How to Navigate the Strong Currents and Dangerous Waves of Deception Pass

Deception Pass is located in Deception Pass State Park in Washington. It is notorious for strong tidal currents and swirling eddies and is the starting point for many going to the San Juan Islands

The pass can be treacherous for boaters and kayakers. But in reality, it is not much different than Cattle Pass, Thatcher Pass or Peavine Pass. Here are some tips for navigating safely.

Looking inbound at what actually is two separate bridges.

You can see narrow slot of Canoe Pass on left side, Deception Pass on right side.

First, let's understand that in the San Juans, Puget Sound, Gulf Islands, pretty much everywhere, there are nasty places where you can get into trouble if you are prone to doing stupid things.  Driving into a storm or wild surf with breaking waves is a mistake for most of us regardless of our boat or skill level.

That being said, the rising/falling tides cause currents.  Large tide ranges usually mean faster currents. Narrow passes or jutting headlands tend to intensify things. Add to that, strong winds and storms and you get places to avoid on your vacation cruise.  

Deception Pass is very narrow, but only narrow for a short section directly under the bridge.  Consequently, the high current speed and accompanying swirlies and waves are confined. 

 As you approach the bridge you notice your speed or lack of it, rapidly changing making you acutely aware of your boat's top speed.  Most sailboats don't have the top speed needed to overcome normal pass conditions on a calm summer day. The water may be mostly flat, whirlpools minimal, no waves, and yet the boat stalls out under the bridge with the skipper wishing 

What is "Current Set" - The San Juan's and Puget Sound are full of potential Catastrophes - Ignornace is Bliss

        Is it really a close call if you don't know about it?  If a catastrophe almost happens, is it worthy to note?

        When your boat is drifting towards a lee shore, but still has two hours before running onto the rocks is it a big deal?

      Ignorance really is bliss, that's for sure.

         I don't know how many times I have almost sunk, no one does, like Donald Rumsfeld once said, "We don't know what we don't know."

      I know this though -- one time crossing Rosario Strait heading into Thatcher Pass, we were all staring out the front and not paying attention to our sideways set (side drift) when out of the corner of my eye I caught a movement that turned out to be rocks coming at us fast. (full flood must have been 3+ knots) The current was forcing us sideways straight onto the rocks of tiny Pointer Island. I swung hard over and pushed her to full throttle, our outboard barely pulled us away with one hundred feet and two or three seconds to spare. I shuddered thinking of my family on board and almost quit boating right then and there.

       Another time, just after leaving Sidney Spit to cross Haro Strait, when suddenly out of the dense fog loomed the green aid marking Mandarte Island.  Once again I had not paid enough attention to the current set and was almost swept onto the rocks.

       And again, once we ran out of gas in the "Narrows" and the current quickly whisked us towards an anchored construction barge under the new Tacoma Bridge. Quick action switching tanks averted an unpleasant incident with just minutes to spare.

     So, I have admitted to three times that I know of, where my inattention to currents has almost had disastrous results.  How many more are there that I don't know about, I don't know.

     My problem is, I tend to watch where the boat is pointed or where I want to go and not where we are really going.

     Ignorance is bliss, but is no way to skipper a boat.

You wouldn't cross in front of a ship making 6 knots,
so why pass barely upstream of rocks in a 6 knot current?

Click below for a satellite view of Saddlebag Island State Park