Re: [Paddlewise] Kayaks and River Entrances and Bars - the condensed version

On 9/6/07, Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote:
>
>
> I've only a few transits of the Columbia River Bar under my belt, but lots
> of local lore in my head.  One of the most maddening aspects of transiting
> a bar is knowing where you are, and keeping track of your drift.  The
> Columbia's bar is especially difficult because it is so massive.  It is
> tough to do any ranging on buoys when they only appear intermittently, and
> land-based navaids are distant or absent.
>
>
Dave's point about the size of the bar is an important one. Most bar
entrances are designed for transit by boats bigger than kayaks; generally
fishing boats of 35 to 150 feet. However, some river bars are designed for
oceangoing ships and the navigational aids are less than helpful for a
paddler with a height-of-eye of maybe 3  feet. Less in the troughs. <smile>

In addition, the nature of a river bar means that the background is mostly
low lying land with sand dunes and (at least nowadays) houses that look
mostly alike. If you cannot see the navaids in the swell and chop and you
can't see landmarks it is very difficult to keep track of your position and
easy to be swept into danger. Especially on a river bar that is large.

The last time I measured a transit of the Columbia River Bar it was 3 miles
of actual bar conditions and 6 miles to the sea buoy in deep water. The bar
at La Push, by contrast, is about 100 yards and the bar at Westport,
Washington is about 1/4 mile. The bar at Willapa Bay, just south of the
Westport harbor entrance, is much longer, much shallower (the other name for
Willapa Bay is Shoalwater Bay), and poorly marked.

Sometimes it's an advantage to portage across the sand dunes next to the bar
entrance and just go across the beach and head out through the surf. In the
case of some jettied bar crossings you can get out in the lee of the leeward
jetty.

Local knowledge is important.


Craig Jungers
Royal City, WA
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