I was excited when a former Ballard resident and friend, now living in the Manette neighborhood in Bremerton, asked me to teach a SUP class there. I hadn't paddled the Port Washington Narrows since writing Kayaking Puget Sound in 2011.
The Port Washington Narrows is a tidal stream that connects Dyes Inlet with Puget Sound. For each tidal cycle, water runs through the narrow channel up to 4 knots, sometimes higher.
My class was a beginning SUP class with five students. My goal was to teach them the basics in a protected area, free of current, then take them up and/or down the current.
We launched at Lions Park, covered the basics in an eddy, then paddled south against the flood, but in a protected eddy, towards downtown Manette and Bremerton. At the Warren Ave Bridge, we played in some boils and light eddy lines behind the bridge supports, and showed them how to ferry across current.
Then we headed up the Narrows using the approx 3 knot flood getting a free ride back to Lions Park.
It was fun introducing the Bremerton residents to a new perspective in their town. The empty beaches were lined with madrone trees.
Despite a 16 knot SW wind, it was glassy in the Narrows between the bridges. A local paddler friend mentioned waves can develop in the Narrows when wind bucks current. Where to Launch below pics.
Good Put-ins..
The Port Washington Narrows is a tidal stream that connects Dyes Inlet with Puget Sound. For each tidal cycle, water runs through the narrow channel up to 4 knots, sometimes higher.
My class was a beginning SUP class with five students. My goal was to teach them the basics in a protected area, free of current, then take them up and/or down the current.
We launched at Lions Park, covered the basics in an eddy, then paddled south against the flood, but in a protected eddy, towards downtown Manette and Bremerton. At the Warren Ave Bridge, we played in some boils and light eddy lines behind the bridge supports, and showed them how to ferry across current.
Then we headed up the Narrows using the approx 3 knot flood getting a free ride back to Lions Park.
It was fun introducing the Bremerton residents to a new perspective in their town. The empty beaches were lined with madrone trees.
Despite a 16 knot SW wind, it was glassy in the Narrows between the bridges. A local paddler friend mentioned waves can develop in the Narrows when wind bucks current. Where to Launch below pics.
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| Dock at the Boat Shed for a beer and bite. Located in Manette. |
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| Riding the flood below above the Warren Ave Bridge |
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| Pocket view of the Narrows and Anderson Cove from Lillian Walker Park |
Good Put-ins..
-Lions Park
-Lillian Walker Park (nice protected cove)
-Evergreen Park (nice protected cove)
-2nd Street, downtown Bremerton
-Bachmann Park
-Tracyton Boat Launch
Warning! Watch for swift current around bridge supports, pilings and marinas. *Paddle Boarders - wear a waist quick release leash to avoid foot entanglement.
Get Tidal / Current info from NOAA and Mobile Graphics.
Wind Predictions: iWindSurf, WindAlert, Windy
Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle.
Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle.
