ft of water, should drop to 15 at low tide, and have 125ft of chain out.

You have a healthy/abundant amount of rode/chain out.
BTW, throw in some more pictures so we can cruise with you.

 

[Frosty]

SteveK said:
"You have a healthy/abundant amount of chain out."

I take it you think my recommendation was too conservative. But @GrandWood is talking about "big [winter] winds" and likely has plenty of room in the anchorage. Right now he's at 4.16:1 scope (I'm guessing 5' from water to bow roller since even on my wee craft that distance is 3').

So I'm curious about your statement right after mine.

(Granted, he might be just fine and dandy at 4:1, but he won't know that -- or not -- at 3 a.m. until after the blow has passed.)

I figure chain doesn't do any good in the locker. So if there is room (and it's not bothering anyone else) why not use it for a coming blow.

 

[lwarden]

This is what it looks like in summertime. Cool place, enjoy!

 

[Mac2]

You have a healthy/abundant amount of rode/chain out.
BTW, throw in some more pictures so we can cruise with you.

This is curious to me. Frosty pointed out the correct amount of scope, yet you have an aversion to this. Why? If Im expecting a blow I go 10:1.

 

[SteveK]

SteveK said:
"You have a healthy/abundant amount of chain out."

I take it you think my recommendation was too conservative. But @GrandWood is talking about "big [winter] winds" and likely has plenty of room in the anchorage. Right now he's at 4.16:1 scope (I'm guessing 5' from water to bow roller since even on my wee craft that distance is 3').

So I'm curious about your statement right after mine.

(Granted, he might be just fine and dandy at 4:1, but he won't know that -- or not -- at 3 a.m. until after the blow has passed.)

I figure chain doesn't do any good in the locker. So if there is room (and it's not bothering anyone else) why not use it for a coming blow.

@Frosty your post was alright at 25 feet of water and asking if 5' to pulpit is included for 30 feet calcs.
I took his total post literally and saw 15 feet of water and assume he included 5 feet to pulpit in the 25 & 15 calcs.
At 25 he has 5/1
At 15 he has 8/1

 

[Frosty]

We are in 25 ft of water, should drop to 15 at low tide, and have 125ft of chain out.

SteveK said:
"I took his total post literally and saw 15 feet of water and assume he included 5 feet to pulpit in the 25 & 15 calcs."

What do you mean? He literally said he is in 25' of water (15' at low tide) and has 125' of chain out. See quote above.

This clearly cannot include the distance to the bow roller (unless his boat is sinking, or he has a snubber attached at the waterline.... tho for the latter I still think about what if the snubber breaks and I'm back to roller height with the rode).

I don't own a Grand Banks 36, but I have seen a few. I'd be very surprised if the bow roller wasn't darned close to 5' from the water surface. I have a vastly smaller boat and it's 3' on mine.

 

[Mac2]

Grandwood: your in the best spot for the upcoming winds, which looks like they will hit around midnight on Friday-of course in the middle of the night.

 

[SteveK]

What do you mean? He literally said he is in 25' of water (15' at low tide) and has 125' of chain out. See quote above.

This clearly cannot include the distance to the bow roller (unless his boat is sinking, or he has a snubber attached at the waterline.... tho for the latter I still think about what if the snubber breaks and I'm back to roller height with the rode).

I don't own a Grand Banks 36, but I have seen a few. I'd be very surprised if the bow roller wasn't darned close to 5' from the water surface. I have a vastly smaller boat and it's 3' on mine.

I stand corrected on the 5 feet being included. 125 feet of chain
@30is 4/1 @20 is 6/1
I maintain MY opinion that he has enough out based on MY having anchored a 36 foot GB.
More may be better, but is it necessary? Yes if winds are above 25 knots.

 

[GrandWood]

Believe I’m 5/6ft from the water, so yeh I’ll be 5 to 1 at low tide, I can put out more. When I back down on anchor, I’m pulling to starboard due to only the port engine operating at present. Once some wind starts blowing and my bow is to the wind I’ll let out some more. But truthfully I wanna see for myself what happens when I drag, if I do, I wanna hear it and see it on my phone. I want to have confidence in my anchor. Prolly sounds stupid, I have the whole bay behind me. I’m not gonna sleep when the wind cranks up anyway.

 

[GrandWood]

Grandwood: you’re in the best spot for the upcoming winds, which looks like they will hit around midnight on Friday-of course in the middle of the night.

Been watching predictwind all day on and off, reading local weather forecasters. This will be a big event for me and my son, first time out in a big blow if what’s predicted takes place.

 

[GrandWood]

I stand corrected on the 5 feet being included. 125 feet of chain
@30is 4/1 @20 is 6/1
I maintain MY opinion that he has enough out based on MY having anchored a 36 foot GB.
More may be better, but is it necessary? Yes if winds are above 25 knots.

Couple forecasters have stated maybe 50 mph gusts

 

[Bmarler]

With gusts to 50 I’d put out another 30 or 40 feet of chain. Heck, why not 50.
I’m assuming you’re in the lee of the land, so wind waves shouldn’t be an issue, just the wind. The shape of the land mass can affect the wind speed, not always in a good way. I’m hearing gusts to 40 at Friday harbor just now on the news.
If you can find it, Jeff Renner wrote a book about winds in out region that explains how islands affect the wind patterns. It’s worth a look.

 

[JackConnick]

My experience is that you’ll get used to the normal swings and pulls on your bridle/chain, but when it drags it will feel like a jerk as it catches again and then it may repeat.
Let out more rode early, don’t get caught doing the tidy whitey drill in the middle of the worst of it.

