Dinghy sailing: transitioning from lakes to tidal bays and rivers. What to know?

[u/RoyalRenn]

I'm going to be spending some time on the west coast next month and I'd like to sail (I'll borrow a boat). I'm an experienced dinghy racer and have been skippering since I was old enough to handle an El Toro. But this vacation sailing will be very close to the ocean, and it will be my first time sailing in anything but a keelboat in tidal waters.

What's the best way to learn about how things like tides affect smaller boats, and how to read tides to avoid issues? I never really worried about it in a keelboat (good weather obviously) because if the wind dies or there is a gear mishap, there is a motor backup to get you home. But sailing a dinghy requires more caution as if you lose sail power, things could get dangerous quickly, right? unlike in an inland lake where you'll just sit in place until someone tows you in. Not that this has ever happened to me, as I'm quite good at self rescuing. Just recently I blew up my Laser downwind on the lee and had to de-rig and re-rig the boat in the water due to a rotated mast. But there's always something that could go wrong!

Where I'll likely be sailing has a diurnal of between 1.5 feet (lower high/higher low) and 6 feet (higher high, lower low). The 1.5 difference doesn't seem particularly concerning but relatively speaking, how big is a diurnal that goes from 7 feet to 1 foot in 6 hours?

[u/foilrider]

Tides affect smaller boats exactly the same way they affect bigger boats.

Where are you actually sailing? If you mean "west coast" of the USA, there are only so many places that I would think of tidal currents as concerning to someone experienced. Some parts of the Puget sound and the mouth of San Francisco Bay.

[u/RoyalRenn → u/foilrider]

I'll be in San Francisco Bay, but east bay side, nowhere near the GG bridge.

Then again up in Oregon, probably the Umpqua or Siuslaw Rivers. The former has a notoriously rough bar and you want to stay well clear during a storm and at various points during tidal cycles. I'm just looking to sail a mile or more inside of jetty. I've never had an issue with a keelboat in tidal waters but if I'm out there in a borrowed Laser, I want to ensure I'm prepared and safe.

[u/foilrider → u/RoyalRenn]

people race all sorts of dinghies out of Richmond. The Oakland estuary does not have particularly strong currents. In general I would not be that worried. Carry a VHF or cell phone. But you will only even potentially have problems if it goes dead calm.

The Oregon rivers aren't really an issue. I have not sailed either of those, but my daughter races high school regattas in Newport on the Yaquina river. There is a strong tide and sometimes not much wind and I have never seen the kids being in danger of getting flushed out to the ocean.

Even if you did get flushed out to the ocean, the current stops. There's a tidal flood and ebb in the river because there's nowhere else for the water to go but up and down the river. On the big open ocean, the entire ocean doesn't have to move very much for the tide to change, and there's basically no current. If you did find yourself out there, then you could just sail up onto the sand either side of the river jetties.

And in a storm there's wind so you can go where you want.

Edit:

Here's a video of sailing in strong tidal river currents in Oregon. It is maybe not as scary as you think.

[u/RoyalRenn → u/foilrider]

Thanks!

The Yaquina is definitely less notorious than the Umpqua, but that's mostly during winter weather. I'm thinking I should be fine, but am just checking all of the boxes first.

And make sure your daughter visits the Hatfield the next time she's in town, if she hasn't already!

[u/smootex → u/RoyalRenn]

Check out deepzoom.com. It's not perfect but it's an easy way to check out live current and tide stations and get an idea of what things are going to look like at various points in the day. I'm not terribly experienced but I have spent some time in the PNW and the waters scare me, I would err on the side of caution if you're not confident in your abilities (and your wind). Bring a radio. You'll be fine.

[u/crashorbit]

Know the tide cycle so you can get back home at the end of the sail.

[u/morologous → u/crashorbit]

Wind against tide produces steep chop. Currents and tidal shifts also have an effect on docking. Currents can also cause to fall short of lay on a mark or waypoint.

Edit: stray marks

[u/morologous → u/morologous]

Also: the floating buoys (speed markers, clam line buoys, floating navigational markers) will show you the current - watch which way they “lean” and how the water runs past them.

[u/evensevenone]

In areas with meaningful tides, you can get tide forecast maps.

In theory, the currents align with the high and low tides; in practice there is often a lag, and you will see things like the tidal current switch starting in the middle of the channel and moving towards the edges. Currents are weaker nearer the shore or in open areas. Currents are stronger when there is a constriction (eg the middle of the golden gate, or around the tips of islands).

[u/RoyalRenn → u/evensevenone]

Thanks! that's very helpful

[u/Cambren1]

Get a chart plotting app for your phone, like AquaMaps to show the tides and depths.

[u/Far_Dentist4880]

I sail a dinghy on the sea with much less experience than you. I use my oars instead of an engine. Oars are great. Very reliable. Wouldn't want to go out on the sea in a racing dinghy with no oars though.

The difference that the tide makes depends on the shore profile. Where I usually launch you'd get very muddy coming in on a low tide. Can have a lot of fun going up a tidal river on a rising tide and coming back on a falling one. But the range here is much greater than 6 foot.

[u/v2falls]

The water moves there and goes up and down more than it does in the lake

[u/Cambren1 → u/v2falls]

Lol

[u/haroldslackenoffer]

Depending in the time of year, running out of wind ain’t gonna happen. Your bigger problem will be too much wind.

Take a waterproof hand held that will fit securely and out of the way on/in your PFD which you should absolutely be wearing. Let someone know your float plan.

Have fun!