The following is a trip rating system used by the Washington Kayak Club's sea kayaking section to communicate the anticipated demands of a trip. We stole it. A trip is rated by selecting a value of 1 to 6 for each category below which best describes the route of the trip (except maybe weather, which would be used as a go/no-go decision point, with the severity of the acceptable weather determined by the skills of the participants). The values are added and then divided by the number of categories, to determine the average difficulty rating for that trip.
Rough equivalents are "beginner" = SK-II, "intermediate" = SK-III,"advanced" = SK-IV, "expert" = SK-V, "probably fatal" = SK-VI. In Randel Washburne's book of local paddling routes, the equivalents would generally be Protected = SK-II, Moderate = SK-III, Exposed = SK-IV.
Most club trips will not exceed the SK-IV classification on this scale. It is certain that there will be no club trips that would rate SK-VI. Ratings may be adjusted up or down by adding a + or - to the rating to indicate an intermediate difficulty level. (E.g. if the average calculated difficulty is 2.7, the trip would be described as an "SK-III minus" which would probably indicate that acceptable weather and required skills would be as described under SK-III, but the trip is a bit easier than some SK-IIIs.
Please know your abilities if you sign up for a trip rated SK-III or higher. If you have any question about your capabilities, discuss them with an official UKC trip coordinator.
To determine how fast your comfortable pace is, you can time yourself over the measured nautical mile course on the Evergreen Point floating bridge. It is indicated by round red-and-white markers near the ends of the floating part of the bridge on the south side. A green-and-white marker in the middle marks the half-mile point; it is near the draw-span. On the north side are two rectangular green-and-white marks separated by 2000 meters, a distance about 8% longer than the 1852 meters of the nautical mile. Unless you are looking for rough conditions, you should pick whichever side of the bridge is most protected. The conditions on the exposed side of the bridge can be unexpectedly rough due to wave reflection from the bridge. Caution is advised when the wind is blowing.
Paddling speed: Trip announcements will include an estimate of the planned paddling speed for the trip. Slow = 1-2 knots; Medium = 2-3.5 knots; Fast = over 3.5 knots.
Paddling Distance: Trip announcements will include an estimate of the paddling distance, in nautical miles. Trips of over 5 nm in length require previous trip experience or permission of the trip coordinator. Participants are expected to be able to paddle the anticipated distance at the planned paddling speed.