salt water
Posted by: ppine on Dec-12-12 6:34 PM (EST)
Aren't the Broken Is on the nwest coast of Van IS? That is hardly protected. Maybe the Gulf Islands would be a better bet. The big challenges in my experience on salt water in the San Juan Is, WA are the tidal rips between islands that can have velocities much higher than you can paddle against and standing waves. Bring a tide table. There is also barge and ferry traffic with very large wakes and cables to worry about. There is a lot of fog. I would avoid anyplace with the name "Straight" after it. That usually means a lot of fetch and wind driven waves. It is a very "dynamic" paddling environment and shuld be approached with some caution especailly given the water temp. Dress for immersion.