Trip
Sea Kayak - Whidbey Island West Shore
We will paddle from West Beach at Deception Pass State Park to Keystone Harbor. This beautiful, current assisted, 18 nm paddle fulfils a requirement of the San Juan Islands Paddling Experience badge.
Contacts
- Fri, Apr 11, 2025
- Seattle Sea Kayaking
- Sea Kayaking
- Adults
- Sea Kayak V
- Challenging
- Mileage: 19.0 nm
- Maximum Wind: 20 kts
- Maximum Waves: 3 ft
- Maximum Currents: 3 kts
- Pace: 3.5
- FULL, 2 on waitlist (6 capacity)
- FULL (2 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
This trip will be canceled if there is a significant southerly wind.
It takes 45 minutes to drive from Keystone to West Beach, so ideally we'll be getting on the water at about 10:15 am. There are toilets at the launch and landing and at the state parks along the way.
I expect about 3 hours of paddling to cover the 11 nm from West Beach (Deception Pass) to Point Partridge (Fort Ebey); on this section we should have around 1 kn of current assist. Assuming 1 hour of breaks, we will get there by about 2 pm. As we paddle from Point Partridge to Keystone Harbor we should have 3 kn+ of assist, and we should arrive by 4 pm.
If you request permission to join this paddle, please cite evidence/examples of your ability to cover this distance.
Meet at the Keystone Harbor boat launch by 8:45 am to organize the shuttle to West Beach (if you're taking the ferry, you need to get the 7:30 am from Mukilteo, or the 8 am from Port Townsend).
Whidbey Island West Shore
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NOAA Puget Sound No. 18440
NOAA Puget Sound: Northern Part No. 18441 - See full route/place details.
Required Equipment
These eight essentials plus The Ten Essentials are required on all sea kayaking trips. All but the whistle and clothing should be provided with any kayak rental.
- Floatation in both ends of the kayak
- U.S. Coast Guard approved Personal Flotation Device (PFD)
- Paddle
- Spray skirt
- Bilge pump with floatation
- Self-rescue paddle float
- Waterproof whistle
- Appropriate clothing for the conditions encountered seasonally