Kayaking Made Easy | How to Paddle With the Current
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2020
- Tired launching only to find yourself paddling against the current? Find out how to easily predict when to paddle with the current. Go with the flow.
- Krátké a kreslené filmy
Finally someone explained it in a way that I can understand
Even I understood that, well explained. Wish I lived up there.
Thank you so much, the visuals really helped me make sense of this.
you should make a series. its hard to find good videos on this topic.
Excellent video and very informative!
Excellent video! Thank you
Very interesting stuff, would love to paddle more in tidal waters. Regards from Spain.
Great video! Love the animations as well 💪
NOAA also publishes current predictions here: tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaacurrents/Regions
These graphs give you predictions on the actual speed of the currents for selected points.
"The average kayaker travels roughly 1.5 knots" 4:50. That is true assuming that the average kayaker is a newby in a ten foot thirty three inch wide kayak.
Thank you so much for sharing! I was born and raised on the praries but doing a 7 day solo expedition in May out in the Ocean on the Georgia Straight near Vancouver Island. I have 1 question though. Near the end of the video you mentioned comming back to Brimmerton near the Max Ebb. In other videos I watched It said to always avoid the Max Ebb as the current can be too fast and dangerous to paddle. Does it depend on the passage way being wide enough with slow moving current, or were the other videos maybe referring to beginners?
Thanks! I think when people say to "avoid the max ebb" they are referring to avoiding coming into the mouth of a bay during the ebb period (this would be when the water is flowing out of the bay). If you are going with the max ebb it can assist you, just like going with the flood can assist you. Every location has different currents that are created depending on the bathymetry, so a good understanding of local knowledge is essential. For Vancouver Island, there should be a current atlas that can help you plan for these currents that are created during both flood and ebb periods.
There may be times and places where you really need to avoid the maximum ebb or flood, but advice with some details is a lot more helpful than absolutes. You obviously want to avoid having to paddle against strong current when your purpose is to get somewhere, and in some locations the current can cause turbulence that you might want to avoid. Other times you may want to take advantage of a strong current to get somewhere quickly, and some people really like to play with the turbulence. As far as currents being too fast or dangerous, it largely depends on your skills. YT has thousands of videos of whitewater paddlers whose entire point in going paddling is taking advantage of currents, largely for the turbulence they create, and a fair number with sea kayakers, too. You might search for Deception Pass.
Thanks Sue and Sam for your input. The spots where I kayaked in May had very moderate current, so it wasn’t much of an issue.
this made more practical sense than the paddling.com video about tides. if you are going against the current/wind, how can you read the wave ripples to find the path of least resistance (usually the sides near the banks have less resistance than the middle of the stream)?
Thank you - yes, waves are refracted by the banks of a stream. However, paddling in the middle of an open area typically exposes you to more wind, not less. With wind, I use the Windy app on my phone and try to use land features to block opposing winds. Wind is less predictable, so you sometimes have to be ready to change your plans!
I am a little confused about the distance in your example going from Bremerton to Silverdale. You said it is roughly 5 miles each way, which will take approximately 3.33 hours each way. But in your explanation of your start and arrival time, you say it will take from 5 am to 6:30am to arrive at Silverdale. But wouldn't take until 8:20 or so? Did you mean to say that the distance is 2.5 miles each way? Or, is your pace actually closer to 3.33 miles per hour? I am legitimately trying to figure this out. Thanks!
The distance in the example is 5 miles (actually a bit more than that from Bremerton to Silverdale). I used 1.5 knots as the average speed, but this is a very conservative estimate. Each paddler will move at a different speed based on physical conditioning, type of kayak, and skill level. If you move at 1.5 knots, that would take you ~3.33 hours to go 5 miles, with NO current, or on a flat water lake. When paddling with the current we moved significantly faster than 1.5 knots an hour, moving at over 3 knots (note- knots, is close to miles per hour).
@@samPNW So basically, you were going much faster. Got it. Thanks for the video, I learned a ton!
@@samPNW I had the same question too, thanks.
The useful message here is the importance of knowing how fast you'll be paddling when making your plans. If you're too fast you may just have to kill some time, but if you're too slow worse things can happen.
You have to go against the current on your way back…..You can’t avoid it.
If planned properly, you don't have to go against the current on your way back. Paddle on days when the tide turns around at about noon. For example, Tacoma Narrows, follow the flood to Titlow, stop at the grill for lunch and wait for the tide to turn around, then follow the ebb back.