Re: [Paddlewise] Flat water paddlers heading to NW

On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 7:20 AM, Carey Parks <carey_at_jimparksfamily.com>
wrote:

>
> A kayaking/hiking friend is thinking of doing a kayak camping trip with
> her
> sister in the Pacific NW, maybe the San Juans. I'll ask if it matters. I
> have a  concern with their lack of experience in the conditions that I
> hear
> one finds there. I don't want to talk them out of it completely. I doubt I
> could. So, how should they do it?  Are there guides who will go camping
> with
> them? Outfitter trips they could join? Neither might be the sister
> experience they are looking for, but....
>

Even though the tidal range in the San Juan Islands can be over 14 feet and
currents can be over 6 knots there are areas where paddlers can be
relatively immune from the effects. Without a guide I would advise them to
keep their paddling to the "inland sea" portions. This is the area bounded
by San Juan Island to the west, Blakely and Decatur Islands to the east,
Orcas Island to the north and not to venture south or west of San Juan
Island and south or (very far) east of Lopez Island. You will still
encounter low tides (and mud flats) and there will still be currents and
some risk of rips and standing waves (especially in the narrower channels)
but the wind fetch is short and there are lots of nooks and crannies one can
use to gain an advantage.

We often camp on Orcas Island and paddle the area in a series of day
paddles. Distances in the San Juan Islands are short; almost always 5nm or
less and often under 2.5nm so you'll get there faster than you think you
will looking at the charts. You can easily plan a morning trip, lunch back
in camp and a nap, and then an afternoon or evening trip. There is a large
State park with hundreds of campsites on Orcas (Moran State Park) but little
access to salt water (but a nice lake). Obstruction Island is a County Park
with camping and water access. We usually camp at West Beach which is a
private campgrounds on the NW coast of Orcas with access to the salt water
for easy paddling. I've passed many pleasant evenings floating along the
coastline here as darkness falls. Watch winds and currents. There are also
B&Bs and resorts.

Taking a car to the islands can present its own set of problems. Namely:
what to do with it if you are out kayaking or camping. If you have a
campsite or room at a resort or B&B then this problem is eliminated. There
are few public launch sites on the islands (San Juan County Park on San Juan
Island and at Obstruction Pass on Orcas are two). Parking is at a premium
everywhere on the islands. If you choose to leave your car in Anacortes you
will also pay a parking fee.

There can be some antipathy between the island residents (especially
waterfront residents) and kayakers. Landing on most beaches is likely to
provoke an exchange between the locals and the paddlers so avoid it unless
it's a matter of safety. Many of the million-dollar homes along the
shorelines are empty most of the year however so if I have to land on a
beach I choose one with a house that appears deserted and make my landing
brief (and not for toilet purposes).

Access to the water from the Orcas and Lopez ferry landings is problematic
so you will need a car. Ferry rates for cars are going up along with fuel
costs and there can be a very long (hours) wait at the terminal in
Anacortes; especially Fridays and Saturdays as well as long waits to get
back to Anacortes from the islands.

San Juan Island has more limited camping but you don't necessarily need a
car. Kayak launching from the ferry terminal involves a short walk (carry
kayak wheels) to the city marina where you can launch. There are also
toilets and pay showers at the marina. You can conceivably walk onto the
ferry with your kayak at Anacortes and then launch at the marina and paddle
2nm to Turn Island to begin your camping. Take water along.

Lopez Island has a large State park (Spencer Spit) with campsites and access
to the salt water for kayak launching. Reservations are highly recommended.

Rather than recommend one kayaking outfitter over another, I'll recommend
that you search on the Internet and find one that you think fits your
interests. Taking a short guided paddle can give you a better idea of what
else you want to see during your paddling vacation. Generally speaking, the
guides are competent and interesting paddlers although we have, in the past,
encountered some we were somewhat concerned about.

One nice thing about the Internet is that you can use it to learn about the
area you plan to paddle. For planning purposes I like to use a free chart
viewer called "Chart Navigator" available as a free download from
www.maptech.com. The actual charts for the area are also available free
(along with virtually all US charts which are copyright free - but not
Canadian or other charts, necessarily). This program lets you see the charts
and measure distances and headings. It's a remarkable planning tool and I
highly recommend it.

GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

The San Juan Islands are not remote and during the summer the boating
traffic can be heavy. Along with the currents there can be heavy wakes and
clapotis from rock formations. Boat wakes from very large (40-feet and over)
powerboats are especially troublesome in the passes.

I highly recommend that at least two handheld VHF radios be carried by any
paddling group as well as the USCG required and recommended safety equipment
(whistles, flares, etc.). There can be considerable traffic on channel 16 so
I'm not sure I'd monitor it all the time, but having the VHF radios aboard
let you report your own problems as well as help in any other problems you
might encounter.

The water in the San Juan Islands comes directly from the North Pacific
Ocean via the Straits of Juan de Fuca so they are not much warmer than the
ocean; maybe 45F in the summer but often down to 40F. Dress for water
temperature not air temperature. Unless you are just paddling in a quiet bay
alongshore, use a wetsuit (farmerjohn and drytop) or drysuit with
appropriate polypro or wool layers beneath. The single biggest risk to any
paddler in the San Juan Islands at any time of year is exposure to the cold
water and death by hypothermia.

If you are camping then bring warm clothing even in the summer. Daytime
temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees F can plunge down to the 40s at sundown.
Warm summer evenings are almost unknown; the temperature - especially on the
water - goes down quickly. Tents should have an efficient rainfly and
sleeping bags should be suitable for temperatures into the 30s. Even though
the Islands are normally dry and pleasant in the summer, it's possible that
your entire week could be rained out. Bring clothing for every eventuality.

Communications. Cellphone service in the islands can be spotty and often
covered by Canadian cells located only a couple miles north or west. The
roaming charges can be significant.

TIDES AND CURRENTS

I use an internet tidebook (
http://www.mobilegeographics.com/pugetsoundtides.html) for both current and
tide information. If one can make any generalizations about tides it is that
the smaller the tidal range (the difference between high tide and low tide)
the slower the currents. So a tidal range of 5 feet will produce slower
currents than a tidal range of 14 feet. This area usually has two high tides
and two low tides in any 24-hour period and one of these is usually smaller
than the other. Unless I *want* to play the currents, I try to plan my
vacation for a time when the lower tidal range occurs when I'll want to
paddle.

For instance, tomorrow (May 12, 2008) at Friday Harbor there is one high
tide of 8.42 feet at about 1am, and a 1.52 foot low tide at 5:17pm. In
between the second high/low pair is almost nonexistent giving us a tidal
range of about 7 feet spread across 17 hours with a long period between
about 7am and noon with only a 1 foot range. This will translate into almost
zero current (but not necessarily at the same times) for a long time.

Another consideration is that the time of slack tide (this is when the tide
is changing from high to low or vice-versa) is not necessarily (or almost
never) the time of slack current. This is why we have both tide tables and
current tables. For tomorrow (May 12, 2008) the current at the south end of
San Juan Channel (this is only about 5 miles from Friday Harbor) the ebb
begins at 12:20am and reaches a maximum current of 2.57kts at 3:37am. Then
you have maximum flood of 1.02kts at 9:19am and another maximum ebb of
1.89kts at 3:03pm.

Because currents are a major factor at the points where water enters and
leaves the archipelago, and because these points are often constricted, the
currents there are generally the fastest you would encounter in the area and
then only at the actual pass. This is one reason I suggest that people new
to the area never paddle south of Cattle Point on San Juan Island or east of
Obstruction or Blakely Islands; these areas are where they'd likely
encounter their highest currents. However, bear in mind that any time the
water is constricted there are likely to be higher currents with possible
rips and standing waves.

This means that the water around the Wasp Islets, the passages between
islands (Wasp Passage, Harney Passage, Pole Pass, North Pass, Obstruction
Pass, Thatcher Pass, Lopez Pass, etc.) will also have current. Again, the
lower the tidal range the slower the currents and vice-versa.

The winds in the San Juan Islands are notoriously non-existent in the summer
(July, August and Sept). If there is any wind during this period it will
likely come from the northwest due to the high pressure that tends to sit
over the area. Low pressure winds tend to come from the SW through SE. It's
important to use extreme caution if you paddle in an area of high current
(use the current and tide tables) along with high winds (over about 15kts);
especially if the wind and current are opposing each other (the wind blowing
against the current). Remember that a "southerly" wind is *from* the south
but a "southerly" current is *towards* the south.

