Surfski Knowledge Base

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====== Victoria and nearby to the west ======

Taking advantage of the prevailing westerlies on the west end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca

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{{https://surfski.wiki//lib/plugins/ckgedit/fckeditor/userfiles/image/locales/canada/victoria/macaulaypark2.jpg?direct&650x237|macaulaypark2.jpg}}

Looking West from Macaulay Park in West Victoria photo: Hi Beam google maps

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[[:vancouver_island|Main Vancouver Island Page]]

===== Conditions =====

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If you are traveling a ways to get to this area, you may not have the luxury of being able to go whenever you know the conditions are best. But locals tells us that good conditions often are sustained for a week or more, so if you can arrange for a visit with a week's advance notice (or less) or so you should be able to look at long range forecasts and see when it looks like sustained favorable conditions are likely coming that will merit you traveling and spending a number of days downwinding here.

**//There is also more specific weather information below in the paddle run descriptions// **

   * **Be prepared for cold water **- usually sub 50 deg. F / 10 deg C year round
      * [[:victoria_bc_clothing|Local Paddler's Recommended On Water Kit]]
  * [[https://windisgood.com/latest.html|BigWaveDave]] wind, waves, etc.
  * **Sooke/Gordon's Beach**
      * ****  [[https://www.windfinder.com/windstatistics/gordons-beach_sooke|Season Averages]]
  * **Victoria**
      * [[https://weatherspark.com/y/466/Average-Weather-in-Victoria-Canada-Year-Round#Sections-Wind|Annual Wind Patterns]]
  * …

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===== Downwind/Paddles =====

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==== Victoria ====

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  * **Ross Bay**
      * Greg Miller: "In town, there is a great spot that is my go to place for laps in the prevailing westerlies - Ross Bay. It usually kicks in early evening and when there is a good flood tide a back eddy forms in the bay which can create a great line of waves on the outside while the inside is flatter with positive current going back upwind. Very popular for wings, kites, and wind foiling. Last night was typical, around 15-18 knots with some good runs on waves far larger than typical for the wind strength. Not quite Swell City, but pretty nice. Water temperatures are cold: sub 50F even this time of year (Late July)"
      * **Conditions**
        * **Wind**
          * [[https://windisgood.com/forecast.html#model1|BigWaveDave]] Look at Dallas Road
        * **Webcams**
          * [[https://windisgood.com/ross-bay-webcam-live.html|Ross Bay]] panning & zooming cam view of most of the bay (sponsored by local Ocean Rodeo shop)
          * [[https://windisgood.com/dallas-road.html|Ross Bay]] Big Dave webcam view from shore
      * **More from Greg Miller:**
        * "**Victoria's Ross Bay**  is a **hotspot for wind sports**, and particularly the rapidly growing sport of wing foiling. It is an **ideal spot for Surf ski**  paddling in waves. There are just a few of us that have found this sport here in Vic and there should be many more!
        * Some **things to note**  about surf ski paddling and Ross Bay in particular:
          * Paddling here is very different from the flat water conditions that most paddle in.
          * A surfski will surf in all sorts of conditions, even when there isn't enough wind for wings / kites etc. Waves that look unremarkable from the shore can be super fun and satisfying to work with. (//Ed. Note - It is very common to misjudge wave quality and size just a short distance from shore when viewing from shore)//
          * **Ross Bay can have really rough**  and challenging **conditions**  off of Clover point, but the waves in the bay are often great particularly near the east corner (downwind end in a westerly). You can **stay close in to shore to start and work up as you progress**.
          * **Paddling**  back **up wind along the shore avoids the bigger ****waves ****and**** wind**  further out.
          * In this [[https://youtu.be/wwEeRPiUCso|wingfoiling video]] you can see the great conditions - nice waves on the outside, smaller waves in the middle, and relatively flat along the shore. Great for learning and advancing.
          * **Surf ski paddling is a great cardio workout, excellent for building core strength, and has an endless learning curve of working with waves and mastering the paddle stroke. And,,, the beginner boats now being produced are remarkably stable and have lowered the barriers for beginners.**  We are very lucky in Victoria to have Ocean River Sports at Oak Bay Marina step up and bring in beginner Surf Skis for rent. IMO an essential step to building up this amazing and largely unknown sport."
          * …

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{{:locales:canada:victoria:rossbay.png?direct&400x224}}

**Ross Bay Laps**

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**2 Short Ross Bay Laps Videos**<WRAP col2>

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  * **Weir Beach - Victoria Harbour**
      * **Metchosin's ****Weir Beach Park to**
        * **Victoria Harbour (Saxe Point Park? or Macaulay Point Park?)**  12 km [[https://youtu.be/bdvbaorZ7Go|video]]
        * **Ross Bay**  17 km
      * No ocean swell this far down the straight, but still a great run.
      * **Conditions:**
        * [[https://windisgood.com/forecast.html#model1|BigWaveDave]] Dallas Road is the spot.
        * [[https://windisgood.com/vicharbour.html?site=40|BigWaveDave]] Victoria Harbour
  * …

