Surfski Knowledge Base

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Bellingham and Nearby Paddling Conditions

Bellingham Bay Conditions
Birch Bay Looking for a west or northwest wind starting in the mid teens. Also make sure you are not going to hit low tide and get stranded by the shallow shoreline mud flats. 22 miles north of Bellingham.
- Ventusky Birch Bay
- Webcam View from South End
- Cherry Point Tide Chart just south of Birch Bay
Deception Pass - South of Bellingham across Whidbey Island. Look for ebb tide (if you don't won't to work against max current try to aim for one of the shoulders of the ebb and not the peak) Pass laps can work with wind anywhere from Northwest to Southwest. West end laps open up more with South winds. Fairly mild wind can generate surprising waves.
- Ventusky Deception Pass
- Deep Zoom Tides
- Smith Island Buoy if the wind is some variant of West (SW,W, NW) here, it often will be building the swell going into Deception Pass
Ambleside Surf Laps - Looking for West (or close to West) winds blowing against ebb tides (tidal current going East to West). As with Deception Pass, the biggest waves may occur near max ebb, but you will also have to paddle harder against the tidal current at those times to catch those waves.
- Webcam At Adjacent Sailing Club
- First Narrows Tide
Lummi Bay Strong south wind coming up Hale's Passage
Camano Island A good southerly and an ebb tide can stack the waves up nicely.
Jetty Island, Everett, WA
Fisher Fountain WWU Campus - only relatively short laps * Webcam