Mainland to victoria

[Fisher_dude]

Thinking about ditching the ferry and taking my boat over to Victoria. Where’s the best place to launch from? Also, I don’t have radar so I wouldn’t be doing it if the weather wasn’t good. I’d probably need to leave my truck somewhere for a week while I’m there as well. I’m coming from Kelowna.

 

[Rain City]

Thinking about ditching the ferry and taking my boat over to Victoria. Where’s the best place to launch from? Also, I don’t have radar so I wouldn’t be doing it if the weather wasn’t good. I’d probably need to leave my truck somewhere for a week while I’m there as well. I’m coming from Kelowna.

Point Roberts?

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

Captains Cove?

 

[cracked_ribs]

Could be worth looking into launching from Steveston just to get access to the fenced off parking. I have never used the ramp because I used to store my boat at Bridgeview but IIRC Steveston's ramp is in a gated area and I think? that is where your vehicle stays. It's not free but depending on your vehicle and trailer maybe worth it.

 

[terrin]

Thinking about ditching the ferry and taking my boat over to Victoria. Where’s the best place to launch from? Also, I don’t have radar so I wouldn’t be doing it if the weather wasn’t good. I’d probably need to leave my truck somewhere for a week while I’m there as well. I’m coming from Kelowna.

Take the Ferry. The amount of gas burn and not knowing the area just not worth it for one trip.

 

[profisher]

The easiest route with the most protected water and shortest distance is Bellingham to Victoria. And you could fill up with cheap gas before and afterwards.

 

[Sir Reel]

Try Crescent Beach Marina. You can pay to leave your truck and trailer there in the gravel lot. Best to go out on a mid to high tide though and make sure you have current charts as the way out is a bit tricky but well marked.
Good ramp, fuel, and store. Its about 22 nm to the entrance of active pass.

http://www.crescentbeachmarina.com/

 

[Fisher_dude]

Try Crescent Beach Marina. You can pay to leave your truck and trailer there in the gravel lot. Best to go out on a mid to high tide though and make sure you have current charts as the way out is a bit tricky but well marked.
Good ramp, fuel, and store. Its about 22 nm to the entrance of active pass.

http://www.crescentbeachmarina.com/

What’s the logistics of going through that chunk of us water?

 

[Gong Show]

What’s the logistics of going through that chunk of us water?

Transiting is fine, don't drop a line.
Stash the stash.

 

[scott craven]

I would think the trek from Port Angeles to Victoria would be the shortest by boat
as long as you had a place to park your trailer there.

 

[d_Westie]

I travel to Vancouver every year from Calgary and launch my boat and spend 3 weeks on it. In the past I used to use Cates park which has a great ramp. Then I would leave my truck and trailer in front of my sisters place in North Van. That worked great for about 7 years until one year my truck and trailer was towed.
After that I used Steveston boat launch but parking a larger trailer there was a pain in the butt. You also have to pay there but can only do it for a week at a time so I always had to make sure I had phone service when I needed to pay for another week.
Last year I bought a season pass for Macdonald beach park and it worked out fairly well. The parking is in a huge lot that is gated over night. Can be busy there just before the gate closes. Last year I got there on a Saturday evening just before the gate closed. Was a sh.. show at the ramp but by the time I got ready to launch everyone was gone to beat the gate closing and I had the place to myself. The drive to it is not too fun with a big boat as it is right beside the airport. I will probably use it again next year.

 

[Sir Reel]

What’s the logistics of going through that chunk of us water?

You do travel through US waters and you are supposed to call in to US authorities and Canadian authorities when transiting through.
Apparently no one does it though. I called in once and they basically told me why are you calling us. I had to guide them through the process. It was kind of funny.
I do carry my passport in case I get stopped or broke down in US waters. At cruise speed its about 30 minutes of your travel - 12 miles.

I did the crossing many times in my 21' Campion Explorer. I always followed weather reports and current conditions.
Conditions can be quite different from one side to the other.
If you have wind the waves are usually coming into Boundary Bay so coming back to Crescent beach is not too bad but going out can be nasty as it is very shallow.
My wind cutoff point was about 20 knots. After that is beyond comfortable to transit.
From sometime in May to later in summer is crabbing season and there are traps everywhere in the bay. Its bad enough in the daylight but would not transit at night.

Hope that helps!

 

[beemer]

You do travel through US waters and you are supposed to call in to US authorities and Canadian authorities when transiting through.
Apparently no one does it though. I called in once and they basically told me why are you calling us. I had to guide them through the process. It was kind of funny.
I do carry my passport in case I get stopped or broke down in US waters. At cruise speed its about 30 minutes of your travel - 12 miles.

I did the crossing many times in my 21' Campion Explorer. I always followed weather reports and current conditions.
Conditions can be quite different from one side to the other.
If you have wind the waves are usually coming into Boundary Bay so coming back to Crescent beach is not too bad but going out can be nasty as it is very shallow.
My wind cutoff point was about 20 knots. After that is beyond comfortable to transit.
From sometime in May to later in summer is crabbing season and there are traps everywhere in the bay. Its bad enough in the daylight but would not transit at night.

Hope that helps!

I don't believe that is a requirement any longer. I transit through the states weekly and stopped many times by US Coast Guard and it has never been mentioned. I believe US Commercial Vessels transiting to a US port need to call in though.

Back to the topic. Given the choice I would trailer on the ferry. It is a looong way to Victoria. It also opens up your ability to fish different areas , Sooke , Sidney , Victoria with a minimum of hassle and fuel. If you decide to launch from steveston head for East Point on Saturna then cross to Vancouver Island .Least open water time.

beemer

 

[Dogbreath]

It is a looong way to Victoria.

That's something I noticed taking the V2V over from Vancouver-a long transit down the Saanich peninsula then out around the corner into Victoria-lots to see along the way if someone else is driving but not something I'd want to holding onto a tiller for.