 

[luna]

With a relatively new to you older boat that at present has only one operational propulsion engine, if it was me I would take the midday Friday opportunity to move as far West and North as I could. The dock at Friday Harbour looks inviting but should you want to remain on the hook either harbour at Stuart Island according to Windy, looks to receive winds at about half the speeds forecast for Blind Bay.

Adrift at 3 am in a howling wind is never a good thing.

 

[RedRascal]

I myself would not stay in Blind Bay for this upcoming blow. The land is somewhat flat on the southern end of Blind Bay and it seems that the wind just flows right into the bay. I would head for Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island because the terrain is much steeper to block the wind. Just north of the state park dock the beach rises up a bit to a 10-20' cliff which has a healthy stands of fir trees on it plus there is a good size hill on the west side of the island. Should be a good wind break. Also at the moment from looking at Windy.com it appears to have little less wind forecasted being further north vs Shaw.

The wind is going to hit in the middle of the night and if you want to experiment with testing the anchor I'd wait for a wind event that will peak during daylight hours instead of night. Testing is good and I am a big fan of it. If it was daytime why not start at a 4:1 scope to see what it takes to drag then repeat with more scope out. There is plenty of room to drag in Blind Bay which is a plus.

I am living a bit vicariously with your winter cruise because I know the days will be coming where it will be calm, clear and the views of the mountains with fresh snow on them will be amazing.

 

[Frosty]

My experience is that you’ll get used to the normal swings and pulls on your bridle/chain, but when it drags it will feel like a jerk as it catches again and then it may repeat.
Let out more rode early, don’t get caught doing the tidy whitey drill in the middle of the worst of it.

Not sure if it's every boat (or even powerboats at all), but sometimes you find yourself lying broadside to the wind, as another clue.

50 knot gusts? Agree with the above: Personally I would lay out more chain right now -- and find out what dragging is like some other time.

 

[lwarden]

Sound advice by @DDW . I wouldn't want to be dealing with recovering and trying to reset at 3am down one engine. A dock sounds like a pretty good place to be. Prevost is very protected, but also small and if you drag you will be on the rocks before you have time to deal with it, especially with limited propulsion.

 

[jrd22]

Latest forecast shows a shift from SE to SW Friday night, gusts to 35. I don’t think you’ll see that much wind in there but better safe than sorry.

PZZ133 Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands- 159 Pm Pst Thu Dec 4 2025

.small craft advisory in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning - .

Tonight - SE wind around 5 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less. A chance of rain this evening, then rain after midnight.

Fri - SE wind 10 to 15 kt, becoming sw 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Fri night - SW wind 15 to 20 kt, rising to 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt after midnight. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Sat - SW wind 15 to 20 kt, easing to 10 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Sat night - S wind 10 to 15 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Sun - S wind 15 to 20 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Sun night - SW wind 10 to 15 kt, becoming S 5 to 10 kt after midnight. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain likely.

Mon - SE wind 10 to 15 kt, rising to 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Mon night - S wind 20 to 25 kt, becoming sw 15 to 20 kt after midnight. Waves around 3 ft in the evening, then around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Tue - S wind 10 to 15 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

Tue night - S wind 5 to 10 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less. Rain.

 

[Moonfish]

I myself would not stay in Blind Bay for this upcoming blow. The land is somewhat flat on the southern end of Blind Bay and it seems that the wind just flows right into the bay. I would head for Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island because the terrain is much steeper to block the wind. Just north of the state park dock the beach rises up a bit to a 10-20' cliff which has a healthy stands of fir trees on it plus there is a good size hill on the west side of the island. Should be a good wind break. Also at the moment from looking at Windy.com it appears to have little less wind forecasted being further north vs Shaw.

I would also be more comfortable in Prevost in a winter southerly. WA State Parks used to leave the dock in at Prevost during the winter, but not sure now. Does anyone know?

 

[JackConnick]

Yeah, Prevost overt Reid. I had my ass handed to me in Reid one southerly. The wind funnels in there.

 

[Mac2]

I would also be more comfortable in Prevost in a winter southerly. WA State Parks used to leave the dock in at Prevost during the winter, but not sure now. Does anyone know?

Two years ago, in December, the dock was there. The bay was also covered with commercial crab traps.

 

[Portage_Bay]

I would also be more comfortable in Prevost in a winter southerly. WA State Parks used to leave the dock in at Prevost during the winter, but not sure now. Does anyone know?

Washington State Parks Winter Schedule

 

[Portage_Bay]

OP,

I'm with those advising Prevost on Stuart Island. Well protected, good solid dock. I get you don't want to buy the annual permit this late in the year. But the daily fee for the upcoming storm won't break the bank.

 

[GrandWood]

We’re gonna stay here, and that’s due to me not really confident crossing over to Stuart Island. Just looking at the plotter seems a lot of open water to cross. Been thinking about it all day, and just sketched out even with just 10mph of wind out there.

I put more chain out, 150ft in the water.

 

[luna]

Likely too late to move now anyway.

The winds at Race Rocks at 3:00 PM were recorded as from the West at 33 kn, with gusts of 38.

A few hours ago they were at 4 kn.

Looks like it’s coming to a theatre near you. Hold on tight.

 

[Frosty]

I'm glad you increased the chain.

So now you have 5:1 scope at high tide and around 7:1 at low tide. I don't know where the tide will be during the worst of it though (I'm sure you do).

I'm still the type who would have out at least 210' because I would like at least 7:1 at high tide. But I'm stodgy and I still pretend I have the less effective older style of anchor.

Here's to a boring night. Keep us posted!

 

[GrandWood]

Here’s gfs on the wind app, says there should be 20mph winds, it’s a little breezy, calm water. 1600 hrs