Sailing BC Waters Engineless?

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Part of your advance planning will be to anchor against adverse tidal currents and learn to work the back eddies by hugging the beach line in certain areas.

Make sure you have extra line scope for deep water holding and if you get a chance, review passage plan with an old Log-tow captain, who are masters of this back-eddy knowledge.

the Northern Back-eddy is the easiest passage in the whole of PNW.

All you have to remember is "still waters run deep"

15 years riding the BE.

Lloyd
FlyingCloud1937

but that doesn't mean you can go no motor...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

[TacomaSailor]

Back Eddies are very useful

What is happening on this Web site?

This posting originally contained another eight paragraphs - now it only contains the first sentence of the first paragraph.

The entire posting was there for several minutes then this!

[TacomaSailor]

Here is what I tried to post - it was on the forum and then was reduced to only the first sentence:

Pacific NW racers and cruisers live for back eddies - they study them, memorize them, search for them, and ride them to and fro.

However - all back eddies come to an end - frequently in an abrupt and less than useful fashion. For example:

The flood tide in Admiralty Inlet flows SE at over 3 knots on many days a month. The inlet is the NW entrance to Puget Sound between Marrowstone Island to the west and Whidbey Island to the east. It is the primary sailing route for north bound Puget Sound boats headed to sea, the San Juan Islands, or Vancouver Island.

There is a very useful back eddy that flows NW along the west side of Admiralty Inlet - right close to the Marrowstone shoreline. Frequently the back eddy is making 0.5 knots or so at almost the opposite direction as the flood in the main channel.

The problem is that as the NW flowing back eddy approaches Marrowstone Point at the North end of Marrowstone it abruptly heads eastward and shoves the boat riding it out into the often rough tidal overfalls and nasty currents as the east flowing flood rounds Marrowstone Pt and heads southeast.

So the north bound boat on the back eddy is suddenly finds itself broadside to a south flowing current in rough water and headed straight into the southbound VTS lane (shipping lane) that comes within 0.5 NM of the point. Dozens of ocean going ships, US navy ships and subs, tugs& tows, and large commercial vessels round the point at about 10 - 12 knots every day so a small sailing boat suddenly appearing in the lane is not appreciated.

ALL a motorless boat, or racer, can do is drop anchor between the Marrowstone fish haven pier and the lighthouse on the point and wait for the flood to ease.

Useful eddy with an abrupt end!

[limpyweta]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

review passage plan with an old Log-tow captain, who are masters of this back-eddy knowledge.

This isn't the first time I've heard this.

[Astrid]

Then by all means, take the advice. Gather as much local knowledge of your route as possible.

[etesian]

We have some current here.

Seymour Narrows - YouTube

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

For whatever reason - the web site did not include the last several paragraphs of my original post:

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

What is happening on this Web site?
This posting originally contained another eight paragraphs - now it only contains the first sentence of the first paragraph.
The entire posting was there for several minutes then this!

Hi TacomaSailor
I have reported this glitch to the Site Team.

Good posts by the way. Thanks for the very informative first hand local knowledge .

[s/v Beth]

I have seen that eddy TS. Why not wait for the ebb to push you out into the middle of the strait, then (if you are going north) use the flood to push you up to Sidney or Sucia? Sailing should not be called as such in the Salish, it is more like bobbing with the tides:-)
And using your motor and sails to get you in the right current.
Of course out here on the coast is where real men and women bobb....er I mean sail. At least there is lots of wind!

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by etesian

We have some current here.

Having navigated that stretch of water more times than I care to remember, after watching the video I can only say that one has to read the tide books properly and time accordingly. There has been several boats that have gone down in that stretch of water because of bad judgement. Last one I remember was a 70ft. Seiner.

[foolishsailor]

how did he even get where he was? Did his anchor break free? How could he have even motored into the position he was in?

I can only understand this if he somehow drifted down tide to this situation as he coudlnt have sailed up into it?

Can someone please explain this to me?

[limpyweta]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

There is a very useful back eddy that flows NW along the west side of Admiralty Inlet - right close to the Marrowstone shoreline. Frequently the back eddy is making 0.5 knots or so at almost the opposite direction as the flood in the main channel.

I've sailed from Seattle to Port Townsend in an engineless sloop using this, but there was enough wind by the time we got by the north side of Marrowstone to control the boat. A current atlas is great. Timing it right can be difficult. One should probably know where to drop a hook or tie to kelp if there's that much of a doubt not enough wind in an appropriate direction will come, or maybe follow the eddy backwards.

[HappySeagull]

foolishsailor, this boat likely left the harbour at slack water or got through the pass at slack water However, The current increases thereafter.....and is plenty strong everywhere near the pass....so getting through at 6knots motoring is no use as the current turns against. Near the video beginning you can see a fishboat also stemming the flood, but way over in the bay, where there's some hope. Likely the fishboat went through at the same time as these folks ... looks to be too late for this boat to also get over there.
Most folks like to hit the narrows at slack-turning-to FAVOURABLE current but it's not always convenient.

But maybe they are just having fun-we don't know they aren't doing it intentionally.

[s/v Beth]

I don't think he's doing it on purpose. Way to much desperation in those moves. Foolish - you have to sail up here to understand (or a place like it). The whole place becomes a bathtub with the drain pulled on ebb tide, and then it fills up again...
Boat get sucked into that current all the time in the San Juan's. I see them leave Sucia for Bellingham only to get sucked down Rosario strait.

[foolishsailor]

Wow. I have sailed with 4-5 knot current in parts of SF bay and 3+ kts in the solent, but nothing like that.

Wow, it actually looked like a river. That is outside my experience base on a sailboat. Makes me want to grab my kayak.

[RedHerring]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

Useful eddy with an abrupt end!

I've seen a couple on a sailboat doing that in Dodd Narrows. As we are floating around twisters down the "tongue", these folks go up the eddy in the opposite direction and then point their bow right across the 6 kt main stream. With all the sails up!

As an ex-white water kayaker, I was half-expecting that boat to flip. What they did instead was a pretty violent 720 degree turn with boat heeling in random directions, boom flying, sails flapping, women screaming and so on. One of the most spectacular sailing fails I've ever seen. Miraculously, noone was injured.

Great way to learn about paying attention to tidal streams in narrow passes, I guess.