This section is for educational purposes only.  It is not to be used to plan an actual trip or as an aid to navigate waters.

   
This leg of the journey started at Rosario's Resort in the interior of the San Juan Islands to Sucia Island located at the junction of "Rosario Strait", "Georgia Strait" and "Boundary Pass"  A total distance of 18.6 nautical miles by waypoints, with a total 21.6 nautical miles logged to reach the destination.  The total water level fluctuation from high to low tide was 4 feet and the travel date was 2 days before a neap tide.

The sailboat's Track or Course Made Good was recorded on a satellite navigational system and downloaded with the nautical maps onto a microcomputer for analysis.

Left Rosario's at 8:00 am.  In East Sound there was very little current and we sailed against a 10 knot wind, having to tack to Peavine Pass.  A total of 6.75 nautical miles were traveled at 5 to 6 knots.   A Rhumb Line of 159 deg (true) was used to avoid the rocks outside Obstruction Pass.  Once these were passed a heading of 130 deg (true) was used to head to the pass entrance.     ( Go Back )  

Rosario's Resort

East Sound

There are two passes to allow one to travel from "East Sound" to "Rosario Strait"  The first is "Obstruction Pass".   As it's name correctly implies, the pass has various obstructions (rocks) which one may encounter.  Several rocks extend out from the northern lip of the pass, one of which could easily be hit if one sailed directly from Rosario's Resort to the Entrance of Peavine Pass.  There are also a few rocks in the pass itself.  Thus, Peavine Pass is the safer of the two. 

We arrived at 9:15 am.   The motor was turned on and the sails were taken down to allow for a quick and safe trip though the pass.  To the right is a picture of Peavine Pass.

Rocks Obstruction Pass

Peavine Pass

At 9:45 we exited Peavine Pass and observed a storm front to our south.  A 10 knot wind was blowing north, directly from the storm, and we placed a reef in the mainsail and rolled in the jib.  We then observed a very large ferry coming out of the storm and heading toward Peavine Pass.  This was not on the ferry route.  The ferry had deviated course because of the storm.  We then placed another reef in the mainsail and sailed at a running reach at a little over three knots.  The storm never materialized and we eventually took out the second reef and let out the Jib.  The islands tend to create their own wind direction.  The storm front traveled east but the winds blew to the north.

Sailing in Rosario Strait, one should stay toward the west side, between Orca Island and the Pea Pod Rocks.  This area avoids the navigational traffic lanes and will also have less current than the main channel.  One should not enter traffic lanes, only cross them at 90 degrees using the best speed possible, even if one has to turn on the motor.

DO NOT approach military, cruise line or commercial shipping. Keep your distance. There is a 100-yard security zone around military, cruise line and many commercial vessels.  There is an additional 400 yard zone where reduced speed to the lowest that which will allow steerage is in place around military vessels.  Go To: Security Zone Warning

Initially, we headed in a course of 15 degrees true but changed to a course of 43 degrees true once we passed over an area which was less than 50 foot in depth.  This is an example of using your depth finder as a navigational tool.

Storm Rosario Strait

Peapod Rocks

Traffic Lane

At 11:15 am we were approaching Lawrence point.  This point is significant since it catches and channels a strong current out into the strait.  Both wind and current were pushing the boat away from Orcas Island and Lawrence Point.  If one is not careful the boat may be pushed toward "the sisters", a pair of large rocks.

At Lawrence Point there was a 10 knot wind and we were traveling 7 knots on the water but had to maintain a Course to Steer of 298 deg true to maintain a heading of 310 deg true (Course to Make Good).  We were rounding the point at the beginning third of a 4 foot tide, the time right before maximum current.  

The time from tidal height to trough was 7 hours, we crossed 2.25 hours or 4/12 into the tidal ebbing.  This is in the period of maximum tidal water flow.  See Tidal Height Page

Lawrence Point

The Sisters

Current Diagram*
6/1/02 11:00 am

From 11:30 till 1:20 pm we sailed on a running reach or on a run.  The wind gradually died and at 1:20 about 3 miles from Sucia Island we gave up and turned on the motor.  We arrive at Sucia Island at 2:00 pm.

Despite having two Map GPS satellite systems, the approach to the harbor was done with a compass.  On this afternoon both of our GPS systems suddenly were unable to fix on a signal.  Other boaters reported the same problem. 

Looking out of Fossil Bay to Lawrence Pt (The way we came)

There are several harbors to moor your boat.  The most popular are Fossil Bay and Echo Bay.  Fossil Bay is the most developed and has docks, water and latrines. However there is a shoal on the southwest part of the entrance with only 3 feet mean LLW (Lower Low Water) - see above tide chart.  It extends about a third of the way into the channel.  Because were were entering at low tide (2 foot above mean LLW) we would have 5 feet of water for a 5.7 foot draft.  Thus, will have a hard grounding if we are not careful. 

              Chart Depth = 3 feet
               Tidal Height = 2 feet        
     Total Water Depth = 5 feet

Always approach a new harbor on a compass heading.  It is easy to misjudge distances and enter at an angle or too close to a shoal.  The shoal at the harbor entrance is not seen on charts with a scale of 1:80,000.  Fossil Harbor, Sucia Island was approached on a heading of 305 degrees true.

Nautical Map

The Shoal at Fossil Bay