Tactics: wind, waves, tides & currents

I love this sort of stuff, and know first hand it can make or break a paddling race in certain waters. Here in Vancouver BC we can have 5 m (15 foot) tides at times an this results in very strong currents.

As in surfing, seeking out the fastest line in currents often differs from the shortest line. Even on a Hawai'ian like 1 foot tide...

My favourite resource sites include

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration http://www.noaa.gov/ especially the following;

National data Buoy Centre http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/index.shtml radial search tool that takes in info from all boats and buoys broadcasting in a certain radius you specify http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/radial_search.php?
Tide and current predictor http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/index.html

Alan Carlsson
Engineered Athlete Services