Sports Realm

If you are taking a Cape Cod vacation, and plan on going kayaking or boating, you need to know how to read the information in a Cape Cod Tide Chart. These charts are widely published and are used by boaters and kayakers to determine the times of high tides and low tides. They can also be used to figure out the direction the tidal currents are moving in the periods between high and low tide. Whatever sized boat you have, use of a tide chart will make your day on the water much safer, more enjoyable, and it might even save your life.

It is important for boaters to know how to read a tide chart because there are boat ramps on the Cape that can only be used when the tide is at a certain level. What’s more, obstructions such as sand bars and rocks, which might lie deep beneath the water at high tide can cause serious damage to boat at low tide.

Kayakers need to know that many of Cape Cod’s tidal creeks and salt marshes are simply not navigable at low tide, and water levels can drop rapidly when the tide goes out – sometimes several feet in the space of an hour. Many an inexperienced kayaker has mistimed their trip only to find themselves either having to walk their kayaks out or sit there stranded on a mud flat waiting for a rising tide to lift them off.

High tides and low tides occur twice each day thanks to the gravitational effects of the moon. The sun also plays a less prominent role, but we’ll leave that for another article. The tide rises not only when the moon passes overhead, but also when it passes on the other side of the world, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides every day.

If this whole tide cycle took exactly 24 hours, there would be no need for tide charts since high tide and low tide would happen at precisely the same time every day. But the moon takes approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes to completely orbit the earth so a low tide that takes place at noon on one day will take place a little under an hour later the day after.

For kayakers especially, the height and time of high tide and low tide are not the only considerations when planning a trip. The direction a tidal current is heading in at any time between those points will also be of critical importance. A tidal current flowing into a coastal area is known as a flood current while a tide that is flowing out is called an ebb current. The short period of time between a flood current and an ebb current is called slack water, when little if any current is evident.

The currents we see on Cape Cod really can be quite strong. Strong enough, in fact, that paddling against them can leave all but the fittest of kayakers totally worn out. If you also have to paddle against a strong headwind, it’s possible to even get swept out to sea if the tide turns on you unexpectedly. So Cape Cod kayakers should always use a tide chart to plan their trips so that paddling can be done with, rather than against, the flooding and ebbing tide.

Let’s say your tide chart says that low tide at 10:00am and you’re planning a three-hour trip and heading inland. Make sure you set out no later than 1:15pm so that you can paddle with the flood current. Leave earlier if you plan on spending some time having a picnic when you get to your destination. High tide will be at approximately 4:15pm, and not long after that, the tide will start to go out again. By that time you will have just over six hours to use the ebb current to your advantage as you paddle back.

Because Cape Cod is a coastal community, you will find that local tide charts are published in all the local newspapers and magazines. There are also a number of boating websites that publish them online. You should make a point of seeking one out and using the information contained in it whenever you plan on spending time on the waters of Cape Cod.

To find out more about Cape Cod tide charts, you should check out Michael Jones’s website at Cape-Cod-for-Couples.com.