Iona Beach Today

[Slappy]

I didn't want to kite flat water today and I was skeptical how long the wind would last over at Spanish Banks and I didn't feel like dealing with tunnel traffic so I decided to give Iona Beach a go.

Pics:

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A55oqs3qG9JUbD

IonaBeachSurf.jpg (168.38 KiB) Viewed 14445 times

Fist concern: Cleanliness

There is some dark grey muddy water in the back of the bay that I would steer clear from, it's probably not toxic but will give off that low tide smell.

Once you are past the back of the bay the water is quite similar to what you find at SB but I'm sure there is more nasty Fraser River water in it. I'm far more concerned with Fraser River water than I am about the Iona Sewage outflow. The outflow is deep and quite far out in high current water.

GVRD test Iona Beach water for fecal coliform along with all the other city beaches and it's usually tied with SB, which means better than Wreck. We'll see if I get sick in the next day or so.

Next Concern: Junk

There is quite a bit of it, a few tide lines full of thousands of woodchips, a few dead heads and logs as well as a bunch of sticks. The starboard tack today went directly in to the sun and it was very difficult to see debris like that.

Waves:

I went out at high tide and there was good swell through the bay, especially near the outflow breakwater.

On the Spit side there was an actual surf zone with 4 foot breaking waves. It was pretty challenging though because of the short period and direct on wind direction. It was also much more of a surf zone than what we get at SB or BB as when you are in it you know it and need to be aware as opposed to SB/BB where there are some breakers but they aren't very wide and easy to dodge.

There were 15 second DTL rides possible here but I was having trouble with too much speed.

Closer in there was some fun 2 ft reform with a much longer period (about 9 sec I'd guess).

Setup:

Great grass to rig on there but I think I should have hiked half way down the Spit and pumped and launched there but because the tide was so high I went from right in front of the park.

Heated washroom with hot water and hot air hand dryer was nice.

Launch:

My first attempt to launch on the grass didn't work out. There just isn't enough room with all the sign posts.

I took my gear to the water's edge and did a tether launch from a log.

Landing:

I used my same log to land but the wind had come way up by then and it was pretty sketchy.

Overall:

It was interesting and I think the waves there are quite decent. If I could count on the wind at SB I think it's probably better to just go there but often the wind at SB tanks while it's still nice out at the airport.

I launched on my 10m and surfboard at 12:00 and stayed on the water until 2:30.

IonaBeachNOAA.jpg (185.84 KiB) Viewed 14445 times

[Alton]

Angus - How are you feeling this morning? Great research. Many have talked about sailing Iona but afraid of the coliform count. Also looks like a good SW option which is usually limited to White Rock and Cresent Beach. Maybe a SW could bring some flat water with the breakwater to the south. Would a lower tide make it easier for a tethered launch and landing?

[C36]

Another mysterious place tried and tested! Awesome write-up and map! Well done Slappy!

...There were 15 second DTL rides possible here but I was having trouble with too much speed...

Nice!

I seem to remember Mike went out there, but can't remember if he windsurfed it or not?

It would be great to note the wind direction, wind strength, tide height when you went out, and any thoughts on other tide heights you may have.

I'd be curious to hear if you think the launch would be workable for windsurfing (distance from parking and shore conditions).

Many thanks for sharing!

[Roxstock]

How do the airport feel about riding there? I know they check for flocks of birds on the radar to reduce aircraft bird strikes. I just wonder if a kite would show up on the radar and cause them concern.

[Slappy]

I arrived at 11:00 and the tide was at 4.8 m and right up to the logs and there was no sand. I think tethering might be a bit hard at that height and the reason I originally tried a tether on the grass.

By 12:00 it was down to 4.6 m and that gave some nice quality sand right at the water line. At 4.6 m the whole bay is sailable with about waist deep water.

When I was leaving it was down to 3.4 m, the back of the bay was only a few inches of water and nasty mud under that.

Wind was pure West, YVR read 20 knots but it was very up and down when I was on the water. When I was coming in it was up around 25 knots sustained but the YVR sensor didn't seem to show it.

I think Iona has much more potential in NW wind than the W that I had. The shape of the bay is basically a pure E->W gradient and with pure W wind the waves closeout.

It was very slow going working upwind, mostly because I kept finding nice waves to ride and with direct onshore wind you lose so much ground for the rides. I had planned to visit the pumping station at the end of the outflow and check out the end of the North Arm Spit but only got about half way down both.

It's a full 4 km to the pumping station and a full 6 km to the end of the North Arm Spit so I probably greatly under estimated those distances. My trip from 3rd ave to Lilly Point was about 5 km upwind and that took 50 minutes.

I think if I go again I'll spend the 10 minutes to walk out even if the tide is high enough to sail from the back of the bay.

IonaBeachWalk.jpg (120.2 KiB) Viewed 14362 times

It would be a bit of a hike with WS gear so I'm not sure how suited it is. I know that the dirt road gate was unlocked so you could 4x4 down instead but they are pretty actively working with heavy equipment in that area as part of the outflow repair project. You would also risk getting the gate closed while you are inside.

You might try a product like this though: http://wheelerack.com/
You could take it on the dirt road but be very careful of the heavy equipment.

As far as tide goes I'm guessing that below 3 m the deep water is just too far out to justify the effort.

[C36]

All very useful info!

Thanks so much for taking the time time to share!

[Faceplant]

Awesome Slappy. Love that shit!

[gabrielb]

found this picture online so i'll post with some limited info ...

iona3.JPG (115.08 KiB) Viewed 13726 times

All windsurfing has to be over 12 ft tide (11ft too shallow)

On NW at (1), nice rolling waves with smooth ramp to practice controlled jumps. (4) 20 meters from parking lot, beach start, as bottom on that end is sludgy.

On SE, (2) smoothest water if you want to practice planing turns, if you gear breaks at the most you'll be swept to rocky jetty, just unlock sail get your board on jetty pathway, then your sail. (3) grass parking, sandy beach 20 meters away.

Great spot to practice if something is not working.

Iona.JPG (77.86 KiB) Viewed 13722 times