Skookumchuck

[stoneaxe]

[SUPcheat]

Trying to see the dynamics of this situation, since he is  pointed in the opposite direction of the river flow.  He must be in some kind of reverse eddy that bounces off the river bed against the tidal bore that comes up in the opposite direction of the general river flow and curls back to carry him static .

Kind of looks like my prone pop up at the beginning.

[Zooport]

Is this really a tidal bore?  I know very little about river waves in general, but it looks more like a standing wave to me.  I've surfed a few of those on river kayaks in years past.   

[Badger]

I was just going to say that.

It doesn't look tidal at all to me. All I see is some big rapids.

[CascadeSup]

It is not a tidal bore, but the rapids are definitely tidal:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skookumchuck_Narrows

"Each day, tides force large amounts of seawater through the narrows—200 billion US gallons (760,000,000 m3) of water on a 3-metre (9.8 ft) tide. The difference in water levels on either side of the rapids can exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. Current speeds can exceed 16 knots (30 km/h),[1] up to 17.68 knots (32.74 km/h).[2] Although it is sometimes claimed to be the fastest tidal rapids in the world,[3] Norway's Saltstraumen reaches speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h)."

[Badger]

I see now. It's what they call a reversing falls here in New England assuming that the rapids go in the other direction when the tide turns. There are a few in Maine and New Brunswick.

[stoneaxe]

Yeah not actually a tidal bore, tidal rapids, looks like fun regardless.

[PonoBill]

Looks like crazy fun, but big current too. No place for amatuers.

[skideeppow]

He told me this was the knarliest swim he has ever done.  Huge boils and just rowdy water.   Coming from a kid who ran the Grand in 18 days on a sup.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

We get tidal action on the Hudson, but nothing like that. Amazing.

[eastbound]

i once canoed in cobscook bay--steered clear of the tidal action---beautiful spot---when the tide's all the way out, acres of rock weed are exposed, extending for miles inland--have mean to learn of the scieince which makes for such big tidal shifts up there.

[blackeye]

We get tidal action on the Hudson, but nothing like that. Amazing.

The BC coast has many passes and narrows that are pretty wild. Even full slack is really just an average. There are currents running back and forth and whirlpools between them that are pretty amazing. To find a standing wave so close to an accessible shore is extra special.

An ebb flow under Lions Gate Bridge (between Stanley Park and the North Shore) in a summer afternoon Westerly was a nice dinghy treat back in the day. I don't have the skills or balls to do it now on a board.

Best video I could find of the First Narrows ebb: the current was only 3.5kn ( but regularly maxes at 7 kn).


Here's one of Surge Narrows that looks like fun:


I've been through passes on sailboats that were mild at slack and terrifying/impassable if 20 mins late.

[kwhilden]

This is really impressive.  I used to surf Skookumchuk in a whitewater kayak back in the 1990's. It's a freak of nature standing wave, with good eddy service. Consider this the equivalent of 300 yard point break.

This video is taken when the tidal current is very high... probably 14-15 knots. The wave will be surfable for four hours, twice per day on the flood tide, about 8 days per month.

It's interesting to see that he's using nubster fins, so he can do flat spins on the wave, just like a whitewater kayak.  Whilst that is impressive, I would rather see carving on a normal SUP using normal fins. There's enough of a bowl and lip to smash...  but then if you blow it, it's time to enjoy the whirlpools!

After he falls off, he gets caught by a whirlpool for a few seconds.  Behind the wave is the gnarliest mix of waves, currents and whirlpools. Swimmers would be toast. Kayakers better have a bombproof roll.

If you miss the first eddy, you have the choice of crossing a 50 yard eddy fence full of whirlpools... or travel downstream a quarter mile until the eddy fence dies down enough to cross. Then ride the back eddy current (8 knots) back up to the standing wave, which is called "the tour".

Skook is notorious for sinking boats over the years. It's one of the most dangerous tidal rapids in the world... if you don't know what you're doing.  Here's a video of a tugboat capsizing, with a subsequent rescue by a whitewater kayaker.




Here's how you surf it with a board. But you better have a jetski to rescue your ass before the whirlpools swallow you up.



Kayakers have blast surfing this wave. It's really the best craft for surfing and surviving skook. But the bouncy flip thing is much less graceful than a carve and lip blast.

[MtnSUPSKI]

Amazing, but looks gnarly after! Big volume rivers have some crazy hydraulics but that looks just scary!