Crossing Georgia strait in small boat
- Thread starter GSiloveyou
- Start date
G-Auto
Active Member
I wasn’t going to chime in on this because this is just another opinion argument. But in my OPINION if you’re asking if it is safe to cross, it isn’t no matter the size of boat. I get that it can be tough to get comfortable but if you’re learning and your in Vancouver. Start by going to Gibson’s for the night. Stay close to shore and buzz around, experience different weather systems. Make the decision yourself if it’s safe to cross or not.
G-Auto
Active Member
Well my response was more long winded than yours so you beat me to it...
Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
Well-- the 542 is a pretty good boat.... its not so much the boat-- but the weather. I once believed the weatherman that wind crossing from the North Arm to Nanaimo would only be 10-15 mph. He lied, once I got to the point of no return, an unforecast NW came up and it was blowing 20-30 !!! Luckily I was operating a boat that could took take it-- a 22ft Lynwood.. I tried to get cover behind a ferry-- I couldnt catch up to him. It took me 4 hours of pounding to get to Nanaimo. I spent the night in the cuddy after spending 3 hrs in the bar in the Malaspina hotel !!! My wife didnt understand how beat up I and my passenger were.. all she hear was BAR !!!! --So-- chit happens when you least expect it. Might be a good idea to go across with a buddy boat until you are familiar with the crossing ?
banger17
Well-Known Member
All seem to be reasonable comments.
We’ve done the crossing in our 16.5ft centre console a few times. We’ve also had our machine out at Swiftsure Bank and 7 mile off Beale. Most important components of all those trips - good weather, safety equipment and safety plan, a bailout plan, and lots of fuel.
any size boat can cross any body of water - it all depends on common sense and the above items (and a few others, too)
We’ve done the crossing in our 16.5ft centre console a few times. We’ve also had our machine out at Swiftsure Bank and 7 mile off Beale. Most important components of all those trips - good weather, safety equipment and safety plan, a bailout plan, and lots of fuel.
any size boat can cross any body of water - it all depends on common sense and the above items (and a few others, too)
ab1752
Crew Member
Those Dauntless whalers are pretty nice and on certain days I would have no issue burning across. Just be prepared to stay over in Silva Bay if need be. I had a 150 Super Sport and I would take that all over the Straits but you sure started to feel small a mile or two off shore. Should have hung onto it in fact...
dmurph
Well-Known Member
It
it can get real nasty along west van,especially under the bridge. I’ve had a time there as well
it can get real nasty along west van,especially under the bridge. I’ve had a time there as well
Pineapple Express
Well-Known Member
This is the best statement in the whole thread!
Nobody on here knows anything about you or your experience/skill. The boat you're in plays a role, but the captain plays a bigger role.
Aces
Well-Known Member
I can relate to the selective hearing, lol
cracked_ribs
Well-Known Member
The first time I went across was in an 18 Outrage; it was choppy and 10-15kt and we were fine and had no concerns.
I get the "if you have to ask you probably aren't ready" thing because it's really the pilot, not the boat. But before the first time I went, I had to ask, and the whole first year I was doing it regularly, I researched it constantly to see if I was missing information somewhere or something. In that sense, you can be doing it, and still asking a lot of questions.
Anyway my experience is that if you try to stay under projected winds of 15 knots you could do it in most 17+ boats without too much trouble. The worst conditions I have seen on any crossing were always around Sand Heads anyway. Somewhere I have footage shot from the back of my boat of a 31' Silverton, I think, a big flybridge cruiser, hull surging completely out of the water, barking props as he tipped over the crest, and disappearing between the swells behind us after we'd gotten through the rough water at Sand Heads. He'd vanish from view completely between waves.
But after that it was pretty straightforward on that same trip...once we were away from the rivermouth it was rough and we had to idle the whole way across but the only nerve-wracking part had been the mouth. After that we were just getting rolled around but no waves sweeping the deck or anything. Even when the big flybridge was disappearing from view we were laughing and joking about it, because the previous trip had been so much worse. Again, right at Sand Heads.
So I would say that if you're comfortable getting a couple of miles out from Vancouver, well, you don't really hit anything much worse out there in the middle. Bigger, sometimes...you do see 6' rollers and occasionally more...but they're not really dangerous unless they're breaking, and they aren't breaking unless it's really obviously a bad idea to be out there.
The main issue is really just that if you're in rough water and two miles from home, it's nothing. Twenty miles away through water you can't get on plane in means that much more time for the weather to get worse, so you do have to keep an eye on it.
Anyway, bottom line...I'd take an open 17' Whaler or a closed-bow 17' whatever in projected winds that were under 15kt and if it was predicted 5-10, I wouldn't think twice about it.
I get the "if you have to ask you probably aren't ready" thing because it's really the pilot, not the boat. But before the first time I went, I had to ask, and the whole first year I was doing it regularly, I researched it constantly to see if I was missing information somewhere or something. In that sense, you can be doing it, and still asking a lot of questions.
Anyway my experience is that if you try to stay under projected winds of 15 knots you could do it in most 17+ boats without too much trouble. The worst conditions I have seen on any crossing were always around Sand Heads anyway. Somewhere I have footage shot from the back of my boat of a 31' Silverton, I think, a big flybridge cruiser, hull surging completely out of the water, barking props as he tipped over the crest, and disappearing between the swells behind us after we'd gotten through the rough water at Sand Heads. He'd vanish from view completely between waves.
