Paddling the Salish Sea 80 Trips: stand up paddling

Showing posts with label stand up paddling. Show all posts

1/30/17

The Salish Sea Marine Trail

Reposted from Wild Coast Magazine...

Trans Canada Trail (TCT) and BC Marine Trails Network Association have come up with the perfect recipe for connecting Vancouver Island and the rest of Canada by trail. Just add saltwater and stir with a paddle.

The result will be the Salish Sea Marine Trail, a blueway – a saltwater route designed for paddle craft and small beachable boats – that will connect The Great Trail (the new name for the Trans Canada Trail) from Horseshoe Bay on the BC Mainland to Kilometre Zero of The Great Trail at Clover Point in Victoria.

Salish Sea Marine Trail

The 257-kilometre trail will snake north from Clover Point along Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula into the Gulf Islands, then north past Nanaimo through the Winchelsea and Ballenas islands across to Lasqueti and Texada Islands, then down the Sunshine Coast and across Howe Sound to

end at Horseshoe Bay.

From there it will connect to the Sea to Sky Marine Trail to link to Squamish by water plus connect with The Great Trail land trails in Vancouver and the rest of Canada.

The Salish Sea Marine Trail will not only provide the link, it will create an incredible new paddling route in its own right, providing a human-powered connection spanning the Canadian side of the Salish Sea.

Spearheading the Salish Sea Marine Trail is the BC Marine Trails Network Association (BCMTNA), an affiliation of British Columbia's kayaking and paddling clubs along with private members and business members. Formed in 2009, its mandate is to develop marine trails along the British Columbia coast through a network of access points and campsites developed in association with government agencies, First Nations and stakeholders.

Other partners coming on side for the Salish Sea Marine Trail include the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, which will provide the marine ecology interpretive component for the trail as it develops. Read More..

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

12/7/16

Exploring Freshwater Bay on the Olympic Peninsula - Trips 40 & 41

I was first introduced to Freshwater Bay in my early kayak days via the WA Kayak Club while on day trips and a few rock gardening classes with Deb Volturno and George Gronseth. From day 1, I knew this was a place I'd be going back to often. Now I lead SUP tours there mostly in summer months.

A 3 hour drive from Seattle and just past Port Angeles, FWB as we call it for short, has good conditions 99% of the time. The boat ramp put-in is in boating terms, a good gunk hole, meaning it's very protected from most wind and swell. A sandy bottom and shallow for some time, makes it a great launch for paddlers. We generally prefer to launch adjacent to the busy boat ramp on the beach.

Routes:

If a wild weather or mellow day, you can have plenty of fun exploring the interior of the bay by the boat ramp, with it's tide pools and rock formations on the west side of the bay to the erratic boulder right of the boat ramp. You can also head east into FWB and in a few miles you'll hit the Elwha River mouth (watch for surf). In summer there's a one mile long kelp bed in the bay. Usually quiet from other paddlers and don't expect to see anyone on the beach.

For experienced paddlers, take a left at Observatory Point and Bachelor Rock (seastack below) threading yourself through the reef (SUPs-recommend kneeling). Or go round the rock. Swell does get in there and on an ebb the currents can rip strongly around the rock. Follow the coastline for one mile or the 6 miles to Salt Creek Rec Area. Explore the pocket beaches, amazing rock formations, caves, arches and abundant sea life below you. There's a stinky seal rookery about 3 miles west and Hidden Cove, another gunk hole about 2 miles from Salt Creek.

Alternatively, you can launch form Salt Creek, go over or around Tongue Point and start your journey from the west, going east.

Avoid if you can't handle waves, swell, high wind or don't have endurance for strong current. It can be glassy calm or gnarly. The water is cold most of the year do dress for immersion. SUPs, I recommend a rubber fin to avoid getting stuck in the extensive kelp beds and to better explore the rock shoreline. Also a helmet for kayakers, not much fun to capsize in shallow reefs.

The section can be cold too as the sun rarely gets over he big cliffs aside from in summer.

