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Narrows Bridge Advice

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River Harley
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132 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/18/2002 : 03:17:02

I am planning a trip soon from Olympia Washington to north of the the Tacoma Narrows passage. My vessel is the C250 wing keel with a 2 stroke 9.9 Merc. I have never been through the Narrows and I have heard that it is a harrowing ride. It will be "coloring outside the lines" for me. I would welcome to hear from anyone who has been through the Narrows who can give me an idea of what to expect. Any advice would be welcomed (reassurance would be nice too).

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Bill Holcomb
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Response Posted - 07/18/2002 : 09:48:27

This may be too self-evident. Like most passes with strong current, the "trick" is to time your passage through at slack water. Check the tide and current atlas for that part of the sound and plan your trip so that you arrive at the Narrows during a period between tidal flows.

In the Captain Jack's Current Atlas, the Tacoma Narrows region is #15. I like Captain Jack's because it gives a good representation of the whole Puget Sound and all the way up to Queen Charlotte Strait and Port Hardy on Vancouver Is.

Bill Holcomb - C25 Snickerdoodle #4839

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Doug
Captain

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Response Posted - 07/18/2002 : 10:19:54

Come through with the tide and stay towards the Western shore. Really it's not a problem as long as you don't find yourself going against the flow.

Doug - #1913 Noeta

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John Mason
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687 Posts

Response Posted - 07/18/2002 : 13:21:22

The last time we went through the Narrows from Oly, the tides were such that we had to be through it by 12:30 p.m. (that's when the tide started coming back in at the Narrows-low tide at Oly isn't at the same time as low tide at the Narrows, probably obvious info). So, with a 7.5 Honda that pushes my boat at about 4 knots and roughly 28 miles to the Narrows, I figured we needed to leave at 6 - 6:30 a.m. Well we got going more like 6:45 - 7:00 a.m. At 9:45 we were through the Narrows and thinking about stopping in Gig Harbor for breakfast! That current really gave us a boost. We'd ridden the outgoing tide all the way from Oly.

The route we took was 'round Devil's Head, up Dayton Passage through Balch passage between Anderson and McNeil Islands (stay west and north of the green navigation buoy entering Balch Passage) and right up the middle of the Narrows.

The roughest tide rips we experienced were at the east end of Balch Passage. No real big deal, but enough to kick the rudder around some.

Here's a website I find useful for Puget Sound tide information.
http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/washingtonsites.html

John Mason - Ali Paroosa
1982 - FK/SR #3290

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John Mason
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Response Posted - 07/18/2002 : 13:26:27

Oh, one more thing, don't hit those support towers - might knock the bridge down <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>.

John Mason - Ali Paroosa
1982 - FK/SR #3290

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Douglas
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Response Posted - 07/18/2002 : 14:01:04

I love to share tribal knoledge. I have done the narrows many times and its no big deal. You can even go through against the tide. Its not the best idea though at max flood it can be a little bumpy. All the others are quite right though. The best time for you would be on an outgoing tide. You wont beleve the extra speed you can pick up. The west side is the trick. Its close to shore and calmer. There are howerver some small back curents but noting to worry about. You will just notice them and wonder in a few places why is the water flowing backward. Stay close to shore means just that dont even venture out to the middle. Now for a little more info. Will you be going on down Colvos passage? If your heading up to Blake island for the Indian show and salmon dinner stay toward the west shore untill past Gig Harbor. If your going to head east to Tacoma dont start your turn east to early. Some people make the mistake of heading accross to Point Defiance from just north of the bridge. Just a caution but there are back currents and rips from the center of the chanel and on towards Point Defiance. I recomend staying to the west untill just south of Gig Harbor. The only other place you will see any disturbance is on the south west tip of Vashon. There is a very small tide rip there that slows you down a knot or two until you pass over it. If you are going to go into Dockton state park on Vashon stay mid to west going into Quartermaster Harbor. You will note on the East side a large red buoy. This buoy sits on the end of a sand bar coming from the east shore of the harbor. Have a wonderful adventure.

Doug&Ruth
Wind Lass
Tacoma Wa.

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Todd Frye
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222 Posts

Response Posted - 07/21/2002 : 10:03:18

I hope I'm not digressing from Rivers question too much, but as a lake sailor, I don't worry about tides, rip currents, whirlpools, etc. I do plan on doing a San Juan float next season as my first intro to "blue water" and am anxious for that. What is S.O.P. for maintaining control (other than avoiding) when caught in strong tides and whirlpools? I'd like to hear some personal experiences and how you dealt with it. Thanks, Todd Frye.

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Doug
Captain

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457 Posts

Response Posted - 07/21/2002 : 10:25:37

The main thing (IMHO) about dealiing with tides & currents is understanding your speed & control. When planning your day keep in mind that going with or against a current can mean the difference of traveling at 1 knot or 7. There is also no dead stop. You can drift pretty good, and pay attention to the current when docking. Let it push you in. Most rips & whirlpools are OK. They'll give you rough water and some changes in speed and steering. Nothing to panic about, you'll get throught them. You can generally see the water changes and avoid the rough ones, but if you find yourself in the chop just think of it as a mini passage and head on through.

Doug - #1913 Noeta

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Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 07/27/2002 : 20:06:32

I just did the narrows and here is what I found. Going with the tide stay to the center and it will push you through at about 10.5 Kts motoring. If your going through against the tide stay close to shore on the west side and ride the back eddies. Going through with the tide is very easy but against the tide you can expect to take longer.

Doug&Ruth
Wind Lass
Tacoma Wa.

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John Mason
Admiral

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687 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2002 : 14:07:16

Hey Todd,
With tides, of course, going with them is best. I plan my departure time with what the tide or current is doing at what I call the critical point of the days journey (from Olympia going north that would be the Tacoma Narrows) and make sure I get there when the tide at the critical point is going my way.

As for stories about tides and whirlpools, sometimes you just run into them in spite of planning. A few years ago my brother and I rented a sailboat out of Anacortes to sail around the San Juans.

After a week of sailing we were moored at Clark Island overnight. I recommend NOT doing this. There is no shelter from the currents. The night was rough so we got up at 5 a.m. and decided to get out of there. We slipped the line from the mooring buoy and headed south down the east side of Orcas Island, sails up.

We started to hear what sounded like a distant freight train. Couldn't see it, but it was getting louder. Finally we looked behind us and placed the source of the noise. A line of pretty rough water coming around the northeast point of Orcas Island and bearing down on us fast, the front edge loaded with debris (debris meaning snags and logs, some 10 - 15 feet long). Must be one of those tide rips the chart mentioned could be in this area. We turned to face it, try to punch through it and let it go by. No deal, it grabbed us and took us along. I guess we became just one more piece of debris. The chop was tossing logs and snags all around us. The wind increased and we turned to sail south again. We got out in front of the leading edge of the tide rip, but by now we were sailing away from our destination. We turned into it again, but couldn't punch through it so we sailed out in front of it again. We did this three or four times with no success, until after about an hour the rip's strength diminished and we could finally sail to our destination.

I remember wondering how kayakers manage the tide rips in this area; we were in a 35 footer.

John Mason - Ali Paroosa
1982 - FK/SR #3290

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