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==== Sooke (Whiffin Spit) ====

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Greg Miller: **"**We have many good days / evenings when the onshore westerly push builds down Juan de Fuca Strait. Our favourite run is the Sheringham run, from near French Beach park / Sheringham Lighthouse to Whiffin spit in Sooke. This run often has ocean swell and wind waves**"**
  * **Sheringham Runs**
      * Whiffin Spit guards the large Sooke Harbour and provides a convenient takeout at a small park/parking lot. Don't turn into shore until you are a bit past the parking lot or you may have to negotiate more bull kelp coming in than you would like.
      * **Jordan River - Whiffin Spit **27 km
      * **French Beach Provincial Park****
 - Whiffin Spit **  ~ 17 km
      * **Flea Beach - Whiffin Spit**  ~16 km (Flea Beach is a small day use public beach)
  * **Conditions**
      * **Wind** [[https://windisgood.com/model-1.html|BigWaveDave]] Look at Gordon's Beach
      * [[https://windisgood.com/sheringham.html?site=30|BigWaveDave Sheringham]]
      * …

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**Annual Wind Sheringham Point**

{{:locales:canada:victoria:sheringhamwind.jpg?direct&500x319|sheringhamwind.jpg}}

{{:weather:windkey.jpg?direct&493x56|windkey.jpg}}

source: windalert.com

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**Jordan River to Sooke**

{{:locales:canada:victoria:jordanriver.jpg?direct&640x536|jordanriver.jpg}}

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**French Beach to Sooke**

{{:locales:canada:victoria:sheringham_run_2.png?direct&640x455}}

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{{:locales:canada:victoria:frenchbeach24.jpg?direct&640x424|frenchbeach24.jpg}}

French Beach Provincial Park photo Handsome Dan's Port Renfrew

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===== Safety =====

  * [[:victoria_bc_clothing|Recommended Paddle Wear]]

===== Tidal Races =====

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[[:tidalrace:tidal_races#safety_-_learning_tidal_races|About Safety]]

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  * **Baynes Channel**  Victoria, BC [[https://westcoastpaddler.com|WestCoastPaddler.com]] for info (sea kayak oriented) - search for Baynes to find various related discussions,
      * [[:tidalrace:baynes_channel_videos|Baynes Channel Videos]]
      * **Conditions**
        * nearby [[https://tempestwx.com/station/26101/|Tempest Weather Sta]].
        * Lookup Discovery Island Tides on [[https://windisgood.com/|Big Wave Dave]]
  * **Enterprise Channel**
      * We've heard the waves can get very big here, but if you have a problem you will be going out to sea. We don't have any first person reports of anyone paddling here
  * **Telegraph Cove**
      * **** Waves can really stack up with an SE against a big ebb
  * …

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**Baynes Channel Surfski**

{{vimeo>56268775?large&t=1m40s}}

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Photo: East Victoria Paddling Map from Colin @infiNorth - click for higher resolution version to zoom in on

{{:locales:canada:victoria:eastvictoriapaddling.png?direct&640x882}}

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  * **Tillicum Narrows**  Victoria, BC
      * [[https://paddlingmaps.com/trip/British Columbia/388-gorge-park|map & description]] this is a narrow channel constriction with a small/medium, narrow standing wave on strong current in channel center with narrow eddies on each side. Probably not a great place for surfski play/surfing?
      * …

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===== Dealers/Shops =====

  * [[https://www.coastlinesurf.com/|Coastline Surf]] wetsuits 1417 Broad St. Victoria BC Canada V8W 2B2, 250-382-2123, [[sales@coastlinesurf.com|sales@coastlinesurf.com]]
  * **Ocean Rodeo Canada HQ**  41 Cadillac Ave, Victoria, BC, Canada, Saanich, British Columbia V8Z 1T3 Canada, Kiteboarding Retailer, 888-544-4969, [[http://oceanrodeo.com/|oceanrodeo.com]]
  * [[https://oceanriver.com/|Ocean River Sports]] hrs: M-Su 10am-5pm, 1327 Beach Drive, Victoria, BC. 250-381-4233, retail@oceanriver.com, as of summer 2023 surfskis - Nelos?, now for sale
  * [[https://southislandsup.com/store/|SouthIslandSUP]] not surfskis but water clothing and accessories. They also guide tours and surfing (pick up some beta?)
  * …

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===== Rental =====

  * [[https://oceanriver.com/|Ocean River Sports]] hrs: M-Su 10am-5pm, 1327 Beach Drive, Victoria, BC. 250-381-4233, retail@oceanriver.com added some Nelo 510 plastic beginner skis in 2023 for rentals
  * …

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===== Resources =====

  * **SouthIslandSUP Blog**
      * [[https://southislandsup.com/environmental-stewardship-for-paddlers-series-habitat-protection/|Habitat Protection]]
      * [[https://southislandsup.com/environmental-stewardship-for-paddlers-series-protected-areas/|Protected Areas]]
      * [[https://southislandsup.com/environmental-stewardship-for-paddlers-series-wildlife-interaction/|Wildlife Interaction]]
  * …

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