Hearing about today's low tide and long walk at Centennial just reminded me of a great SE-S low tide break I sailed a half dozen times 20 years ago. It's located on the north side of the ferry terminal about 1/3 of the way to Roberts Bank.
You would park your car at the last pullout on the north side and walk down the beach 200 meters or so then paddle out about 200 meters. The winds are offshore so the water is dead flat on the paddle out. At the break the winds are side shore on southerlies and side off on south easterlies.
It works on both SE and S winds. It's better if the winds have been blowing for a couple hours to build up a little swell size. Anything over 15 knots will work, the more the better. You need a flooding tide starting from under 3 meters. The lower the tide when it turns and starts flooding the better.
The swell in the Strait will wrap about 40 degrees as it rounds the Ferry Terminal. The flooding tide helps pull the swell into the edge of the bay onto the sandbar. The sandbar drops off towards Roberts Bank into deeper water giving you a nice channel to paddle back out in.
They dredge out around Roberts Bank and the Ferry Terminal for the big boats. However, that entire bay is a super shallow mud flat with almost no water to the east on low tide. You are surfing on the western edge of that shallow flat where it's exposed to the wrapping swell from the Strait.
Windsurfing was always a little sketchy as you had to sail dead offshore to get out to the break. If the winds died you would drift over to Roberts Bank. If they stayed strong you'd have to point 500 meters upwind to the causeway at the end of the session..........I wasn't great at going upwind
On a SUP or surfboard it would be a super easy paddle out and back. The water is flat calm in 40 knots as the break is only about 300 meters offshore. The current pushes into the bay at about 1-1.5 knots on a flood tide. The wave is an honest, peeling DTL left in both SE and S winds with a nice deep channel to paddle back out. The wind holds the faces up nicely and they were always super clean. I was able to stand up in waist deep water on the sandbar the few times I sailed there.
Definitely worth a drive out to the Ferry Terminal when the tide has gone way out, is starting to flood and there's 15+ knots of SE-S wind. It's also a mellow alternative to paddling out in 40 knots and onshore conditions.
Cheers,
Chris