But after that it was pretty straightforward on that same trip...once we were away from the rivermouth it was rough and we had to idle the whole way across but the only nerve-wracking part had been the mouth. After that we were just getting rolled around but no waves sweeping the deck or anything. Even when the big flybridge was disappearing from view we were laughing and joking about it, because the previous trip had been so much worse. Again, right at Sand Heads.
So I would say that if you're comfortable getting a couple of miles out from Vancouver, well, you don't really hit anything much worse out there in the middle. Bigger, sometimes...you do see 6' rollers and occasionally more...but they're not really dangerous unless they're breaking, and they aren't breaking unless it's really obviously a bad idea to be out there.
The main issue is really just that if you're in rough water and two miles from home, it's nothing. Twenty miles away through water you can't get on plane in means that much more time for the weather to get worse, so you do have to keep an eye on it.
Anyway, bottom line...I'd take an open 17' Whaler or a closed-bow 17' whatever in projected winds that were under 15kt and if it was predicted 5-10, I wouldn't think twice about it.
beemer
Well-Known Member
Banger you missed the most important component , experience...….
South of sandheads is a little better. I cross often from Point Roberts to active pass. Typically the worst part is through active pass. But I also diagonally cross from Point Roberts to Thrasher. That's always bad. Whenever I do the diagonal Crossing I always wish I had an offshore.
disco
Well-Known Member
When in heavy seas there's no substitute for big HP and a rock solid dependable engine. I've owned Trophies for 15 years and the high bow always stays above the water but the 5 or 6 ft standing wave at the stern will take you down if you don't have the power or dependability to stay ahead of it. Too much throttle and you bury the bow in the next wave. You need power and throttle response to stay afloat. The other problem is logs, you won't see them until it's too late. Don't ask how I know!
bMcN
Active Member
... which is why my boat is currently in the shop getting a new outdrive ...
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
I don't want to encourage anyone to go beyond their own capabilities or boat's capabilities but saying that, we used to cross the straight to fish Active Pass and around Cabbage Island when I was younger in 12' Lund with a 10 horse motor with my father in law who's family had a trailer on the water at Bells Point Roberts. The old timers over there were doing that for long before that as well going back to the 70's. This was done only on the calmest of days with the best weather reports. Would I do that again? No, never. I've seen the weather change much too fast over the years all around the coast and have been involved over the years seeing lot's of what can go wrong out on the water and have had friends lose their lives on the water for these exact reasons. Looking back I can't believe those old timers did it for so may years but they were seasoned fishermen that lived there for a portion of every year and knew which days were going to be good enough to cross on. I had heard too that on occasions some of them had to stay over or get picked up by bigger boats when the weather did change on them when they were on the other side.
When I owned my 15' K&C fiberglass boat with a 50 on it I used to cross from there as well a fair bit on good weather/water condition days but I was very used to the straight and only did that on very perfect days for it and never over stayed on the other side. Fishing was a lot better back then too around Active Pass which made it more enticing to go. We always went with other guys in their boats and we had 2 way radios back then and the VHF's. No cell phones back then. There weren't such things as safety beacons etc back then either.
Any mechanical problem and your stuck at the mercy of the weather/water conditions. And when the weather report calls for 15 Kn you can bet there will be gusts up to 20 for sure. Open bow, low stern, and non self bailing deck boats are going to be much more risky when the weather and waves pick up. And in the straight it's common to have stacking waves all mixing from different directions which makes it even harder to keep water out of your boat.
Only takes a split second for one good sized wave to come over into a boat that's not made to deal with it to sink it.
In this video I was crossing the straight after a bad storm that just started to brake up a bit. I was coming back from a trip up to Lund. I crossed over to use Texada as cover from the direction the wind and storm was coming from on my way back. By the time I came out of refuge in a bay from the storm to cross back over the winds were dying down to around 15 to 20 knots but you can get a decent idea here how the water can get a bit nasty even at 15 to 20 knots. The water conditions the morning before this was glass calm.
When I owned my 15' K&C fiberglass boat with a 50 on it I used to cross from there as well a fair bit on good weather/water condition days but I was very used to the straight and only did that on very perfect days for it and never over stayed on the other side. Fishing was a lot better back then too around Active Pass which made it more enticing to go. We always went with other guys in their boats and we had 2 way radios back then and the VHF's. No cell phones back then. There weren't such things as safety beacons etc back then either.
Any mechanical problem and your stuck at the mercy of the weather/water conditions. And when the weather report calls for 15 Kn you can bet there will be gusts up to 20 for sure. Open bow, low stern, and non self bailing deck boats are going to be much more risky when the weather and waves pick up. And in the straight it's common to have stacking waves all mixing from different directions which makes it even harder to keep water out of your boat.
Only takes a split second for one good sized wave to come over into a boat that's not made to deal with it to sink it.
In this video I was crossing the straight after a bad storm that just started to brake up a bit. I was coming back from a trip up to Lund. I crossed over to use Texada as cover from the direction the wind and storm was coming from on my way back. By the time I came out of refuge in a bay from the storm to cross back over the winds were dying down to around 15 to 20 knots but you can get a decent idea here how the water can get a bit nasty even at 15 to 20 knots. The water conditions the morning before this was glass calm.
Similar threads
