Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club      

   "On or by the Sea, the Friendly Place to be"
Since 1981

Introduction

SNSYC cruisers take full advantage of our base in one of the best cruising areas in the entire world.  Each summer we run both a month-long cruise and a week-long cruise. 

Also, we have rendezvous on or near the Easter, Victoria, and Thanksgiving weekends. Click here for the cruising schedule.


cruising-captain@snsyc.ca

Cruising with SNSYC

As a new boating member to the Club there is generally a desire to join one of the organized cruises posted on the web site. Here are some definitions to make that first cruise a more enjoyable introduction to these events:

Flotilla Cruise: A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small flota) of ships. For SNSYC let’s just say a small fleet of vessels, or yachts, that set sail together on the same route travelling from location to location. SNSYC cruises  are as short as a week or as long as a month.

Rendezvous: A meeting at a single appointed place and time. For SNSYC a meeting place is set, often a marina or marine park, and cruisers agree to meet there. Generally participants do not move during the weekend. The rendezvous includes activities, contests, and social gatherings.

Happy Hour: is a pretty universal term.  SNSYC cruisers bring a beverage to a common area often located on the dock or grounds of the marina or marine park. Participants mix and mingle, a great opportunity to meet other cruisers. Lasting friendships are often the result of happy hour meetings.

Appies: Short for appetizers, cruisers bring a simple dish to the "Happy Hour" and share them with other cruisers. These can be purchased items like potato chips, pretzels, and peanuts,  or home made items like crackers & cheese, or as fancy as you wish. Since many people will be bringing something, a small dish is often the better choice.

Potluck: is also a common term, where cruisers bring a dinner/supper dish to a common supper and share with other cruisers. Since everyone will be bringing something, a single dish is usually enough. When attending a potluck, be sure to bring your own plate and utensils, they are not supplied. Also, try not to be late. Eileen Quinn has a song called Potluck Piranha, and sometimes the pace is that fast.

It is common to have a happy hour each day on a cruise and the host(s) will identify whether appies are expected or not.

Other Information

Web Sites: There are several web sites with useful information about local cruising. Of course you need to consider the trustworthiness of the information before you use it.

Ahoy British Columbia

Destination marinas along the BC coast and much, much more.

Council of BC Yacht Clubs

The voice of recreational boaters in British Columbia

BC Marine Parks Forever Society

The Marine Parks Forever Society is an all-volunteer registered non-profit founded by the Council of BC Yacht Clubs in 1990

YachtDestinations.org

Primary source of information about clubs at which SNSYC members can dock free  or  at much reduced rates using their reciprocal privileges.

Marinas.com

Includes aerial photographs of most marinas.

Marine Wweather.gc.ca

Pacific marine weather.

Tides, Currents, and Water Levels

Publications:

There are many useful guide books. Everyone has their own favorites. Here is a list of some.

Waggoner Cruising Guide, published annually.

Pacific Yachting Boaters Blue Pages, free and published annually.

Salish seapilot $5 PDF downloads of five guides: Gulf Islands,  Desolation Sound, San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, North Georgia Strait. kept  current

Dreamspeaker Guides are very popular. All are by Anne & Laurence Yeadon- Jones. There are 2016 editions of The Broughtons and The San Juan Islands,  and older editions of The Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island, Desolation Sound  and the Discovery Islands, The West Coast of Vancouver Island, and  Vancouver, Howe Sound, and the Sunshine Coast.

Cruising Guides to British Columbia by Bill Wolferstan, are from the 90’s and are  out of print but can be found on Amazon:

Vol 1. Gulf Islands. 

Vol 2. Desolation Sound. 

Vol 3. Sunshine Coast

Exploring the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands, 2003, Don Douglass & Réanne  Hemingway-Douglass

Exploring Southeast Alaska: Dixon Entrance to Skagway, 2007, Don Douglass &  Réanne Hemingway-Douglass




Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club is non-profit organization.
PO Box 2521, Sidney, BC V8L 4B9

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