Beach landings

We are at big tides now and getting a little smaller tides coming few days. Like MTV said life in Seldovia is around tides, they can be dangerous.
A couple of years ago two 206's sank in holes, the nose completely buried In the sand, over on Chintina beach. Looked like quick sand swallowed them.

Today's tide swings in the lower Cook Inlet are about half of those in Turnagain Arm. 14' compared to 28'. Not that 14' tides aren't a force to be reckoned with. I enjoy tagging along in a buddy's 28' charter boat and letting the tide go out from under it it so we can step off and dig clams. Step back on when the tide switches and motor home. Pretty cool. Not much water navigation occurs in the Turnagain Arm. Nobody I know lands on the mud flats in their planes, either. That could be costly.

I recall an afternoon spent with my boat in the mud about 50' from the city dock in Anchorage when we mis-timed our return by a couple of minutes. We sat high and dry for several hours until the water returned and floated the boat. 50' from the city and totally isolated. That was an odd day.

It's probably late enough in the season now to not have to worry about it, but one real old time Dillingham pilot (Dick Armstrong) told me to never land on the beach until after the first good spring storm. Chunks of ice will float up on the beach then get buried in the sand. As they melt, it just becomes a hole filled with soft mud with the surface looking like the surrounding area. Drop a wheel in one of those, and you're in a world of hurt. A good storm will pound the beach and firm things up.

If you're going to mess around on beaches, become VERY familiar with how to read a tide book.

Follow the advice above regarding timing your landings with the stages of the tides. I know of several planes that ended up getting taken by the tide. If you get in to trouble on a falling tide, you have a lot longer to fix things or get help.

If you're going to be flying in coastal Alaska, keep in mind that the tidal influence can go a long ways up some of the Rivers. On the Nushagak, it gets all the way to Portage Creek, and that's 40+ river miles from the mouth of the river. One time my Dad and cousin visited from Indiana. I flew my cousin in the Cub to our king fishing camp up the Nushagak. My Dad rode in a friend's jet boat (on a falling tide). The boat driver made a zig when he should have zagged and ended up in shallow water hung up on a gravel/mud bar. The water kept falling until there wasn't any water for hundreds of yards. Not knowing anything about tides, my Dad didn't know what planet he was on. After a picnic on the gravel bar and picking rocks out of the jet gravel grate, the water eventually came back and they made it to camp. Check with locals about the time differential of the tide up the rivers. Depending on where it's at, it could be a considerable difference in high/low tide timing.

Jim

Nice boat, SB! Supercub fishing outing in the works?!

stewartb said:

Today's tide swings in the lower Cook Inlet are about half of those in Turnagain Arm. 14' compared to 28'. Not that 14' tides aren't a force to be reckoned with. I enjoy tagging along in a buddy's 28' charter boat and letting the tide go out from under it it so we can step off and dig clams. Step back on when the tide switches and motor home. Pretty cool. Not much water navigation occurs in the Turnagain Arm. Nobody I know lands on the mud flats in their planes, either. That could be costly.

I recall an afternoon spent with my boat in the mud about 50' from the city dock in Anchorage when we mis-timed our return by a couple of minutes. We sat high and dry for several hours until the water returned and floated the boat. 50' from the city and totally isolated. That was an odd day.

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Lost count of how many times we’ve been caught at low tide in the middle of Goodnews Bay. Sand bars move every spring and I’m really good at finding them....and we keep a tarp on board to act as a barrier between us and the bugs.....the sand is hard enough to walk on without sinking...wouldn’t land on it...ever.


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Wise pilot told me to beware of beach areas with water backed up behind the storm berm...swampy areas, old flood channels, ponds whatever. The water will always find its way to the sea, it’s gonna come out on that beach somewhere in the form of a soft , quicksandy sinkhole spot. Might not be visible, might be draining clear under sea, but beware anyway. I’ve found a few of these spots, thankfully while walking and not with the prop... yet