Dave and Paws,
My itinerary actually does not take turbulent waters into account. All my itinerary does is give optimum times for taking advantage of the direction of currents. Tides in the San Juans are strong enough that it’s important to travel with them rather than against, but the tides are not so strong that they ever become dangerous due to turbulence. In this region, only tides in Deception Pass ever become that strong. As I mentioned before, the only thing you have to fear in the San Juans is strong winds.
Nor do you have to fear ferries. They’re easy to avoid just by staying out of the center of the channel. The only place I would give ferries any thought at all is around the Wasp and Crane Islands, where sightlines are short and maneuverability is limited. Even in these narrow channels, you can just hug the coast and avoid endangering or inconveniencing anyone.
Contrary to what many kayakers believe, power boats such as ferries are not automatically required by
Rule 18 to give way to kayaks, nor are kayaks automatically required by Rule 18 to give way to power boats. Kayaks are simply not addressed by Rule 18. (Kayaks are not “a vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuvre,” as that term is defined in Rule 3.)
Instead, the usual standard for kayaks is
Rule 2, which requires kayaks and all other vessels simply to exercise ordinary, seamanlike prudence. Whether the kayak or the power boat must give way in a particular encounter is dictated by the circumstances of the case. The kayak’s limited speed would certainly be a factor, as would the kayak’s superior ability to enter shallow waters, as would the kayak’s greater vulnerability to wind, waves, wake, and current, as would the power boat's inability to hear above the engine noise, as would the kayak's difficulty looking astern, as would the low visibility of a kayak, etc., etc. Rule 2 mandates a balance of all relevant factors and the exercise of prudence.
A scenario in which kayaks are subject to more than just Rule 2's balance-of-factors arises when a boat such as a power boat is overtaking a kayak. Under
Rules 13 and
17, when a kayak is being overtaken from behind, the overtaking boat must give way to the kayak. All the kayak must do is maintain its course and speed except as needed to avoid collision.
Another scenario in which more than just Rule 2 applies arises in narrow channels under
Rule 9. Rule 9 requires small boats including kayaks not to impede unmaneuverable vessels like ferries in narrow channels. Under Rule 9, kayaks must hug the shore and stay out of the way in narrow channels regardless of other circumstances, so long as hugging the shore is safe.
On top of the above, the Coast Guard has the power to enforce special ferry rules for periods of limited duration under
33 CFR 165.1317. When such rules are in force, which could happen at any time, all boats including kayaks must keep 100 yards or more from an operating ferry, unless they have the ferry captain’s permission to approach closer. Also, within 500 yards of a ferry, the ferry captain is authorized to give orders that you must obey, which orders could potentially impose a buffer larger than 100 yards. Currently, these special ferry rules are not in effect, but unless you keep up to date with your
local notices to mariners, you should probably just assume they are.
So there’s your roadmap for ferries: try to keep out of their way and they’ll try to keep out of yours, but feel free to cross or traverse ferry routes if you need to, but hug the wall in narrow channels, and obey any orders a ferry captain yells at you. All of that is probably what your common sense would tell you to do anyway, and that's because the rules are written with common sense in mind.
Alex