HMB tides

I had a, "I'll never sin again if I make it back to shore" moment some years ago while fighting a strong outgoing tide on the return trip through the jaws. Santa Cruz is my home base and I don't make the pilgrimage up to HMB often, but that will change soon as I am getting back into crabbing. Conditions are looking decent for next Monday, other than the tide is falling from a 5.7 ft high at 8am to a 0.7 ft low at 230pm and this is triggering the alarm bell in my head. If I go Monday, I'm thinking I'll shoot for a later start so that I'm not making the return trip through the jaws before noon at the earliest. One significant change over my previous HMB incident is I now have a Hobie mirage while back then I was paddling. Suffice to say I am keeping a closer eye on the tides when launching out of HMB. Hoping others with more experience at HMB can weigh in on what tide changes to look out for there.

A 5' tidal swing isn't much for the jaws.  Will you feel it? sure.  Will it be a dangerous situation? not in my opinion. 

I agree.  Most of the time at HMB, the northwest wind will be your enemy on the return.  When the fan turns on, and you launched from the old pier, it can be a burner to get back, even with mirage drive.

If you’re used to the mouth of Santa Cruz harbor hmb is pretty readable Can usually hug one side or the other in tide flows and get through there Most exciting times I’ve had there had more to do with swell. Especially west or south

Good to see what the boats are doing if it’s dicey even though they have horsepower on their side, it might help you figure out where you can sneak in

Good you ask these things out loud, get the crabbers thinking. A kayak loaded w crab gear is a different beast than a lightly loaded one, pedal or paddle

My son and I were over there surfing last winter and talked to the harbor guys who had just rescued a yak, said it’s become a regular thing

Wow, I've never worried or noticed the tides entering/exiting the HMB or SC jaws really affecting me.  Moss landing though I wouldn't even think of going out without knowing the tides are in my favor. 

I also mostly fish SC. Tried HMB crabbing last Friday. Fighting the wind back to the harbor is a lot of work, even after entering the jaw. SC is much easier.

HMB NW gust is the enemy of returning home. Couple times I felt that the gust became even bigger when entering the harbor. I tried a hybrid drive of greenland paddling and watersnake T24 tm last Saturday on my BKC kayak, which just maintained a 2.5MPH speed back. Moomoo outdoor's cousin was on a Hobie AI with crabs and gears stacked at that time. He took 2-hours to return from crabbing ground.

Are NE winds any better or worse when returning to the harbor?  This weekend calls for gusty NE conditions after 12.

Moss landing though I wouldn't even think of going out without knowing the tides are in my favor.

+1

Are NE winds any better or worse when returning to the harbor?  This weekend calls for gusty NE conditions after 12.

I hate to give a non-answer, but "it depends" is the real answer.  Sometimes with a NE wind, the hills of El Granada block or calm the winds, other times the winds come right through the gap and hit you head on as you're headed to the harbor.