CAMPING

The San Juan Islands has almost a plethora of public marine parks operated
by the State of Washington which are available to boaters at a reasonable
fee. Not all of them allow camping ashore, but most of them do. Use this
website to get started: http://www.parks.wa.gov/moorage/parks/

Turn Island. Under 2nm from Friday Harbor. 13 campsites. Easy paddle from
the ferry. Hiking trails. No water.

Jones Island. About 5.5 nm from Friday Harbor. Numerous campsites. Water
(Spring/summer only). Jones Island is a popular camping spot for kayakers
and is often used by the outfitters in the area. From Jones Island the Wasp
Islets are an easy paddle. You can go east along the southern shores of
Orcas Island and west along the norther shore of San Juan Island.

Blind Island. About 4.7 nm east of Jones Island via North Pass and Pole
Pass. Four campsites. Watch the currents and winds in the passes.

Obstruction Island. 3.2nm NE of Spencer Spit State Park. Part of Moran State
Park on Orcas Island. Located on the shore of Obstruction Pass. This Pass is
a major tidal stream so should be paddled with caution.

Spencer Spit State Park. About 5nm ESE of Blind Island. Numerous campsites.
Car and RV parking adjacent to the salt water.

Posey Island. About 4.5nm west of Jones Island. Two campsites. This small
island is at the entrance to Roche Harbor and a large paddling area on the
eastern edge of San Juan Island. Watch the currents and winds.

Stuart Island. About 3nm north of Posey Island. Numerous campsites, docks,
water in Reid Harbor. Another area on the other side of the island (Prevost
Harbor). Trails. Watch for shoals, reefs, outlying rocks, currents and
winds.

Sucia Island. About 13nm east of Stuart Island, this is probably the premier
marine park island in the state. It was originally purchased by Seattle
yacht clubs as an "outstation" and then turned over to the state many years
ago. Numerous campsites, docks, toilets, water in several coves. Trails.
Relatively open water kayaking. Use extreme caution due to outlying rocks,
reefs, currents and winds.

San Juan Island County Park. Located on the west coastline of San Juan
Island this park offers camping facilities and kayak launching in a small
cove protected from the weather. Reservations are recommended.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Yellow Island. Located in the Wasp Islets about 2.5 nm north of Friday
Harbor this island is operated by the Nature Conservancy and is open to
visitors. Land on the NE beach and stay on the trails. There is a caretaker
on the island who may (or may not) appear to answer questions.

Whale Watching. San Juan County Park offers camping (reservations
recommended) and kayak launch adjacent to a major whale watching area of
Haro Strait. Use exteme caution when paddling this area.

Underwater critters. Thirty years ago I would load a kid into my Luscombe 8A
and fly her up to Stuart Island for tide pool explorations. The tide pools
aren't as good as they used to be though. If you do explore them, please do
not remove critters even to look at them. Many of them *must* remain within
a short range of their home territory in order to live. If you detach one
from its rock and then just toss it back into the pool - or even put it on a
rock - it is likely to die. Many of them must return to exactly the same
place.

Friday Harbor Labs. This is a research facility located just outside of
Friday Harbor that might be available for visiting. Contact them directly on
the Internet.

San Juan Island National Historic Park. Located on Garrison Bay (accessed
via Roche Harbor and/or Mosquito Pass) commemorates the "Pig War". Even *I*
have a hard time believing it. Nice area for paddling but since the land is
all private and you cannot launch at the Park, you either have to paddle
here from somewhere else or launch at Roche Harbor Resort.

Bicycling. There is a lot of bicycling on the islands even though the roads
are narrow (without shoulders!) and some drivers don't exactly slow down.
Orcas is very hilly and wooded. Lopez is a tough pull from the ferry but
relatively flat on top and very rural with farms and sheep all over. San
Juan Island is a mix of the two. Of them all, I preferred to bike on Lopez.
Even so, if you bike watch for traffic.

Museums, farmer's markets, shopping, and good restaurants can be found on
all the islands.


Hope this helps,
Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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