Butchart Garden by Sea

    How easy is it to go to Butchart Gardens by boat?     It is so easy and close that you can make it as a day trip and not spend the night.  But I suggest that you spend the night so you can tour the gardens after dark. Plus, they have a fireworks display on Saturday nights.

Not part of the San Juan's or even the Gulf Islands, 

Butchart Gardens should be on everyone's bucket list.

         I'll cover some of what I think are important elements for this adventure, but leave your trip planning to you.

• We stayed at Jones Island the night before as our jump off point, but Roche or Stuart are closer. I wanted to be near to our Haro Strait crossing just in case some weather or other issues came up. Nothing did.

• We planned our nine-mile 1 1/2 hour crossing of Haro Strait to match up with low wind forecasts and slack tide waters.

• Port of Sidney was our obvious Canada check-in place.

• We did have a Canadian chart in our plotter, a larger scale would have been nice but certainly not worth paying for.

• You really should have a dinghy or kayak, but a dinghy motor is not needed. You only paddle a quarter mile or much less from where you anchor.

• I planned to get to the garden early enough to anchor by 5pm, and then tour on the same day (before dark), and then again after dark.

• Tod Inlet is big; you will have no problem finding a place to anchor.

• Coming back, we carefully listened to the weather report for Haro Strait and took off at 6:30 am the next morning to beat out high winds. We never felt any wind or waves.

• Checking back in at Roche Harbor less than 24 hours after we left was simple and quick.

• It would have been very easy to extend this Canada visit to multiple days and destinations, but we had other plans back in the San Juans. for us, this Butchart visit was simply a quick overnighter. We will be back.

        Crossing Haro Strait was a cake walk, we followed our gps pointer straight to Sidney. 
 We had no discernible current set to counter, no swell to deal with. 

 The Port of Sidney customs dock is the first float when you clear the marina breakwater.

 No other boats were there, so we glided in, tied up, and picked up the phone to check in.  Check-in took a few minutes, they asked for our names, ages, boat name, and when we were leaving. Oh, and of course, they ask about firearms.  They give you a long number which you write on a piece of paper and tape to your boat window.  That's it, you are free to go.
We were in awe at the beauty and flowers at the Sidney Marina, not to mention all the very expensive big yachts.

For customs, just pick up the phone.

More pictures and story>>>

Traveling to Butchart Gardens by Boat - Itinerary - Canada/USA Customs - Anchor in Tod Inlet

      What is the best part of cruising the San Juan Islands?        

The best part of cruising the San Juan Islands is the total independence and freedom your boat provides.

• No reservations needed: No rigid schedule, just drop the hook in a quiet cove or snag a park buoy whenever you arrive.
• You're the captain: You get to come and go as you like.
• Total flexibility: If the weather shifts or you just feel like exploring, you can change your plan and head wherever the day looks best.

  After a swift pit stop at the store to grab provisions, we set off, and just like that, the relaxation begins the moment the lines are cast off. Four days, five days, ten days—it hardly matters. Time bends and stretches with the tides, and I leave the world behind in an instant. Well, almost everything. The wine and Hershey bars? Tragically, mistakenly forgotten. But with the wind in my face and the horizon ahead, my thoughts drift only to the simple joy of the journey—unburdened, untethered, and blissfully carefree.

Yet, as any seasoned traveler knows, the best-laid plans are at the mercy of life’s unpredictable whims and, of course, family obligations. Some detours are mere nuisances; others, unavoidable. And sometimes, they come with a lesson in patience.

Take, for example, my quest to witness the flag-lowering ceremony at Roche Harbor—a seemingly simple ambition that took me four years and three thwarted attempts to fulfill. One year, I missed the cruise entirely. Another time, just minutes before the cannon signaled sundown, a wayward boat dragged anchor into us, throwing my evening plans overboard.

When I finally did witness the ceremony, it was purely by accident—I had long since abandoned the notion of seeing it firsthand. And so, as the baby cannon, a miniature yet mighty relic of medieval artillery, erupted into the evening air, it caught me utterly off guard. A fiery muzzle flash illuminated the perfectly manicured lawn, and before I knew it, a startled yelp may or may not have escaped my lips—not that anyone could hear it over the booming report. The sound wasn’t quite deafening, but it was certainly enough to send my heart into a gallop.

Then came the echoes, rolling like thunder across Roche Harbor, ricocheting off Henry Island, and sinking any evidence of my momentary shock. In the end, the ceremony was every bit as grand as I’d imagined—perhaps even more so, given the journey it took to get there.

Yes, cruising the San Juans is all about freedom and relaxation.

click below to read about Butchart Gardens!

Seven important rules to be aware of when boating back and forth between the US and Canada

Is it difficult cruising in Canada and the US on the same trip?

No, not at all.

Dealing with customs;
      About the most important point I can make is that you should not let customs check-ins impact your plans.
  Except for the obvious route planning details, its not a big deal. Some places in Canada you can check in after hours using a special phone on the dock.

You will need to check in with Canada customs when you enter Canada; you will need to check in with US customs when you come back to the US.  When you depart either country you don't do anything except leave.

     There are some rules that you or your crew may stumble over, and they apply to both countries.

When you enter Canada and come back to the US, you must not stop anywhere (no parks, gas docks, bathrooms, nothing) until you have checked in, even if it means traveling hundreds of miles out of your way.

1. You may pass through without checking in if you don't stop anywhere.  This means you can sail over the international property line, circle around and come back, and no one cares. It also means you may sail all the way to Bellingham (skipping Roche) to check in, but you may not stop anywhere, (even to get fuel at Orcas) You may run all the way to Alaska, just don't stop without checking in.
2. "Checking in" means to go to a port of entry where they have a customs facility and tell them.
3. When you arrive at the red painted customs dock  everyone must stay on the boat, only one person goes to check in. (no, your crew may not run down to the bathroom until after you're checked in)
4. Bring with you to check in; birth certificates, visas, passports, name of boat, names and ages of all on board, name and registration number of boat.
5. They will ask you questions; where you live,where you been, where you going, purpose of visit, how long, etc.
6. You can't stay at the red painted customs dock, after checking in you will need to move on, sometimes at Roche Harbor for instance the boats will be stacked up circling, waiting for a spot at the check-in dock.

That's it, real simple, fast, and very inconvenient if you now have to back track miles and miles to your favorite island, but that is why we plan our route.

Rules and requirements probably are changing as you read this, so you should probably make some phone calls or search online for new info.

Not checking in at all, may have severe consequences. In today's heightened alert, they take things seriously, but it is not difficult to check in.

Click below to see Sidney BC Marina for checking in