Bore Tide outside of Anchorage

[NightTrain]

This is a video taken by a drone capturing a Bore Tide in Turnagain Arm on Sep 15th this year, a few miles South of Anchorage.

The tides in Cook Inlet around this area are tremendous - up to 27 feet difference from low tide to high tide. It can reach up to 10 feet in height and travel about 15 MPH. Naturally, surfers love playing out in the Inlet when it comes, even though the water is very cold. The dirty color is from all the glaciers feeding into this area with their silt & sediment.

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I had a funny experience with a Bore Tide last Summer while fishing, with a bunch of canoes and kayaks all around getting dumped when it struck... seems to me I shared that story here, I'll link it if I did.

[jimnyc]

Nice, would like to see that in person. I still want to get me one of those drones though!! I just know that with my luck I would somehow destroy it on the first few tries and it would be a waste of money.

[NightTrain]

I knew I remembered typing this story out! Was in my pictures thread down in Photography :


I'll never forget what happened about 3 hours after this was taken.

The tides in this area are over 30 feet, so when the tide turns there will be a small tidal wave about 2 to 3 feet high that runs about 25 MPH or so. This is called a BoarTide and it's cool to see.

So up on the bank you can see people sitting there waiting for high tide so they can dip net from shore. About an hour after the tide turned, there was a woman up there and she called down to all of us in boats - "Hey, guys! The BoarTide's coming!" I knew what that meant, but apparently all of the small boats & canoes around us didn't. A few of them waved at her, acknowledging they heard her. She waited a couple minutes and yelled down the warning again, and still no reaction people in the canoes around me. At this point, I should have gotten my camera ready, and I'm pissed that I didn't.

Suddenly we heard what sounded like a 737 coming toward us, getting steadily louder. It was the BoarTide. It came rushing around the corner from the ocean and came hauling ass up the creek. Then the canoeists realized what the woman up top had been trying to tell them. She was up top happily snapping pictures. All of them started frantically paddling to turn their canoes into the wave of water rushing at them, only a few succeeded.

There was a red canoe behind my boat that managed to get exactly broadside when it struck, and the canoe dumped them into the water with all their gear. Tackle boxes, beer, cigarettes, nets, life jackets, everything was in the water. They hit the stern of my boat and pulled themselves up in my boat in a panic.

Then the wave hit my boat, and naturally lifted it up and forward. Unfortunately, there were 2 women that had paddled down directly in front of my bow with their canoes tied together. My boat went up and over their canoes, sinking them both to the bottom. I realized what was going on and jumped into the water up to my chest and grabbed my boat & pulled it back off them.

They both came spluttering back up to the surface, and one began yelling at me to "Pull my bow up!!". I told her it was far too late - "Honey, you're already sunk." There were overturned canoes and gear and people splashing around everywhere.

It was magnificent chaos. I was so impressed that I forgot to take pictures... there was a lot to take in.

So we helped people get their canoes righted & everyone got their gear sorted out - the stuff that floated, anyway. There was a LOT of gear sitting on the bottom.

About 30 minutes later, the chick that had been deep sixed under my boat called over and said, "Hey, just want you to know that the bottom of your hull is pristine! The only scratches on it are from my fingernails. I got a real close look at it." It was pretty funny and she had a good sense of humor.

[Abbey Marie]

Nice, would like to see that in person. I still want to get me one of those drones though!! I just know that with my luck I would somehow destroy it on the first few tries and it would be a waste of money.

Jim we all know you would mostly use it to look down women's shirts!

[gabosaurus]

I thought this thread would be about Alabama football fans in Alaska.

[Motown]

Jim we all know you would mostly use it to look down women's shirts!

I'm surprised some high school kid hasn't tried to fly one of these into the girl's shower at his school yet.

[Perianne]

I thought drones were stealthy. I didn't know they played music. I wonder why they put music on a drone?

[NightTrain]

I thought drones were stealthy. I didn't know they played music. I wonder why they put music on a drone?

It's soothing to hear the music as we're fishing below.