One flow would head northwest toward Port Townsend, the other northeast toward Everett. Absent of other forces, that water is going to hit Whidbey Island and split off in two directions. Notice the constrictions and side channels. Imagine a flow of water heading north from somewhere between Seattle and Bainbridge Island. Take a moment and look at a chart of Puget Sound. Lower Puget Sound has 1,300 miles of complicated shoreline, pinching and redirecting an average of 1.3 cubic miles of salt water on each tidal exchange, most of it running through Admiralty Inlet. Here we see the trimaran Fly, a R2AK 2016 contestant, during ideal conditions off Point Wilson. Top and below: As the author relates, the Point Wilson Rip can be quite a handful. The first wave came over the bow not long after that, and in seconds we were in it. At least 3 knots of current running with us, I figured. The horizon was clear.Īnother glance at the GPS-10 knots. We looked around for the container ship that had to have thrown a huge wake. Given the typical area wind forecast of “variable to 5 knots,” we were glad for the help.Īround Point Wilson, the swells were steeper and quicker. With luck, we would have a helping current most of the way out to Victoria before the tides switched and the flood current began refilling Puget Sound. We were making great time, and the ebb was going to run for quite a while longer on what was a pretty big tidal exchange. Near the north end of Marrowstone Island, the swell grew, but we lazily rolled over each one, not even at risk of spilling our drinks. Speed is relative on boats, but for a sailboat under power, we were really moving. We had picked up another knot of helping current. As the sun rose higher, we peeled off layers as it became shorts and T-shirt weather.Īs we motored past Bush Point on the west side of Whidbey Island, we began pushing through a small northerly swell, but the water remained mirror calm. Some porpoises swam with us for a mile or so. The ebb current helped us along as planned, adding 1-2 knots to our boat speed. We lounged in the cockpit, sipping coffee and listening to music. The only thing disturbing the mirror-like surface was the wake and prop wash behind my friend Ron’s Tartan 33. It was one of those rare moments where our massive inland sea was as placid as a small lake. We left Edmonds for Victoria, British Columbia, riding a nice ebb current out through Admiralty Inlet. You couldn’t ask for a better fall morning in the Pacific Northwest.
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