> That table is helpful- though I couldn't figure out how to look at August

On an iPhone just keep paging down. On a desktop it's easy to search for the month you care about.

> Seems to me that on planning this, current is what I really care about not so much tide

Exactly. Current generally lags tide anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on how far you are from the head of tidal waters. It's so much easier to just use the current tables.

> Everyone suggests slack tide etc but this doesn't necessarily correlate w slack current right?

Correct.

Not to shoot my own contribution down, but there are also some adjustments to be made in estuaries like the Chesapeake and Delaware where wind driven tide and current are a factor. I've never found any deterministic data so it's just a matter of recognizing the basic effect and trying to adapt. It hasn't been terribly significant in my experience.