Sailing Puget Sound: cruising distances for common Seattle boat trips (Blake Island, Kingston, Edmonds, Bremerton, Port Townsend, Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Everett, Oak Harbor, Victoria, Friday Harbor)

     Are you considering sailing Puget Sound? This article provides the cruising distances and travel times between Seattle and the most common harbors in Puget Sound.

plotting out distance with my Puget Sound nautical chart

    I learned to sail in the waters around Puget Sound. And in my opinion, of all the cities on the West Coast of the United States of America, Seattle has - far and away - the best cruising grounds for Sailors. There may not be many t-shirt and barefoot sail days. But - throw on a wool sweater and a windbreaker and you are in for a vast inland Sea full of beautiful anchorages and secluded bays.
Someday I will return to Puget Sound...

July 2019 update: Incidentally, my Newport 30 sailboat is now for sale. She is moored in a fancy marina in La Paz, Mexico. She is all yours for 10K.

     I figured it would be handy to have the distances and travel times between Seattle and all the classic destinations - displayed in one place. I know Seattle sailors like to get out on the weekends, so I hope this is of use.

Cruising Puget Sound

Distance in nautical miles:               (1 nm = 1.15 land miles)

Seattle to Eagle Harbor                                  5.5
Seattle to Elliot Bay (downtown harbor)       7 
Seattle to Kingston                                         7.5
Seattle to Edmonds                                         8.5
Seattle to Blake Island                                    9.5
Seattle to Bremerton                                      15.5
Seattle to Port Ludlow                                   23
Seattle to Gig Harbor                                     24.5
Seattle to Tacoma                                           26.5
Seattle to Quartermaster Harbor                    28.5
Seattle to Everett                                            29
Seattle to Port Townsend                                33
Seattle to Oak Harbor                                     41
Seattle to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island)     61 (via Admiralty Inlet)
Seattle to Victoria (Vancouver Island)            65 (via Admiralty Inlet)
     
I plotted out these distances based on a direct route, and took an approximate start point for each distance at the outside of each harbor.
For the Seattle waypoint, I used the navigation markers just outside the Ballard locks, near the southern end of Shilshole Marina. This is where my boat was docked, so I am partial to Shilshole as a starting point. If you're starting from Elliot Bay, you can add or subtract 5 miles, depending on whether you're heading north or south.
Each mariner will experience a slightly different distance, depending on their mooring location and line of sail, but consider these good approximations.

Alize' moored right next to the Parliamentary buildings in Victoria - very regal!

     I have made these routes in my 30 foot sailboat (a 1976 Newport), and I am calling my average speed at about 4.7 nautical miles/hr.. This average speed accounts for some sailing in good to moderate winds and then the engine turned on at moderately high RPM when the wind goes light. For most folks with a sailboat near 30 feet, just under 5 nautical miles/hr. is probably about the right average speed for mixed conditions. It must be mentioned that tides and currents play a large role in the navigation of these waters. The prudent mariner would be wise to consult the tide table and plan out each voyage so that the current is working in their favor as they traverse any narrow channel.

At that speed, the approximate time it would take to get from A to B is:

Time needed for each leg (if averaging 4.7 nautical miles/hr.)
                                                
                                                           Hours (in decimal)

Seattle to Eagle Harbor                                   1.2
Seattle to Elliot Bay (downtown harbor)        1.5
Seattle to Kingston                                          1.6
Seattle to Edmonds                                          1.8
Seattle to Blake Island                                     2  
Seattle to Bremerton                                        3.3
Seattle to Port Ludlow                                     4.9
Seattle to Gig Harbor                                       5.2
Seattle to Tacoma                                             5.6
Seattle to Quartermaster Harbor                      6.1
Seattle to Everett                                              6.2
Seattle to Port Townsend                                 7
Seattle to Oak Harbor                                      8.7
Seattle to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island)     13
Seattle to Victoria (Vancouver Island)            13.8

          Of course, sailors rarely use a completely direct path from one point to another (either due to some tacking or to unintentional meanderings) and so, it would be wise to plan 1 or 2 hours on top of these estimates.

    And... before you untie the dock lines, make sure you have a cruising guide. Most local boaters prefer the A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands: Olympia to Port Angeles. It's regarded as the authoritative guidebook for the region.




And you probably also want the Waggoner guide. The 2016 Waggoner Cruising Guide is updated every year. So, with this on board, you'll have all the latest information/telephone numbers/websites on ports, harbors, marinas and coastal towns. It comes in handy when cruising Puget Sound.





Here's a happy memory from years past while I was out sailing Puget Sound.

- pulled these Dungeness out of Blind Bay on Shaw Island

Ok - keep off the rocks, have fun - live to tell the story!

2016 update:  I hope this page has helped you estimate cruising distances Puget Sound. I am now starting to return to the Seattle area for work, so I have a chance to get back into these beautiful waters up around Seattle. I look forward to sailing Puget Sound later this summer. I'm helping my friend repair his old Nordic Tug. I'm just going to help him finish the job with electrical. Either way, assuming this doesn't take too long, we should be heading up to Friday Harbor around mid-August. My buddy just gave his boat a new name, he went with the classic, Neptune's Wrath. Sort of a dangerous name, but at least he consulted with experts on naming a boat. I told him about the proper ceremony to go through for this sort of thing. And he followed that completely, so I think he may end up alright...