Cattle Pass, tide rips & eddies

C

Chester

New member
We're figuring out our upcoming cruise in The San Juans and I wonder if anyone has experience with Cattle Pass, the southern end of San Juan Channel, during a three knot flood current
I'm kinda locked into that time as I want to cross Juan de Fuca Strait on Sept 11th before the winds start up if we use this option.
One Crusing guide says beware the ebb tide. Other sources tell of extreme kayakers seeking a strong flood tide at Cattle pass for thrills.
This crossing is not etched in mud, we have a perfectly fine backup plan in place.
Thank you.
 
As long as you don't plan on setting shrimp pots in 3-400' of water, the current is pretty much a non issue. Once you're inside the islands you can almost always put yourself someplace in the lee when or if the winds kick up. Worrying about 3kt currents is for sailboats and slow trawlers. In a 22CD, 3kt currents are a non issue unless you have to run on the kicker alone. Don't worry, be happy.
 
Just went through Cattle Pass a few days ago with a strong tide running - there are some tide rips to keep an eye on - if the wind is low, your boat can easily overpower the rips. Keep a tight grip on the wheel, so it doesn't spin out of your hands in an eddy. Maintain a steady (not too fast speed) - enough to overpower the tide but not go leaping off the waves.

El and I are ol' white water river guides so running the tide rips is great fun for us, and we go out of our way to play in them. No problem for anyone in a CDory - your engines will overpower the current. Keep your cool, don't go in there if the wind is up and blowing against the tide, and otherwise enjoy yourselves.
 
It seems a few times when I've been up there the locals have suggested avoiding Cattle Pass, and I never really understood why. I even asked Catman about it this last trip, and he said it isn't a problem if you know what to expect. Or something like that. (We were already where we were headed when I talked to him, so it wasn't going to happen this trip anyway.) Consequently, I have never been through it. How does it compare to, say, Deception Pass? We went through that on the max ebb of a big tide change and I thought it was rather fun.

Thanks,

Mike
 
Cattle Pass can be ugly but should not be overwhelming for anyone in a C-dory that is paying attention. The big difference between Cattle Pass and Deception Pass is scale. Deception Pass rough water is just 60 or so yards wide and a couple of hundred yards long. Cattle Pass is maybe 1/2 mile wide and the rough water created by current can be strong for two miles or more. If wind and tide are both strong and in opposition most people here choose another route simply because its no fun to get bounced around in confused standing waves. With a strong flood and no significant wind you should breeze through.
 
I went through Deception pass twice in the same day before I knew JACK about boating and tides (early in my ownership of my CD). I went out at minimal current but came back at max outgoing current. As I already said, I didn't know JACK so I didn't even think about current, tides etc. I came back through with the downriggers out on both sides and ran some good size rapids as the current was ripping out. Joyce thought it was cool to go up the rapids, I was a bit nervous as it wasn't until I was in the middle of it that I realized I shouldn't have the down riggers out and was now committed to giving it enough throttle to power through. I made it just fine even though I probably climbed about 3-4' uphill in >6kts of current.

After that, I got a bit smarter and don't have the downriggers deployed in such situations. Nonetheless, that first experience let me know that some current and rapids were not really a big deal as long as I stayed on the throttle and took it easy at the helm. I've been through some pretty nasty rip tides too. Typically the boat can handle way more than I can - big rips can usually be observed far in advance and one can usually go around them. A little washing machine action isn't really a problem. It might be a bit uncomfortable and you might spill your soda, but things have to be REALLY nasty to be dangerous if you just keep your head about you and make slow and easy progress.
 
I've gone through many times and never had a problem on both strong ebbs and floods. Unless it's blowing, I don't even check the current before I go through. Same with Deception Pass. C-Dory's are fast enough that the current just doesn't matter that much, although it is frustrating to see your speed drop from 18 knots to 13 just from the current!
 
colobear":1kyvzs3f said:
bounced around in confused standing waves.
Click to expand...

I've been there, done that in our former 16' C-Dory and after I got out in the straits I turned around and went back as it was worse out there. However, in the many times I've been through there in the 22', I've never concerned myself with the tide flow and never felt that it was more than the C-Dory or I could handle. As you cruise in the San Juans, you will find many tide rips at various locations and you'll find that after awhile you'll not concern yourself much about them.
 
Thats the problem with all the guide books, they are written for sail boats and slow trawler type power boat. Sarge had a lot of worry about Dodd narrows up north. He wanted to follow me thru, after we got thru he was a little bewildered by all the warnings is the guide book.
 
