I paddled the mouth of the Savannah River Friday. It was brutally hot but relaxing and my efforts rewarded me with the privilege of watching a dozen dolphins as they slammed into large schools of fish and seabirds picking trawler leftovers. The water was like glass with no wind and a slack tide for the moment. I needed to cross the channel to get to my lunch spot but had to wait for a pair of container ships to pass. They crossed exactly in front of me so I took in the show. My back was to the marsh as I watched the jousting tankers pass each other. The amount of water being moved by the bulbous nose of each ship was amazing as was the deep bass of their engines.The tide was exceptionally high and the marsh in front of Fort Polaski where I waited was well flooded. The river/marsh line on the Georgia side is demarcated by a line of large rocks placed about every five feet. I began to hear a very noticeable sucking sound coming from behind me. I turned to look and watched as the water level in the marsh fell three feet in ten seconds! The sudden out surge of water was fascinating. It occurred up and down the edge of the channel for as far as I could see. I gently back paddled to maintain my position until the water pressure equalized in and out of the channel. As both ships retreated I looked across the channel to the South Carolina side to see huge muddy waves repeatedly slamming against the stone piles of the channel edge. The waves were at least six feet and came in with incredible speed. It gave me a better appreciation for what the sea can do when stirred. Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"Jim Farrelly" <JFarrelly5_at_comcast.net> wrote: > I paddled the mouth of the Savannah River Friday. [snip]. My back was to > the marsh as I watched the jousting tankers pass each other. The amount > of water being moved by the bulbous nose of each ship was amazing [snip] > As both ships retreated I looked across the channel to the > South Carolina side to see huge muddy waves repeatedly slamming against > the stone piles of the channel edge. The waves were at least six feet > and came in with incredible speed. Here is a reasonably informative pdf file (2.8 Mb download) detailing formation of such surge wakes in confined channels: http://chl.wes.army.mil/research/navigation/GulfportWorkshop/StephenMaynord1.pdf The photos are the best part ... dig through towards the end for these. Jim's case would be horrific, I suspect, because of the involvement of two ships. I've seen these things on the Columbia River generate vertical excursions of 3-4 feet, which can produce quite a lateral flow on the right shoreline ... enough to sweep wading kiddies off their feet. If you are prepared for them, they are fun to play in ... or you can derive perverse joy in watching your PFD'ed buddies "learn" about them. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I have had 2 similar experiences along the Intracoastal waterway. In one I moved over to channel edge to let a large barge go by. I was paddling as it went by when suddenly the water was gone from under the kayak and I was grounded. The kayak flipped over on edge with me leaning out toward the channel. I was amused until I looked back and saw the 3 ft wave coming at me. Laying on your side as a wave breaks over you is not be most enjoyable position in kayaking. The other incident involved a huge hotel barge that takes tourists on tours from New Orleans down to Brownsville, Tx along the Intracoastal. As it passed me I moved out as close to the channel edge as I could without being sucked up against the side of the barge. The channel in our area is about 8 ft deep, but on one side (the one I was on) there is a 4ft deep barge shelf cut where they can run barges aground out of the main channel. As I watched the water being sucked off the flats I was amazed to see a 300 ft long 3ft high waterfall as the barge shelf was sucked almost dry and water was dropping down off the flats onto the once submerged shelf. It was all I could do to keep from being sucked into the barge since I could not paddle away from the channel edge without running aground. Mark J. Arnold > [Original Message] > From: Jim Farrelly <JFarrelly5_at_comcast.net> > To: paddlewise <PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net> > Date: 7/24/2005 11:45:05 > Subject: [Paddlewise] Ship jousting > The amount > of water being moved by the bulbous nose of each ship was amazing as was > the deep bass of their engines.The tide was exceptionally high and the > marsh in front of Fort Polaski where I waited was well flooded. The > river/marsh line on the Georgia side is demarcated by a line of large > rocks placed about every five feet. I began to hear a very noticeable > sucking sound coming from behind me. I turned to look and watched as > the water level in the marsh fell three feet in ten seconds! The sudden > out surge of water was fascinating. I > > Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"Mark Arnold" <mjamja_at_earthlink.net> wrote: >I have had 2 similar experiences along the Intracoastal waterway Wow. Those are some great anecdotes, Mark. Any reliable plan of attack you'd use the next time one of those monsters comes your way ... maybe an immediate sprint to the shallowest water you can find, as far as you can get, at right angles to the channel? -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR . *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (including headers/footers/sig lines/extraneous text from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] I do not think you will have any problems. I have spent 1000's of hours paddling along the Intracoastal. You