Kayak Links
Helpful links to assist you in planning your next kayaking trip
Tides, Currents, Marine Weather, River Flows, and Surf/Swell Forecasts
- American Whitewater
- River Forecasts NOAA (use Chrome browser)
- ProfessorPaddle: NW River Levels and other White Water Community Resources
- USGS River CFS Levels
- Puget Sound Model: Tides and Currents in action
- Map of Locations of NOAA Tide Stations In San Juan Islands
- NOAA Tide Tables w/Graphs - select state then scroll by latitude w/ Northernmost location at bottom (local time, and adjusted for DST)
- Map of Locations of NOAA Current Stations In San Juan Islands
- NOAA Current Tables - select state then scroll by latitude w/ NE locations at bottom (local time, and adjusted for DST)
- Canada Current Tables - select the Volume # for the area then scroll down alphabetically (times are standard time all year)
- Current Atlas + Tide & Current Graphs
- Canadian Marine Weather Forecasts
- Seattle Weather
- NOAA's Marine Weather Forecast for Washington
- Radar Weather Map + Forecast wind and rain WeatherSpark.com
- Wind Forecast Model + Ocean Swells and Barometric Pressure Note you can search a location or zoom in and drag to area of interest. Change date and time along bottom.
- NOAA National Data Buoy Center (wind speeds etc.)
- Tatoosh Island, WA weather station
- L. Sammamish Water Temperature
- La Perous Bank Buoy 46206
- US Marine Weather Forecast
- NOAA Weather Map of Barometric Pressure
-
NOAA Wave Watch III
Ocean Wave Forecast Model: Note Pacific Standard Time is 8 hours behind universal (Zulu) time. So when the Valid date and time ends in 12Z, it is = 4 am Pacific Standard time on the same date. When the Valid time is 00Z, it is = 4 pm the day before the Valid date shown.
Ferryboats and Charter boats - Schedules and Information
- Washington State Ferries
- Wind measured by Wash. Ferries and Terminals
- British Columbia Ferries
- Alaska Ferries
- Kyuquot Sound/Bunsby Islands Kayak Water Taxi - charter boat that hauls kayaks, based in Zeballow, B.C., Rat River Charters, Call Greg at (250) 761-4215
Parks, Boat Launches, Water Trails, & Water Access Organizations to support
- Buy Discover Pass On-line State Parks Discover Pass is required to drive into Washington State: State Parks, DNR Access, and Fish & Wildlife Access.
- Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park
- Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
- Washington Water Trails Association
- American Whitewater
Clubs, Blogs, Social Media
- Lime Kiln Hydrophone (San Juan Island)
- OrcaSound Hydrophone Network (incl. Bush Pt. south end of Whidbey I.)
- NWKA (NW Kayak Angler)
- Mountaineers Club
- Oregon Ocean Paddling Society, OOPS
- WAKE, Whatcom Area Kayak Enthusiasts
- UKC, University of Washington Kayak Club
- WKC, Washington Kayak Club
- Qajaq USA Greenland Kayaking Forum
- Board and Kayak Life (product reviews and destination guides)
- WRRR, Washington Recreational River Runners
Magazines, Book Clubs & On-line Resources
- Birds in Seattle
- Coast & Kayak Magazine
- Paddling.com Magazine
- Paddling Magazine.com
- Paddling, Rafting & Kayaking Magazine - Paddling Life
Boating Safety
- U.S. Coast Guard Federal Requirement for Recreational Boats
- Vessel Traffic Service - Puget Sound
- Cold Water Safety
Navigation
- Navigation Rules (Rules of the road for boats)
- Chart No.1 (free downloads of the legend/key for all US charts)
- Canadian Chart Catalog (map of all charts)
- Canadian Chart List (with thumbnails of individual charts)
- US Coast Pilot (free downloads of these books)
- US Local Notice To Mariners (On 1/19/2019 my browser gave security warnings for this page which I over rode and it worked as expected - George)
- US Light List
- Marine (Weather) Service Charts - reference material, not the actual forecast charts (free downloads of all US MSC charts showing locations of observation sites, forecast zones, broadcast frequencies and antenna locations). As of 1/19/2019 the index to all MSCs in this page was missing - it only had MSC14 for Alaska. However if you click the AK link you can then change the number at the end of this url (i.e. from msc14f.pdf to msc10f.pdf) to navigate to other MSC charts. The MSC for WA and OR is number 10
- Marine Service Chart 10 (the NW) This is the link for the front side of MSC 10 for the WA and OR coast. See note in prior link.
- FCC Forms to voluntarily license VHF radio Step One - get your FRN number Then apply for Ship Station License: FCC Forms 159 (fee processing form) and 605 Main / Get both "Restricted Radio Operator Permit and Ship Station License
- PADDLE ME Guidebooks: 175 Flat Water Kayak and Canoe Destinations in California
- PeakFinder.orgSearch by Map, drag your location to center then click "Go-To". Next drag scene left or right to change direction of view.
Services and Products
Outfitters
- Grand Canyon river rental equipment and services Shuttles, Rafts, Food, Toilets, etc. For private trips that have permits -- Ceiba Adventures
- Guided Sea Kayaking Whale and Wildlife Watching Tours in the San Juan Islands
- Issaquah Paddle Sports Sit-on-top kayak rentals at Lake Sammamish State Park, WA
- Sea Canoe Thailand Thailand sea kayaking and adventure tours in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Samui, Tarutao, Khao Sok and Southern region by local phuket paddling tour operators
- Rental Drysuits Shipped to You for a Weekend or a Month -- K.A. Rental Drysuits
- Whidbey Island Kayaking Sea kayak rental and tour outfitter located in Langley Harbor, Whidbey Is., WA
- Dalaro Kayak Sea kayak rental and tour outfitter located in Stockholm Sweden
- Shearwater Kayak Tours Sea kayak tours, San Juan Island on Orcas Island WA