In article 82d50844-25c3-44b9-9722-
, says...


Based on my experiences in some of the inlets of British Columbia, I
would greatly prefer cruisers to have the alternator and battery
capacity to avoid running a generator while at anchor.

I try to practice what I preach. *On a 21-day cruise this summer from
Ketchikan to Bellingham, *we only used the genset to charge the
house batteries about 3 times. * We didn't watch TV or use the microwave
too often---except the night the propane tank ran out. *;-) *(Propane is
hard to find between Desolation Sound and Nanaimo.)

Mark Borgerson


Mark:

What abandonship equipment do you carry when traveling those waters?


We had an outboard RIB dinghy which could be launched very quickly.
There is an abandon ship bag with portable VHF, GPS, space blankets,
flares, and some other safety equipment. We always had life jackets or
float coats in the cockpit, as we needed them each time we used
the dinghy. The boat also has an EPIRB.

Have you talked with the local USCG station regarding their rescue
procedures and vessel responibilites? Have you took a tour of their
facility or started one of the portable rescue pumps?

On our trip from Ketchikan to Bellingham, there were probably a
dozen local coast guard stations, both Canadian and US. I didn't
talk to any of them on this trip, nor did I visit their
facilities. I have talked to local coast guard personnel and
visited stations here in Oregon. The BC trip was on a charter
boat, so I didn't expect too much beyond standard safety gear.

http://www.sanjuansailing.com/charte...ment/index.htm


I haven't run a P250 pump since my Navy DC training, but I have
lots of experience with portable generators and other small engines
comparable to those on the pumps.

This isnt a troll Im actually sincerly interested. Very few people
operate where you do...... For obvious reasons. Its not called the
grave yard of the Pacific for nothing.

LOL! There are thousands of boaters in the Pacific Northwest.
There are probably as many charter boats in BC as there are fishing
boats these days---commercial fishing having seen better days.

The 'Graveyard of the Pacific' more properly applies to the
coast from Tillamook Bay in Oregon to Vancouver Island. Pleasure
boating along that coast is primarily a fair-weather activity
in bays and rivers, with occasional fishing trips outside
the bar. The lack of harbors and the inhospitable entrance
bars on those that do exist are the reason that I do most of my
pleasure boating in the protected waters of Puget Sound, the Gulf
Islands, and Desolation Sound.

On the most open-sea part of our voyage--crossing the Hecate
Strait to the Queen Charlotte Islands we didn't see any other
pleasure boats, but were passed by a few cruise ships. At
the farthest out point, I think we were about 30 miles from
either shore. Most of the trip along the inside passage, we were
generally within 2 miles of land. Once back along the inside
passages, we saw lots of pleasure boats---although not with
the density you find in Desolation Sound, the Gulf Islands,
or the San Juan Islands. In those places, in August, you'll
seldom have an anchorage to yourself, as we did along the
inside passage.

Mark Borgerson