SVC Cruisers College

⚓ **Take Your Boating Skills to the Next Level with SVC Cruisers College!** ⚓

Founded in 2016, **SVC Cruisers College** was created to provide high-quality, hands-on marine education designed specifically for boat owners and aspiring marine professionals. Classes are taught at the Skagit Valley College Marine Technology Center in Anacortes, where students gain real-world experience using professional-grade equipment and facilities.

Whether you want to better understand your own vessel, develop a new skill, or explore a career in the marine industry, Cruisers College offers accessible one-day, weekend, and professional training opportunities designed to fit your schedule.

🌊 **Professional Marine Surveying: Yachts and Small Craft**
📅 September 14 – November 13
🕘 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Launch your career in the marine industry by learning the essential skills needed to perform vessel inspections, damage evaluations, and condition and valuation surveys for recreational vessels 65 feet and under. Through hands-on exercises, case studies, and expert instruction, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence needed to begin your journey as a marine surveyor.

✂️ **Professional Marine Canvas Fabrication**
📅 July 13 – 24, 2026
🕘 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Ready to take your canvas skills to the next level? This intensive two-week course is designed for individuals looking to master advanced boat canvas fabrication or pursue a career in marine canvas. With a growing demand for skilled canvas professionals in the marine industry, now is the perfect time to learn a highly sought-after trade.

⚓ Learn from industry professionals
⚓ Gain hands-on experience
⚓ Train in a world-class marine facility
⚓ Build skills for your boat—or your future career

**Seats are limited! Register today and invest in your boating knowledge and marine future.**

🌐 Learn more at CruisersCollege.org

⚓ **FREE New Boater Course – Start Your Boating Journey with Confidence!** ⚓

📅 **Saturday, October 3, 2026**
🕙 **10:00 AM – 2:00 PM**
📍 **Skagit Valley College Marine Technology Center | Anacortes**

The Pacific Northwest offers some of the best boating experiences anywhere—from breathtaking cruising destinations and world-class fishing to scenic lakes and endless waterways to explore. If you're new to boating, there’s no better place to begin than the **Skagit Valley College Marine Technology Center**.

For more than 50 years, SVC’s Marine Technology Center has trained marine professionals and supported recreational boaters through practical, hands-on education. Thanks to the generosity of our industry sponsors, we are proud to offer this **FREE New Boater Course**.

This interactive course is designed specifically for new boat owners and will provide the essential skills and knowledge needed to boat safely, confidently, and enjoyably.

**Topics include:**
⚓ Anchoring fundamentals
📻 VHF radio operation and communication
🔋 Electrical and battery basics
⛽ Fuel systems and common issues
💧 Potable water systems
🗺️ Trip planning and favorite Pacific Northwest destinations
📸 Boating photography tips

All participants will receive a comprehensive resource guide to take home and use as a future boating reference.

Whether you’ve just purchased your first boat or are looking to build your confidence on the water, this class is a perfect place to start.
Sign up today!
https://www.campusce.net/skagit/course/course.aspx?C=329&pc=120&mc=0&sc=0

Don't forget to subscribe to the Pro Boat magazine and the newsletter!
SVC Cruisers College is featured is this months newsletter.
https://www.proboat.com/emails/

Stay Ahead in Boatbuilding — Join the ProBoat & IBEX Community - Professional BoatBuilder: An IBEX Technical Journal Stay Ahead in Boatbuilding — Join the ProBoat & IBEX Community Subscribe to our digital edition, enews and more to receive expertly curated emails featuring in-depth articles, plus the quarterly digital edition of Professional BoatBuilder: An IBEX Technical Journal, and gather insights you won’t...

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Southeast Alaska - Trip #2
⚓Day 02 | Allison Harbour → Pruth Bay

Before sunrise, coffee cups were full and weather forecasts were being checked one last time. The window we'd been waiting for had arrived.

Crossing Queen Charlotte Sound and rounding Cape Caution is one of the major milestones of any Inside Passage journey. While the conditions were favorable, there was still plenty to consider—currents, swell, debris from nearby rivers, and building afternoon winds. Fortunately, everything aligned.

The crossing rewarded us with gentle swells, calm conditions, and a coastline full of boats finally emerging after days of weather delays. It seemed every cruiser on the coast had been waiting for the same opportunity.

By afternoon, we slipped behind Calvert Island and back into protected waters. One by one, anchors dropped in Pruth Bay, bringing with them a collective sense of relief.
The biggest hurdle of the trip now sat behind us.
The evening included a special visit to the Hakai Institute and time to explore the beaches and trails surrounding the bay.
Tomorrow we continue north.

Over and Out,
Weather watcher, milestone marker, northbound dreamer
-Sentindo Bem

⚓🌲🌊

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Southeast Alaska - Trip #2
⚓Day Day 01 | Port McNeill → Allison Harbour

After several days of weather watching and waiting, today was finally the day we left the dock.
One by one, the fleet slipped lines and pointed north across Queen Charlotte Strait. The crossing rewarded us with calm seas, whales, sea otters, and plenty of reminders that patience often pays off.

By early afternoon, anchors were down in Allison Harbour. The evening's Captain's Hour included a hands-on rope braiding workshop. Dog leashes, anchor bridles, and plenty of laughter were created as flotillians learned new skills and helped one another through the process.

