Episode 3/8: Dangerous Tidal Currents
Solo SUP-venture Around 365 Islands of Exuma Cay Chain (450km)
The first 8 days of my trip I paddled in ESE winds averaging 17mph. The wind was strong enough to create 4-5 foot chop on the open sea and pretty strong currents around the islands. I stayed on the sound (leeward) side of the cays where the water was much calmer and the paddling quite enjoyable. I cannot say the same, however, about the cuts (gaps) between the islands. In addition to the winds and messy waves, there was one more invisible player with enormous power – the tide. I discovered the strength of these tidal currents the hard way.
When passing through the cuts, I had to be extremely careful to make sure I didn’t get blown into the sea. With the wind on my mind, I would paddle hard through the cuts, correct for wind drift as best as I could, and then rest again in the wind shadow of the next island. On one occasion however, I found myself in a current so strong that I was carried into the sea regardless of the wind. I was, in fact, pulled into the 15-knot wind and into the waves just like a rip tide would grab a swimmer. The violence and messiness of the chop in the middle of the cut was unspeakable. The waves may have been only 2-3 feet high but they would slap my board from every direction with such unexpected force that staying atop my SUP while kneeling was a major challenge. The wind was pushing the water one way, the tide the other, and the reverberating waves crushing onto lava rocks completed the scene. Before I was able to fully comprehend what was happening to me during this raging battle, I was almost half a kilometer away from shore. When I finally succeeded in getting myself out of this tight situation, I realized that I was extremely lucky the tide was going out. Had I paddled through the gap while the tide was coming in, I would never have been able to out-paddle the joined forces of the wind and the invisible tidal currents. I would have ended up stranded on the open sea with no chance to reach the shore.
After this episode, I paid close attention to the tide times and gradually learned to read the surface of the water for visual clues giving away the currents. There were occasions where I had to wait a few hours until the “raging river” subsided and the cuts became safer for me to cross. Some cuts were more dangerous than others, some were totally benign. The lengths of the cuts between the islands ranged from a few hundred meters to about 3 kilometers. Between Warderick Wells Cay and Cistern Cay is a 10 kilometer gap with just a few sharp lava rocks along the way. I was on the open sea battling currents, 5-foot swells, and 15-knot wind for over 2 hours! When I finally made it safely to the other side, I made a promise to myself that I would never consider attempting that cross again in the same conditions. Insanity was the only word that came to my mind. On my return, Brent Burrows, an ECLSP warden, gave me a ride across. He went out of his way to help me and I will never forget that. Thank you Brent.
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