Riding the Flats

Mudflats are a marvel of nature. Read the entire magazine online.

by Dan Lewis

One of the coolest things about paddling sea kayaks is that we can go places that few other boats can go. A particular strength of our craft is its ability to travel in very shallow water. A kayak will float in less than six inches of water – just barely. This allows us to explore the shallow waters covering mudflats.

Mudflats are an ancient marvel of nature. Accumulations of very fine sediment, they are deposited by rivers and currents, and are often anchored by a rich growth of eelgrass. The eelgrass prevents the mud from being washed away during winter storms and provides habitat for many creatures such as herring, whose eggs glom onto the bright green blades. And wouldn’t you know it, the Brant geese like to feed on the grass right after the herring roe during their spring migration – think spinach and egg salad. The nutrient-rich mud also provides habitat for clams, shrimp and crabs.

Clayoquot Sound is home to some of the largest expanses of mudflats on the coast, so I have a fair bit of experience dealing with them. Here are some strategies you might find useful.

First, make sure before leaving home that you can identify mudflats on your nautical chart (a good reason to carry sea charts rather than land maps). They are coloured green, which makes sense. Shallow water is coloured blue, and land is yellow. Mudflats are sometimes underwater, and sometimes exposed to the air, so if you can remember back to kindergarten finger-painting days, yellow mixed with blue produces green. Look for the ‘M’ noted on the large swaths of green on a chart to distinguish mudflats from other intertidal areas such as beaches or rocks.

Once you have determined where the flats are, use your tide tables to figure out if there will be a sufficient depth of water at the time you will be passing over. Sometimes the chart will provide an underlined number, called a drying height. This is the tidal height at which those flats will begin to expose during a falling tide, or cover during a rising tide.

Of course, there is the temptation to try to cross flats that are just about dry to avoid paddling a much longer distance by going around. This is riskier during a falling tide, as it might soon dry out, and it is sketchiest when the tide is falling rapidly during the middle two hours of an exchange, as it will definitely dry soon. Clues that you are not going to make it include seagulls standing in your way, otters scampering rather than swimming, and of course heron standing in water less than knee-deep.

If you find yourself running out of water, it’s time to, as the bumperstickers here in Tofino say, ‘think fast, hippy.’ Look down and quickly note which way the floating end of the eel grass blades are pointing. Trust me, the water is draining off the flats in the direction of least resistance. Your only hope is to go with the flow – follow the lead of the eelgrass.

Of course, that technique doesn’t work so well in the dark. When crossing flats at night, try a technique I call the ‘depth probe stroke’. Basically, you dip your paddle a bit deeper than usual, such that you gently bounce your blade off the bottom, thus measuring depth. Keep heading away from the shallow side. Two paddlers can call out ‘right’ or ‘left’ as they probe the channels.

You might not make it – part of the fun of sea kayaking! I have on more than one occasion had to get out and float my kayak along behind me while walking towards Tofino. This typically happens when I am late heading to town and gamble on making it over the flats, much like the frantic driver who is pulled over for speeding when already late for work.

On a big mudflat, there will be channels that snake their way right into the middle even during low tides. This is the time that the herons come down to stand at water’s edge and fish. Waterfowl congregate in the pockets of water left behind by the falling tide, and are easily spooked, so be careful to avoid them.

A word on etiquette. Walking on eelgrass beds is quite damaging. Try to avoid doing so. Be respectful of the people who earn their living in this unique habitat – namely the herons, mink, otters and such. They aren’t expecting a huge, silent boat. Give the wildlife some space and enjoy the view through binoculars.

Dan Lewis operates Rainforest Kayak Adventures in Clayoquot Sound.

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