Over the years I have heard many theories about how to estimate the speed of current at a particular point in the tidal range. Several "rules" are out there but they all seem to me to depend upon a factor that may not exist. Tides and currents may not actually follow a rule of "thirds" (or any other rule). Especially not in narrow channels (like Deception Pass). My experience with Deception Pass (admittedly gathered only since 1963 when I first moved into a small cabin on Similk Bay just around the corner from Deception Pass) is that you have only a few minutes of "slack water" and then the current ramps up to virtually full speed within the next 15 or 20 minutes. Miss the "slack" and, for all practical purposes, you might just as well run through at full current. Current tables generally give you the slack water time and the time (and speed) of maximum current. Sometimes there are curves that accompany the tables which may correspond to speeds and times; or they may not. It just seems unlikely to me that the currents through a small aperture of rock would nicely follow along a curve. I'm guessing that most of the time these curves are simply artistic representations of the tidal stream velocity and little else Does anyone have any links to any data that actually correlates current speeds with tidal range in a channel? Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 27 2009 - 15:44:38 PDT
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