Pacific Northwest Fuel Mate

The current decides the schedule, not the other way around New cruisers plan a route, then figure out timing around it. Experienced Pacific Northwest cruisers do the opposite: they find the passes their route has to go through, figure out when those passes are safe to run, and build the day's schedule around that first. That's not being overly cautious. The Pacific Northwest is threaded with narrow passes where the tide moves enormous volumes of water through a tight gap, and the difference between running one at the right time and the wrong time is the difference between calm water and standing waves. Six passes, south to north None of these are a reason to avoid a route. Cruisers run every one of them safely, every season, by running them at the right part of the tide cycle. Boundary Pass , between the San Juans and the Gulf Islands, carries rip currents reported swinging roughly 5 to 9 knots depending on the tide. Active Pass , the main gateway into the Gulf Islands, r...

The one leg where "I'll just top off when I get there" doesn't work Most Pacific Northwest cruising has a fuel dock within easy reach of wherever you're headed next. But push north past the San Juans and the Gulf Islands, toward Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, or further, and you'll eventually hit a leg with nothing in between. No marina, no fuel dock, sometimes no cell signal, until you're on the other side. That's not a reason to avoid those trips. Boaters run legs like this safely every season. It's a reason to know your real fuel range before you leave the dock, instead of estimating it once you're already underway. Sailors have an out that powerboats don't We came across a great account of a sailboat's run from Anacortes up to Haida Gwaii, about 500 miles over two weeks. The boat motorsailed most of it, and when the wind dropped or the forecast turned, the crew had an option we don't have on a powerboat: slow down, wait, ...

Pacific Northwest Fuel Mate  ·  Cruise Planning  ·  August 2026 Why Planning a Pacific Northwest Cruise Can Be Harder Than It Should Be (And What to Do About It) The boaters who have the easy trip are the ones who booked ahead Ask any experienced Pacific Northwest cruiser what makes the difference between a relaxed weekend in the San Juans and a stressful one, and it usually comes down to one thing: whether you reserved your stop before you left the dock. Roche Harbor Resort & Marina takes advance reservations online or by phone, and actively encourages booking ahead for summer weekends — they even hold back a small number of same-day slips on a VHF waitlist for peak-season walk-ins, but that's a supplement to advance booking, not the only way in (the one exception is July 4th, which is walk-in only). Deer Harbor Marina works the same way — book online through Dockwa or by phone, and their own advice is to reserve month...