just have to be aware of what is going on with channel traffic. I try not to paddle in the actual channel but rather just off to the side. The edge of the channel is marked with the floating buoys (either green can or red nun). The day markers (the permanently mounted poles) are actually located outside the edge of the channel. I usually try to paddle in that imaginary lane between the buoys and the day markers. This keeps you in deeper water, but the channel traffic should not have to do anything to avoid you. In my area if you get too far off the channel the water can be less than a foot deep. If we have higher tides I will move further off the channel as long as I can paddle in 2-3 ft water. Some things to remember: 1. Look behind you every 20-30 min. It is amazing how close a barge can sneak up behind you before you hear it, especially if you are paddling into the wind. 2. If a barge is going to pass you make a visible move away from the channel. Most of the time I do not think the tug captains even see you, but I like to point away from the channel in case they are watching so they will know you are not about to turn and head in front of them. I do not move very far off my normal paddling lane, but I think even a small change away from the channel makes the tugs feel more comfortable with passing you. Again this is more of a courtesy, than a real safety issue. However: I have seen a barge run right over one of the green can buoys so that little extra separation from the main channel could be important. 3. Watch out for power boats that are trying to pass barges. They are paying lots of attention to the barge and may not even see you as they swing out of the channel to pass the barge. There is not much you can do except watch for them and be prepared to hold your paddle up vertically and wave it wildly if it looks as if they are headed your way. Some of those shallow draft fishing boats can and will swing way outside the main channel. 4. Never trust that a power boat will actually follow the channel. Some think that the day markers are the channel edge and will actually leave the main channel to get closer to a day marker. Others have no idea of what side of the buoys is actually the channel side. Others, especially the shallow draft boats, will choose to run outside the channel on the more protected side to get in the flat water so their ride is not so rough. 5. Exercise extreme caution where the Colorado meets the intracoastal. You do not want to be anywhere near that intersection if a barge is coming through. As the barges cross the Colorado they have to make a guess as how to balance direction with the current flowing downstream and the wind that usually blows upstream. I saw a tug pushing 2 unloaded barges adjust his direction slightly upstream to correct for the current. Unfortunately he forgot about the funnel affect on the wind and as the barges started across the river they were pushed dramatically upstream by the wind. He slammed the barges into the lock protection wings and just crushed some of those huge timbers to splinters. Luckily we were still on shore loading the kayaks so we got to enjoy the show rather than participate in it. Have a good paddle Mark J. Arnold > From: Stephen F Logan <sfl1222_at_sbcglobal.net> > > I would be interested in any suggestions and advice for paddling in > the Intracoastal. I have paddled across it many times but, never any real > time paddling it's length. I have hopes to paddle from Bay City to Palacios > one day and one possible route is down the Colorado River, turn right at the > Intracoastal, paddle to Oyster Lake, cut across Oyster Lake to the mouth of > the Tres Palacios, paddle across the Tres Palacios to Palacios. If paddling > in the Intracoastal was deemed to hazardous I could cross it into West Bay > and then paddle to Oyster Lake. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (including headers/footers/sig lines/extraneous text from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] > From: Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> > > Wow. Those are some great anecdotes, Mark. Any reliable plan of attack > you'd use the next time one of those monsters comes your way ... maybe an > immediate sprint to the shallowest water you can find, as far as you can get, > at right angles to the channel? For the regular barges I just try to stay just off the channel and make sure that I am not in a real shallow spot when they do go by. I have been passed by 40-50 of those barges and that was the only time I really had a problem. For that floating hotel monster I am going to do just what you suggest. and get as far away as possible even if it means being aground. If I am not close to the channel edge, the return wave will break before it gets to me and I will just be re-floated as the water returns to the flats. When we have inexperienced paddlers on trips with us we often have them stop and point their kayaks at a 90 degree angle to the channel as the barges go by. That way they can just backpaddle against any suction. That is much easier for them than using a draw stroke especially since they often do not even know what a draw stroke is. That 90 degree orientation also makes it easier for them to turn directly into the return wave rather than taking the wave from the side. That is especially important if the barge is overtaking the group such that the return wave would otherwise be coming from the rear quarter which seems to be the most problematic for beginning paddlers (for experienced paddlers too). Mark J. Arnold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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