When I lived in the Islands, the locals treated some areas around Cattle Pass with a great deal of caution. I think the reason was because of a few localized spots that can be extremely dangerous on a few tidal/wind events during a given year. I remember a number of boating accidents with some loss of life, but it was not related to traveling through the pass as much as boating close in to kelp beds and rocks and one involved engine failure.
The thing to remember about Cattle Pass and San Juan Channel is not so much what the wind is at the time of the crossing, but what the wind has been during the last few hours. The situations to avoid are the big ebbs that follow strong westerlys coming down the straits. The wind can be calm at the time of your crossing, but the waves created the night before, meeting up with the ebb, can be nasty.
Deception Pass is pretty much a straight shot and predictable. The area between San Juan and Lopez is much more complex, with the added factor of a huge fetch to the west.
Check the currents and the weather, (past, present and future) and your crossing should be fine.

I know that I am preaching to the choir on this, but when we are in large current flows, our ability to see what is in the water is very much reduced. Plus, current lines tend to hold more junk that open water. As many of you have said, our C-Dorys can power through all kinds of stuff. It is when we lose our power that we can be get into trouble.
But you know that :wink:



Robbi
 
Thanks Robbi, for the sophisticated local knowledge. I had not thought of the impact of earlier winds. Incidentally, a good, safe place to duck into if you are on the outside of Cattle Pass and want to wait out the water is Mackaye Harbor, just a couple of miles to the East. It is the closest protected water I can think of along the outside of San Juan Island. I have used it in the fog and once when the waters outside Cattle Pass threw me around so much I needed a place to relax for a few minutes. Just be careful when entering. There are several low lying reefs. They are well charted but care is needed.
 
I've gone through Cattle Pass the last 5 or 6 times I've been to the San Juans, but I learned something new this summer and it didn't come from crossing the water, it came from observing the pass from Shark Reef on Lopez Island.

A large percentage of people enter the pass from Rosario Strait, which is east of Cattle Pass. They cut around or through the small islands east of Cattle Pass and enter the pass from the east. When you look at Cattle Pass from Shark Reef it becomes obvious that the most churning and bubbling of the water is happening on the east side of the pass near Lopez Island. If you go further west, towards San Juan Island Island the water is flatter. Now, whenever I go through the pass I stay to the west side of the pass and the ride is much smoother.

I have been in the pass when it was ugly with 2-3' waves coming from every direction like a washing machine. I was new to boating and was in the wrong place at the wrong time (currents and winds were all wrong). You have to respect it, but you needn't fear it if you use a little common sense. :-)
 
OK, you rip tiders - We're hearing about Cattle Pass (the reason for the post) and Deception Pass. So, a question - what about Canoe Pass? El and I usually travel through that one instead of Deception. Are we missing something about that route (other than narrow, bouncy, and fun to run) that you locals should warn us about?
 
I try to avoid cattle pass during high tidal movement, go east from friday harbor across the north end of lopez. The tide rips at the pass can be brutal if conditions are just right. A couple times I have come out of there at the wrong time and turned left, heading for Deception and in a 16' it isn't much fun. This last time I did learn that if you go through cattle pass and head south or southeast for a bit you get out of those rips and things settle down pretty much. But around the south tip of lopez it is really sloppy at times.
 
Biggest issue with Canoe Pass is either the "tour catamaran" going the other way or a trash can liner leaving a 3 ft wake. :shock:
We always take it against the current so we have more ability to avoid such things.

Merv & Kathy
 
Canoe Pass (that is the very small narrow pass just to the East of Deception Pass) is one of my favorite passes. Les of EQ says he prefers it when Deception is really rough. I have been through it when Deception is rough and it is much smoother. It has a 90 degree turn in the middle and you cannot see what is coming from the other side so be prepared to take evasive action but, having said that, I have never run into another boat coming through. It is much too small for the bigger boats to feel comfortable in and occasionally I have heard a 32-35 (IMHO about the biggest that could easily get through) calling on 16 with a securite or blowing the horn to announce their presence. When transiting, especially from the Cornet bay side, be alert for Kayakers as they often like to cruise around the area. I always enjoy taking out of town visitors through it when returning to Cornet Bay as the approach looks just like you are going directly into a solid cliff wall :shock: but, lo and behold, the opening is there and their hearts can stop going pitty pat :twisted: . There is plenty of water and at its narrowest it is just about 50 ft wide. Give it a try.


