Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island

Photo: Ana Swetish Deception Pass at dawn video - Click to enlarge

Intro

Wikivoyage Description of Whidbey Island

4 day circumnavigation of Whidbey in Sea Kayaks

WISK (Whidbey Island Sea Kayak) via Island Beach Access provides beach landing information around the whole of Whidbey Island

Public Beach Access Map

Downwinding

West Side of Whidbey (North to South)

Deception Pass - see Deception Pass page
Admiralty Bay (where Keystone Ferry lands)
- Lagoon Point County Park to Driftwood Park 5.70 miles. Some variation of south wind? Lagoon Point parking and beach access is “limited”. Is it okay enough for 1 or more surfskis to launch? Indications are that the swell from the fetch to the south is more obstructed here than it is in the bays farther south on the west side of Whidbey. Jim Schulz: “I think north of Bush Point the SE wind gets blocked a bit near shore…”
Bush Point - Jim Schulz: “… I have done laps south of Bush Point a few times there’s about 7+ miles of fetch from the S to Hansville but I don’t think any of the wind swell from Edmonds makes it there. I was at Bush Point last weekend and there was a 1.7 mph flood tide when I left and it was blowing 30 at Marrostone Point. It got up to 1.9 knts after I left. I think it can hit 3 knts during a big tide change. The flood tide was hitting Bush point and going SW about a ¼ mile or so offshore going 5 knots so, must be more with a big tide change. The wind wasn’t perpendicular to the tide near Bush Point which usually means funky waves, and it was. Steep, Stacked, and not much width. The tide rip at the point was determining the direction of the waves and not the wind. There is 30 or 40 yards between the point and the tide rip where there’s flatter water where I was paddling upwind. I wonder about Driftwood Park, If the tide there would be almost perpendicular to the SW wind the last mile or so. I think that farther offshore in the channel from Bush Point or Lagoon Point would be better but that’s a lot of exposure.”

South swell from Edmonds seems to reach western parts of Whidbey from the southern end up to Useless Bay (but how much and in what conditions does swell make it to the section between Double bluff and Bush Pt.?)

Mutiny Bay - boat ramp w/ spacious gravel parking lot. On a south wind you can probably do laps, protected by the shore going upwind then turn and downwind at some angle back into the bay, rinse and repeat, kind of like using an eddy to go upstream. You might get downwind legs up to almost 2 miles but you may lose some of your upwind return protection if you go that far north on your downwind legs in the Bay.
- Jim Schulz: “I would like to try Mutiny Bay Boat Ramp, paddle S toward Double Bluff which is 300 ft high and treed so there shouldn’t be much wind then turn N just before the Point and surf to Bush Point Boat Ramp.” assuming S wind, approx. 1 mile upwind then 4.5 miles downwind
Useless Bay (shallow at low tide - Sunlight Beach may be a slightly better launch/landing than Double Bluff at low tide, although at lower tides it is also too shallow. Useless Bay gets its name from the shallow water that prevents boat access at low tide)
- Double Bluff (has parking)
  - Double Bluff County Park at the north end of a very long Puget Sound Fetch to the south. paddle south and downwind back north to the park, popular with kiters (October is “Double Bluff” month)
  - iKiteSurf Dble Bluff
  - Double Bluff Webcam
- Maxwelton Beach Dave Mackie Park (decent amount of parking, 2 lots - the boat ramp is at the south lot)
  - downwind approx. 4 miles to Sunlight Beach (very limited parking) or 4.25 miles to Double Bluff Park. Or better yet, do laps from Dave Mackie Park - Dec. 26, 2020 video , Jan 12, 2021 video
  - Jim Schulz: “ Maxwelton Beach seems to be the best spot with the long fetch from Seattle and the fact that is gets deep very close to shore. There is a swell train paralleling the shore and fairly close to shore. It reminds me of standing on Highway 14 and looking at the waves in the Columbia. And the paddle upwind is protected by Swede Hill and Indian Point so I can get upwind easily and get more laps in. I’ll go farther south off Indian Point if the wind is lighter and more SE. I’ve done laps up in Bellingham out of Marine Park probably 30 times and this is bigger and better quality. I still haven’t done it on a flood tide yet…. I still want to try laps at Dave Mackie County Park at Maxwelton during a flood tide and paddle south, there should be a bit more tide and it should be perpendicular to the wind. ” (Dec. 2020)

East Side

Langley to Oak Harbor - 21 miles. We don't have a report from anyone about doing this long of a Saratoga Passage downwinder. It could get somewhat exposed in the open water between Whidbey and Camano Islands well away from shore or you can take less of a direct line staying closer to the Whidbey shore along the way which would increase the trip length by about 1 mile. But in the right conditions (SE wind for one), might be a longer than usual worthwhile downwinder.
- Langley - Port of South Whidbey Harbor has a boat ramp and beach access
- Oak Harbor - Beach access at Flintstone Park
- Alternate Put-ins/Take-outs
  - Penn Cove head west into this cove - protection from S, SE wind
    - North Side - Penn Cove Park 19.25 miles from Langley
    - South Side - Coupeville - Captain Coupe's Park and Boat Launch 19.5 miles from Langley
  - Hidden Beach - distance to Oak Harbor is about 11.5 miles. There is a parking lot with room for approx.15 cars. Jim Shultz: “I have done the Hidden Beach to Oak Harbor Marina Downwind a few times. After about a mile and a half the waves clean up nicely. It gets a bit small at the end with the tide going perpendicular to the wind. I don’t remember seeing any debris when I did the run. I wonder how much of the woody debris is from the Skagit River after a flood event or how much is from a high tide high wind event.”
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