Swinomish Channel

We were planning to travel south through the Swinomish Channel on our way to Kingston, our home port for the winter. Having never sailed south of Anacortes, I was looking forward to the experience. I had found surprisingly few accounts of traversing such an interesting stretch of water, and in general this is a good sign. People will often recount  their harrowing experiences and not bother when things go well.

Our trip through was uneventful, but I wanted to share some things about it.
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The Swinomish Channel is a 7.5nm long waterway, measured from the railroad bridge on the north end to the south exit located just west of goat island. It separates Fidalgo Island from the mainland and requires dredging every three to five years to keep it navigable. It is also one of only three ways to get between Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.
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Passing La Conner, the channel looks like a river.

We timed things right and got a very nice current asset all the way through. We were not stopping in La Conner and so didn’t try to make it there at slack water, which simplified things. The available information says that the current flows south from 2.5-4 hrs before and after low tide in La Conner. By entering the channel at low tide we were guaranteed a current assist all the way. As a bonus, there was no turbulence to speak of.

Chasing a southbound front.

It wasn’t a difficult trip but it was complex, requiring my full attention the entire way.

The complexity was due to several things.

• It was our first time through.
• It was shallow all the way.
• It was narrow, with lots of sandbars.
• It was easy to get distracted while sightseeing.
• We are a deep keel, slow moving sailboat.
• The current was strong.
• We were running between storm fronts.

Train swing bridge at the north end.

Having used the iSailor navigation app for the last four years going up and down the inside passage, I’ve come to trust my little chart plotter. This was a requirement navigating the channel. 

Numbers for our transit, October 14, 2020
La Conner low tide 10am @ .63 feet
La Conner high tide 4:23pm @ 10.41ft 
Left Anacortes at 9:15am.
Arrived at the railroad bridge and north entrance to the channel at approximately 10:30 am.
Passed La Conner at 11am. Tide was at 1.6 feet and rising.
Cleared the south end of the channel west of Goat Island at 11:45 am.

Advice for when you go.
Go with the flow.
Pick a leap tide. This should minimize the current so if you decide to dock in La Conner, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Know your chart plotter and use it.
Stay in the middle of the channel.
Keep a constant watch on the depth.

If you plan ahead and then stay focused during transit, Swinomish Channel shouldn’t pose a problem for even deep keeled sailboats.

North end. The red dashes are our actual track.

South end. Stay in the channel all the way!