Paddling the Salish Sea 80 Trips: Shilshole Bay

Showing posts with label Shilshole Bay. Show all posts

10/11/19

Seattle's Salmon Bay Historical Photo

View of Seattle's Salmon Bay looking north from Magnolia, about 1880.

Note the shoreline reaching out on both sides in the middle. Both were dredged to make shipping easier entering the Locks above. On the left, the last of the Shilshole people, Salmon Bay Charlie has his native Salish style house near the tree.

The bay's mouth known as sHulsHoolootSeed was described as 'like shoving thread through a needle'. It had to be accessed at high tide for shipping.

Chutqeedud is the sand spit on the right or Ballard side translated as 'lying curled up,' was known for great clamming.

Read more about this area in Coll Thrush's book Native 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.

1/5/17

High Winter Daytime Tides of 2017

Tis the season for big daytime high tides and a few King Tides, the highest tides of the year on Puget Sound. The image below was from November 2016, about a 12.5' high tide. King Tides usually go to or above 13' heights creating problems for low bank housing, docks and marinas. Seattle area tides have a smaller range than those of the South Puget Sound. Whereas the Strait of Juan de Fuca and outer coast have ever smaller ranges than Seattle.

Notable daytime high tides in 2017..

1/2-4 - 12.5'

1/13-15 - 12.9'

In contrast, in Spring and Summer leading up to and just after summer solstice we'll get into big tidal exchanges going from a -3.6 on 6/25 at noon to a 12.4' high that same day at 7:49pm. Pretty cool and fun to watch the change. Get out there and explore the low tide beaches and note how every ridge or depression effect incoming tidal flow and/or waves.

Follow tides using the resources listed on the following post from earlier this week. Click here to view

12.5 high tide in Seattle, Nov 2016

Learn more about my book Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juans, 60 Trips. I also offer SUP and Kayak lessons available throughout the year at Salmon Bay Paddle. Questions about paddling on the Salish Sea, give me a holler anytime at salmonbaypaddle@gmail.com or 206-465-7167

Support the Washington Water Trails Association and the Cascadia Marine Trail. The wwta works to create and protect access for paddlers on Puget Sound as well as provide an extensive network of over 60 paddle-in camping sites - www.wwta.org

4/4/13

Paddling Seattle - Golden Gardens, Shilsole Bar to West Point Lighthouse - Trip #18 -

West Point at 30kts of Southerly Wind.

Sometimes the best paddle route is the one closest to where you live. A friend once told me that he got bored paddling on Shilshole Bay from Golden Gardens to the West Point Lighthouse at Discovery Park. For me, it's different every time, and I've been doing it nearly weekly for a decade.

6 Reasons Why I love paddling on Shilshole Bay:

Shilshole Bay

- I enjoy the light outgoing always present current below the Chittenden Locks. I can teach my SUP students to ferry across the current, use eddies to go upstream then get a sorta free float back downstream. After heavy rain eddy lines form behind obstructions giving myself and students practice in currents up to 4kts. Picturesque homes on stilts line the shores. Know anyone selling one - give me a holler! Note: SUPs aren't allowed to transit through the Locks.

- Freighters put off up to chest high (5') surfable waves across from Ray's Boathouse at low tides. We also surf tug waves in deep water offshore once a week. Wave faces can reach up to 6' with rides nearly 1/2 mile long. Read article on our surfing exploits in the Seattle Time, Here. I also surf behind most boats coming out of or going into the Locks. Learn to surf Freighter Waves

Tip: Give boaters the right of way and make eye contact before getting their wave.

- High wind days create fun conditions if you're into that sort of thing. North winds over 20 knots create surf at Meadow Point and at the mouth of Salmon Bay. Southerlies create surf on the south side of West Point and fun downwind conditions between the point and Golden Gardens. Friends and I have paddled in up to 41 knots, our limit.

Shilshole Bay, Seattle

- Wildlife. On every paddle I pass a section with a half dozen harbor seals who frolic below my board or kayak, or follow me around. Sea lions bark in the distance, and sea life dart below my water craft on clear days. Whale sighting are few.

- Shilshole Marina, nearly 1.7 miles long provides protected paddling about 350 days a year. I take my SUP students in there for calm water and to work on directional control weaving through the many channels and pathways. Tip: Slow down for each aisle opening in case a boat is coming out.

- Paddling to West Point. From my launch at the Elks Beach below the Locks, the lighthouse is about 1.7 miles. It looks easy but currents and back eddies can hinder your speed. A straight line to the lighthouse isn't always the easiest route. If there's an outgoing tide or strong southerly, the bay on the north side of the point becomes a big gyro or back eddy pushing current along shore to the point. Going point A to B would be bucking current the whole distance.

Webcam from a house on Magnolia: http://www.brichmond.com/webcam/mywebcam_loop.htm

5/8/12

-3.4 Tide on Shilshole Bay in Seattle 5/7/12

3/12/12

Paddling Puget Sound Trip #18 - Shilshole Bay

I consider Shilshole Bay my backyard. Only 5 minutes from my house, I can pop down there for a short paddle in the middle of the day and even use it as a launch for longer trips in Puget Sound. I surf freighter and tug wakes there, and equally enjoy the glassy waters of the protected Shilshole Marina.

In winter after several days of rain, the current below the Locks can get up to 4 knots which is a great fitness paddle in going upstream, and a fun free ride to take the current back into the Sound. A few times a year there's a touch of whitewater below the Locks - good for practicing my river skills in light current.

Here's a few images from recent Skills Clinics which I lead through my Stand Up Paddle Seattle Meet Up group. These clinics are held every Monday evening for 2 hours. More info Here.