Intro

Tidal Races

Safety - Learning Tidal Races

• Deception Pass - this is one of the better understood tidal races that surfskiers frequent. Notice all of the safety related information included on this page and take it as an example of much of what to pay attention to in many tidal races. But different races can pose other significant risks that need to be recognized, evaluated, and avoided when appropriate (or possibly need to always be avoided). And consider that the safety information for Deception Pass was accumulated from more than just a few trips or a short period of observation.
• If local knowledge is available (sea kayakers, surfers, etc.) - take full advantage of it. but you will still need to develop your own site expertise, biting off bigger chunks to chew as you gain greater familiarity. Hard to get to sites will probably take more time, more people, and more resources (if you have them - like a power boat?) to gain a reasonable understanding and achieve an adequate safety level for paddling.
• Some sites may take less time to become familiar if they reveal an unusual level of predictability and stability, or they do not have significant hazards or particularly strong currents.
• Some sites may prove to be unreasonably dangerous due to any or all of the following: volatile unpredicatable weather, remoteness and distance from emergency services, excessive turbulence, excessive boat/ship traffic, inadequate paddler skill levels and/or safety support.
• Incremental learning steps:
  • First Observe:
    • Observe what happens with different combinations of swell size and direction, local wind speed and direction, and tidal current speed. Pay particular attention to what happens with the more extreme combinations of these variables and begin to compose sets of “conditions that should be avoided” below which may signal a range of viable conditions for paddling. Developing more skill and/or adding additional safety support may allow you to subsequently expand your range of viable conditions.
      • Make note of cleaner areas to paddle in and problem areas to avoid and how they may shrink or expand with different combinations of conditions.
      • Spend plenty of time safely outside of the main race current watching what happens as the current gets stronger. If land is close enough for this observation and there is elevation then you can get a better view in safety. If you can only observe from the water, then the bigger and more stable the vessel you use for observation the better.
  • Initial Paddles:
    • Start out only paddling when the tide and conditions are weaker/smaller AND when the current strength is dropping
      • You can go out incrementally into stronger current as you are ready, but it will almost always be safer while you are still learning to gauge conditions if you choose times when the current will be dropping while you are on the water (exceptions might involve dangers that can come into play at lower tide, such as shallow rocks).
      • If you can, work along the edges and practice in smaller waves.
      • Always pay attention to what is down current from where you are paddling. Make sure that this area offers manageable remount and/or rescue opportunity if you should fall out of your boat.
  • Full safety precautions: particularly when operating in initial exploratory mode
    • Full safety equipment and clothing in good shape.
    • Paddle buddies
    • Emergency communications
    • Spotters on land if helpful
    • Power boat/jet ski support? Note that boat rescue within a tidal race can be dangerous and/or impossible and often is only realistic if one will be carried by the current into calmer seas.

Videos

• Ambleside Tide Race Videos Ambleside Park, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Deception Pass Videos Deception Pass State Park, Washington State, USA
• United Kingdom Tide Race Videos
• Active Seakayaking Youtube Tide Race Playlist

Locations