Read more in my book, Trips 40 & 41

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

6/15/12

Stand Up Paddler between Fox Island and the Kitsap Pensinsula Trip #7

There's several ways to get to Kopachuck State Park and it's wonderful Cascadia Marine Trail campsite. In this image, a stand up paddler is headed east towards the Tacoma Narrows on Hale Passage (Hale's Beer named after that?). The bridge connects Kitsap Peninsula to Towhead Island and Fox Island. There's a great launch on Towhead just before you reach Fox Island, also a boat ramp.

Currents can get going on Hale Passage, learn to use them to your advantage. In this case you'd want a flood to push ya a bit west towards Green Point and north Kopachuck State Park. If you know the paddler in the photo give me a holler, I'd like to send her a print.

View from Fox Island

5/31/12

Trip #26 - La Connor & the Skagit River

Known for it's rich agricultural heritage and busy maritime scene, the Skagit Valley has several picturesque paddling trips. In Trip #26 you have several options to choose from. On the ebb, launch from Blake's Resort and float down downstream past Fish Town and thread your way through the swamp like tide flats below the Skagit River. Visit the interesting geological rock formations of Ika Island (no landing permitted) or the World War 1 era coastal fortifications on Goat Island.

Using a flood current paddle up the Swinhomish Channel to La Connor and enjoy the town's various shops, enjoy a beer at the La Connor Brewery or a gigantic cinammon roll at the Calico Cupboard. Camp at the Cascadia Marine Trail site in Pioeneer Park below the Rainbow Bridge.

Take the tail end of the ebb back down the Swinhomish Channel to the mouth of the Skagit, then paddle up the river on the flood tide back to Blake's.

5/30/12

Seeking Navigation & Marine Weather Training?

If you're seeking marine navigation and weather resources, books, online courses or apps, check out the Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle. Owner David Burch is the author of Kayak Navigation and several other publications on marine weather, GPS, and other cool stuff.

Sample Topics Covered:
- Celestial Navigation
- Modern Marine Weather
- Inland and Coastal Navigation
- The Barometer Handbook

More info here..Starpath

5/29/12

The Book has Launched!

My publicist at Mountaineers Books told me today that my 60 Trips Kayaking Puget Sound book has launched! Find it online at the usual spots and it should be on bookstore shelves now or in the near future.

For more info on the book, look Here.

2/17/12

Paddling Deception Pass State Park - Trip #28

Only 1.5 hours from Seattle, Deception Pass State Park is one of my favorite destinations. It's known for it's swift tidal current and rapids which squeeze through a narrow a canyon with an large rock island in the middle. Currents can run up to 8 knots and changes directions a few times a day. River like features such as whirlpools, eddylines, standing waves, and boils draw experienced paddlers, clubs, and kayak schools to the pass to learn and enjoy the water.

DP as we call it, also has varied terrain which can appeal to paddlers of all skill levels. Not far from the fast curent areas are protected coves and bays, pocket beaches, caves, extensive kelp beds, rock formations, and sandy beaches. One can paddle in the park without ever sensing any current or difficult paddlling. I love to take my SUP there and when lucky surf up to 5' standing waves in Canoe Pass on the ebb at lower tides. The waves build when strong NW swell coming in from the Strait of Juan de Fuca collides with the ebb current in the pass.

Most common put-ins are Bowman Bay and Cornet Bay. Both are protected launches each with their own features. Those wanting to travel through the pass or play in the rapids use a Current Table to determine the best time to travel, which launch to use, etc. For example, if the current is flooding (coming in) but will taper off by noon, you'll launch at Bowman Bay, take the flood through the pass and when the current tapers off and begins to ebb (going out) you'd take the current back out towards Bowman Bay.

Terms to know:
Ebb: outgoing current
Flood: incoming current
Slack: period of little or no current in between each cycle. Lasts 5-30 minutes.
Current Tables: Find online or in print in most tide table books. Sample Here.

Tip: If launching from Bowman Bay, portage over the sandy isthmus on the south side of the bay to more easily access the current below Canoe Pass.

Here's a few images from less common perspectives in the pass.

2/13/12

Paddling the Low Tides & Mudflats of Puget Sound

In a 2/12 posting on my paddling blog Stoke Magazine titled "9 Tips for Paddling Safely wth Tides," I offered tips on how to avoid getting stuck in mudflats on low tides. Below is a list of areas in and around Puget Sound which are worth paying attention to if you're planning on paddling there.

