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Tides
(And Currents!)
If you are planning a route, you will need a source of information about currents on your route as well as tides, because there can be many places where you cannot figure out current direction and strength based simply on local tide times. Slack Tide - The period in the tide cycle when there is little or no current. Slack water occurs approximately halfway between maximum ebb and maximum flood and can last for 15 to 45 minutes. Notice this is not the same as halfway between high tide and low tide - refer to the Bay Area tide chart below for a rough representation of the relationships between ebb, flood, slack, high and low water tides and their approx. 6 hr. intervals.
Understanding the Basics
- Intro to Tides
- Intro to Tides Video Sea Kayak Australia Training Centre using bay near Melbourne as example
- The Cause and Nature of Tides Land Information New Zealand
- Tides and Currents San Francisco Bay Kayakers
- Tidal Planning for Paddlers UK Sea Kayakers Guidebook (refers to UK tide sources/books so find out what your local sources should be and what their advantages and disadvantages are.)
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Source: Bay Area Sea Kayakers (click to enlarge)
Complexity
When you're dealing with complex topography of bodies of water where channels intersect and tides can create multiple intersecting currents, things can get interesting and you are strongly advised to become very familiar with the individual natures of such places if you intend to traverse them, particularly in small boats.
- Hell's Half Acre the west side of Cypress Island in Puget Sound
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Apps and Websites
- DeepZoom Nautical Charts, Current, Wind, Tides (animations)
- NVS Data Explorer Buoy data, Pacific Northwest
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life, is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” - Shakespeare “Julius Caesar”