Now, back to Cattle pass and Tyboo's question. After Robbi's enlightening comment, I think there is one other significant difference between Deception Pass and Cattle Pass. Deception Pass is mainly swirls, strong confused currents and whirlpools. The biggest wave danger is other vessel traffic as when a large Bayliner type goes through. I stay out until they have transited. Cattle Pass is mainly confused fairly big waves. It is too big to have the same kind of water as is in Deception Pass. Additionally, just outside Cattle Pass is "Inner Passage" and Salmon Banks which are shallow water (20-40ft) and greatly add to the area affected by the winds and current at Cattle Pass.
 
Barry,
Take a look at the last photo in the Kingfisher album for a perfect example of what you mention. The original photo is sharp enough for me and the CG to read the name and the photo has date and time........

This was at prime ling cod fishing time with lots of small boats in the pass :evil:

Merv
 
Thanks everyone for all the experience shared.
The Admiral has ruled.
As we have never taken the boat to southern Puget Sound that is where we will start the cruise. Cattle Pass is off the intinerary.







for now :roll:
 
rogerbum":1bihhnt6 said:
I went through Deception pass twice in the same day before I knew JACK about boating and tides (early in my ownership of my CD). I went out at minimal current but came back at max outgoing current. As I already said, I didn't know JACK so I didn't even think about current, tides etc. I came back through with the downriggers out on both sides and ran some good size rapids as the current was ripping out. Joyce thought it was cool to go up the rapids, I was a bit nervous as it wasn't until I was in the middle of it that I realized I shouldn't have the down riggers out and was now committed to giving it enough throttle to power through. I made it just fine even though I probably climbed about 3-4' uphill in >6kts of current.
Click to expand...

I can one-up you on "dumb guy" stories...and mine, happened in Cattle Pass.

My wife's uncle has a waterfront home, overlooking Cattle Pass - he's been there for around 30 years. We spent our honeymoon there, and have been back several times since. He's a long-time mariner, and has often commented about the dangers present out there - details of which, match what has been written here already.

On our honeymoon, I had yet to hear any such warnings. Add to that, I was young, dumb, and had no understanding of tides and currents. I received an education in such things...along with a first-hand introduction to hypothermia.

Dana and I were sitting out on the deck, enjoying the view. I noticed her Uncle's row boat down near the water, which looked awfully inviting. It was calm as glass out there, so I didn't think anything of dragging it down to the water and taking it for a spin around the kelp beds. I came back in with no incident, and drug the boat up the shore a bit. Dana and I proceeded to head back to Friday Harbor to grab a bite to eat.

Upon our return, we were greeted with a rude sight as we sat on the deck...the tide had come in and grabbed the rowboat, with the current taking it away to the south.

I didn't think twice about it...I'm an excellent swimmer, and was a lifeguard in my youth. I rapidly put on my suit, and jumped in after the thing. Yeah, yeah...dumb California kid.

The shock of that cold water to my system, was instant...I'd never felt anything like it. Still, I figured I just needed to swim hard and fast to warm up, and head out towards the row boat which was a couple hundred yards away - and moving at a fairly rough clip.

I caught up with it very quickly, and quickly realized there was no way I was going to make it into that boat from the water. So, I grabbed the bow line with one hand, and proceeded to swim back to shore towing it behind me.

Needless to say...coming back in against the current, dragging a row boat in the frigid water, was a tad more difficult than the swim out. Breathing started getting a bit difficult, and my muscles just weren't responding with the vigor I was used to. Yup...my introduction to hypothermia.

I made it to shore, but have never been more exhausted in my life. As I walked through the rocks in the water towards the shore, everything was numb...I was shivering uncontrollably. Dana secured the boat, and walked me back up to the house.

I'm still uncertain to this day if my next step was the correct thing to do, but it seemed obvious at the time...I immediately got into the hot tub on the deck. I've never felt anything so good...that is, until I started to "thaw out".

Evidently, I stepped on tons of barnacles on my way back to shore, but was so cold and numb I didn't feel a thing. My feet were cut up and bleeding, and the hot tub experience started to lose it's luster as my feet turned to fire. I couldn't walk for the rest of our honeymoon without stinging pain in my feet, but other than that, everything turned out fine.

So Roger...don't feel so badly about having a couple downriggers out in a nasty current. You can take solace in the fact, that you're a step or two further away from being a Darwin story than me...
 
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