On the Great Lakes you plan around the wind. Paddle the coast of Nova Scotia, Wales or PEI, and there's a second clock running: the tide. At Level 2 you need three things: what a tide is, how it turns into current, and where to find the numbers.
The need to know
The water going up and down, usually twice a day. It decides where you can launch, land and camp.
When the tide rises or falls, water has to move to get there. Squeeze it through a gap, around a headland or over a ledge, and it can run faster than you paddle.
tides.gc.ca. Use the tide table for heights and the current table for currents: slack in a channel often isn't at high or low water.
Watch a tide day
Drag through a day. Watch the height, and watch what the current is doing at the same moment. Notice that the water moves fastest halfway between high and low, and barely at all near the top and bottom.
The words you need
Where current gets hazardous
- Narrows and gaps between islands. The same water through a smaller gap goes faster.
- Headlands. Water speeds up around the point and swirls in an eddy behind it.
- Shallows, ledges and reefs. The water stacks up and breaks.
- River mouths and harbour entrances. Tide and river flow add together on the ebb.
- Wind against current. Waves get steep, short and close together. A channel that was smooth at slack can turn rough an hour later with no change in the wind.
Slack often isn't at high or low water
Use the tide table for heights and the current table for currents. Check whether the times are standard or daylight time, save or print them because coastal cell coverage is patchy, and check again every evening on a trip: tides come about 50 minutes later each day.
Three rules of thumb
Not part of your Level 2 assessment. They're a head start for Level 3, and handy on any coastal trip. All three are estimates that assume a regular six-hour tide: always check the real tables and the real water.
1. The rule of twelfths: how high is the tide?
| Hour | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rises by | 1/12 | 2/12 | 3/12 | 3/12 | 2/12 | 1/12 |
2. The 50/90/100 rule: how fast is the current?
| Hour after slack | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 50% | 90% | 100% | 90% | 50% | slack |
3. The slow water rule: how long is the calm?
Minutes of slow water on each side of slack is about 60 divided by the strongest current in knots. A 2 knot current gives you about 30 minutes on that side. A 6 knot current gives you about 10.
Our free tide tools
Take it to tidal water
Expedition: 100 Wild Islands, Nova ScotiaFive days at base camp on the edge of the archipelago. The group reads tide and weather together, and the last day moves to Peggy's Cove.
Dates and details →
Level 3 Prep: 100 Wild Islands, Nova ScotiaFive days on the Atlantic coast, getting ready for Paddle Canada Level 3. A roll isn't required, but expect big conditions.
Dates and details →Learn it on the water.
Tidal Mission: Pembrokeshire is five days on the Welsh coast with Sea Kayak Academy, built for Level 2 paddlers with no tidal experience. Shore-based tidal planning, then paddling the plan, in moving water matched to the group.
Related: Coastal Missions · Paddling in current
0 comments