Tomorrow brings Cape Caution. Tonight, we're grateful to be out of the marina and officially underway.
Over and Out,
Lagoon explorer, rope wrangler, Cape Caution dreamer.
✨ The adventure north has officially begun.

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Southeast Alaska - Trip #2
⚓Day 00 | Port McNeill — The Gathering
A new journey begins for our SVC Skallywags Ashley & Kyle!

The Southeast Alaska flotilla begins with boat projects, grocery runs, laundry piles, weather discussions, and new friendships forming on the docks.

The SEAK fleet welcomed two new boats, Idyll Time and Cool Change, alongside familiar faces aboard Paragon, Stimpy, Kaiora, and Zephyr. While everyone prepared their boats for the journey ahead, the weather had plans of its own.

Captain's Hour quickly became Weather Hour as we studied forecasts, discussed crossing conditions, and adjusted our plans. One by one, departure windows closed. Instead of rushing north, we chose patience and another few days together in Port McNeill.

The extra time wasn't wasted. We shared lunches, tackled projects, baked banana bread, swapped weather theories on the docks, and gathered each evening to compare notes and read the ever-changing forecasts.

Friday evening brought fresh prawns, Lagoon Cove cocktail sauce, and a surprise anniversary celebration for Kyle and I. A cake, a card signed by our flotillians, and a reminder that these trips are about far more than miles traveled.

By the end of the evening, we finally had our answer. Saturday would be our day to leave the dock and begin staging for the journey north.
The lines were still tied, but Alaska suddenly felt much closer.

Over and out
Weather watcher, banana bread baker, departure dreamer.
-Sentindo Bem

⚓️

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Reports
⚓ Day Day 15 | Alert Bay & Farewell Dinner

Day 15 marked the official close of our 2026 Broughton Flotilla.
We started the day with a ferry ride to Alert Bay, where many of us spent time exploring the U'mista Cultural Centre, learning more about the history of the community, and reflecting on the stories that have shaped this place.
By evening, we gathered one last time for our farewell dinner.

No daily brief.
No route planning.
Just a chance to sit together and reflect on the last fifteen days.
We taught. We learned. We voyaged. Shared meals, stories, laughter, dock lines, challenges, and friendships.
Watching confidence grow throughout the trip is one of the greatest privileges of leading a flotilla. We saw people tackle new docks, navigate currents and rapids, build new skills, and support one another along the way.

As the evening drew to a close, departure plans were exchanged, hugs lingered a little longer, and one final group photo captured a journey none of us will soon forget.

Some boats are heading home.
The rest of us are heading north.

Day 15 for the Broughtons
Day 00 for Alaska

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Reports
⚓ Day Day 14 | Waddington Bay → Port McNeill

Day 14 reminded us of one of boating's most important lessons:
It's not always what happens—it's what you do next.
The day took an unexpected turn when one of our flotilla boats found itself gently perched on a reef near the entrance to Port McNeill.

Groundings happen fast.
Good decisions happen one at a time.
What followed wasn't dramatic heroics. It was calm communication, careful assessment, preparation, and perhaps the most difficult skill of all:
Patience.
Bilges were checked. Running gear inspected. Contingency plans made. A kedge anchor deployed. Lines rigged. Local resources contacted. And then we waited for the tide to do what tides do.

Hour by hour, the water returned.
When the time was right, the boat floated free exactly as planned.
No damage to the running gear. No water ingress. No vibration during the sea trial.
A very happy ending to a situation that could have gone differently.

One of the greatest advantages of traveling together is that when something unexpected happens, you aren't facing it alone. Many lessons were learned that day. The most important one? Patience.

Standing By,
Dinghy driver, problem solver, patience practitioner.
-Sentindo Bem

2026 Waggoner Flotilla Reports
⚓ Day Day 13 | Sullivan Bay → Waddington Bay

Day 13 marked the last of our days spent adventuring together.
Just 21 nautical miles separated Sullivan Bay from Waddington Bay, but the journey felt bigger than the distance.

As we departed Sullivan, it struck me how natural it had become to wander the docks and chat with my boat neighbors as if we had known each other for years. Somewhere along the way, a collection of boats became a community.

The run through the Broughtons was smooth and reflective. We all knew this chapter was nearing its end, but none of us felt like it was truly goodbye. The boating world is too small, and the friendships formed out here run too deep.

Waddington Bay greeted us with stillness. As the anchors dropped, so did the rain.
The evening became a tour of the fleet—one final daily brief, one final round of visits boat to boat, and the beginning of our goodbyes.

The rain never stopped.
Neither did we.

As I stood in it, face turned toward the sky, I let it wash over me. A cleansing I didn’t know I needed. Some days stay with you. This was one of them.

Over and out,
Dinghy driver, friendship collector, rain watcher
— Sentindo Bem

**🌊 FREE Rental Night! ⛵🚣‍♀️**

Join **Anacortes Community Boating** for a **FREE Rental Night**
📅 Thursday, July 2nd
🕛 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM
📍601 Seafarers Way, Anacortes, WA

**FREE Rentals Available:**
🏄 Paddleboards
🚣 Kayaks
⛵ Sailing Dinghies

Whether you're looking to try something new, spend time with family and friends, or simply enjoy a beautiful summer evening on the water, this is the perfect opportunity to get out and explore the bay.

We look forward to seeing you on the docks!