We have travelled the Swinomish Channel in our 8'
draft vessel. We like to stop in La Conner for a nice meal. In fact this is one of our favorite trips.
We've had no problems however we watched the tide level and we stayed to the deep
water (east) side passing Shelter Bay. The
charts we have show the drying areas there. The marked channels to the north of the rail bridge and to the south of Hole in the Wall should be followed carefully, there are mud flats on either side. Exiting the channel on the south end make sure you go all the way well past the last red buoy, Skagit Bay has extensive shallows.
Minimum tidal range in the Swinomish Channel is about 7 feet. At times of spring tides the range can be over 12 feet. So if you plan your
passage to coincide with high
water you should see sufficient depths. The slack high water is a few hours after the Anacortes time of high water. (In other words the current continues to flow and the tide continues to rise for 2.5-4 hours after high tide. The same delay happens with the low tide.) This duration of this delay depends on the
weather and the local (Skagit) river flows. I do not know exactly how to predict this.
Going southbound it does not
work very well, if you enter on a rising tide the current will be against you.
If you are waiting for the rail bridge, watch out where the current takes you.
The following web sites are helpful:
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/no...48558&legacy=1
Navigating the Swinomish Channel - Port of Skagit
Slack water occurs 2.5-4 hours after high or low tide
Flood is northbound
The current flows north from 2.5-4 hours before high tide to 2.5-4 hours after high tide
Ebb is southbound
The current flows south from 2.5-4 hours before low tide to 2.5-4 hours after low tide
Inside of Whidbey the currentdirection is opposite of Admiralty Inlet and with careful timing it can be an advantage for you: Go southbound inside of Whidbey on an ebb timing it to be at Possession Point at slack low water, then catch the flood down to
Seattle. This avoids the strong ebb currents in Admiralty Inlet.
But you won't avoid a strong southerly by going inside. the
wind rips up the inside of Whidbey and beating south in Skagit Bay and Saratoga
Passage involves a lot of tacks since the channel is narrow. At least the waves will be small.