Excellent Sailing Ground – The Pacific Northwest

Have you had any sailing experience? Well, you can charter a yacht and discover the marvelous beauty that San Juan Islands has to offer. This can be an excellent adventure that will surely be remembered for the rest of your life.

There are a lot of various ways in going about your sailing trip. You can rent a boat and sail it yourself or if you are not that confident with your sailing ability, you can always just hire a professional skipper. He will manage the daily operation of the boat, thus giving you free time to do whatever you want. The skipper will assist you to get familiarized with a new area or boat; he will provide sailing guidelines and answers any query as you cruise along the vastness of the ocean. One more alternative is to sign up in a flotilla. Numerous flotilla schedules consist of special activities such as fun regattas and beach parties and provide you the opportunity to mingle with other sailors.

The quiet fjords, bays and waterways that stretch from the southern part of Seattle all the way to British Columbia and the magnificent Southeastern Alaska are one of the most amazing cruising areas in the world. Puget Sound, which connects the Pacific Ocean by way of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Pacific Northwest, provides about 300 islands and nearly 2,000 miles of seashore. The San Juan Islands are recognized as the most well-known charter grounds in the Pacific Northwest, as well as in Puget Sound. This group of populated islands and barren rocks is situated about 60 nautical miles of northern Seattle. With over 200 rock-strewn islands and 12 state parks left untouched, this is an excellent sailing ground for novices.

The historical harbor town of Anacortes is an enjoyable 1 and ½ hour ride in the northern part of Seattle. Anacortes is surrounded by water and scattered with numerous seaports and is named as the "Gateway to the San Juan Islands." All of San Juan’s splendors are within sailing reach of the town. The climate is usually warm all year long.

Majority of the Pacific Northwest’s sailing grounds are in the high mountains’ “rain shadow” which blocks a lot of the weather systems that enter and as a result, rainfall encountered by some areas is only 20 inches yearly. You can experience moderate winds (6 to 18 knots) from May to October.