General rule of thumb if planning of paddling in these areas - find out the minimum tide level to safely paddle there and launch on a rising tide.

South Sound -
There are quite a few inlets, bays, and coves here which completely dry out during lower tides. This is only a short list..
- Nisqually Reach / Delta, Trip #4.
- Woodward Bay (inside Henderson Inlet), Trip #3.
- Eld Inlet, Trip #2.
- Kopachuck State Park & Cutts Island, Trip #7.
- Gig Harbor, Trip #9

Mid Sound -
- Eagle Harbor / Bainbridge, Trip #13 & 14.
- Duwamish Waterway, Trip #16.
- Everett Harbor, Trip #21.
- Central Hood Canal, Trip 23 (mostly river mouths - Hamma Hamma, Dosewallips, etc).

Woodward Bay, South Sound.

North Sound -
- Skagit River Delta, Trip #26.
- Deception Pass State Park, Trip #28 (Cornet Bay, Bowman Bay).
- Chuckanut Bay, Trip #31 (Larabee St Park south.)
- Padilla Bay.
- Warm Beach (between Camano Island and the mainland).
- Lummi Island north to Sandy Point and south near Eliza Island.

Olympic Peninsula -
- Indian Island, Trip #34 (southern section).
- Discovery Bay, (south end).

Nisqually Reach, South Sound.

- Dungeness Spit, Trip #38.
- Sequim Bay, Trip 37, (by casino).

San Juan Islands -
- Lopez Island, Fishermen's Bay, Trip 44.
- Orcas Island, (Eastsound area).

Gulf Islands -
- Sooke Harbor, Trip #54, (inner shorelines).
- Saltspring Island, Ganges Harbor.
- Pender Island, Trip 60 (various coves and inlets).

Other:
- Willapa Bay and eastern and northern Long Beach Peninsula.
- Columbia River from mouth upriver approx 10 miles.
- Grays Harbor.
- mouth of the Physt River inside of Pillar Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- north of Bellingham near US/CA border.

1/29/12

Paddling Yakima River Canyon

Yakima River Canyon is one of Wa State's most scenic river paddles and is great for all skill levels. A 1.5 hour drive east of Seattle and located directly south of Ellensburg on Highway 821 (Canyon Road), the river can be easily accessed from I-90. Driving south of the interstate, you begin to drop into the canyon within a few miles. Immediately you will enjoy it's steep grassy hillsides and winding two lane route which parallels the river. The river is also known as a 'Blue Ribbon' fly fishing and catch and release only river. Drift boats are common as are fishermen along it's bushy shores. Red's Fly Shop is located in the canyon and can assist with any fishing questions.

The best guidebook for the trip is "PaddlingWashington: 100 Flatwater and Whitewater Routes in Wahsington State and the Inland Northwest," by Rich Landers and Dan Hansen and published by Mountaineers Books. Click HERE for ordering info.

The canyon route is a Class 1 section of the river, meaning it moves but has few rapids and small riffles to worry about and thus doesn't require much or any river experience. That said, always wear a life jacket and appropriate immersion clothing for the water and air temperature. The river is very popular in summer with rafters. I'm hoping to try it this year on a SUP with rubber fins.

Details from the book:

- Distance: 19 miles

- Time: 6 hours.

- Season: Year Around (note early summer flows can be swift).

- Shuttle: 20 miles, pavement.

- Class 1+.

- Hazards: Heavy wind, strainers, scattered rapids.

- Info: BLM in Spokane.

- Maps: USGS Ellensburg South, Kittitas, Wymer

- Put In: Ringer, 2.5 miles below I-90.

- Take-out: BLM Roza Recreation Area.

- Camping: Several spots along the river, mostly BLM land.

- More Info & Contact #'s: Public Lands.

- BLM Site & Map of Area: HERE.

Learn more about river paddling from local author, Jeff Bennett. His book "The Essential Whitewater Kayaker" by McGraw hill is a good one. My SUP book also has a solid chapter dedicated to river paddling.