Sea Kayak - Gig Harbor Triple Cross

All arrived in time for our scheduled departure. The forecasts for the day were highly conflicted with some predictions of strong southerly winds and others for light to moderate easterly and southerly winds. On arrival at Owen Beach we observed light to moderate southeasterlies and little to no rain. The tide was relatively high, leaving no beach, so we staged on the concrete prior to launch. The new facilities are great at Owen Beach.

We got on the water at 9:30am and crossed to Point Dalco with a quartering wind from the southeast at about 5kt. Nearing Point Dalco, there were some wind waves to surf occasionally. We continued north along the coast to Spring Beach and then made the crossing over to Sunrise Beach Park where we took a short break on a small beach.

After break we followed a couple of sea lions along the shore against a 1/2 to 1 kt current and into the wind. The sea lions quickly left us in the dust and we continued on to Gig Harbor. Along the way we enjoyed this mostly wild shoreline and past a large group of seals just before getting to the houses outside Gig Harbor. Light rain started at we approached Gig Harbor. Once in the harbor, we quicly made our way to the dock at the Tides Tavern and did the awkward crawl out of the boats onto the dock. An attendant came out and reminded us that we couldn't bring the boats onto the dock - they need to be in the water and tied to the dock. On a rainy December day there were no boats at the dock, and only two showed up while we ate.

We all enjoyed a big lunch in the tavern, making the reentry in to the drysuits and kayaks more difficult as we left. As usual the food was great, and we took our time to enjoy the meal and company. The light rain continued as we got back in our boats and we paddled back out of the harbor. We then made a bee line to Point Defiance with only very light wind and not much rain - very moderate conditions. From the point we paddled against the incoming tidal current back to Owen Beach, arriving back at about 2:30pm. Most participants had picked up trash along the way and coincidentally, therre was a beach cleanup event going on at Owen Beach, allowing us to drop our picked up trash.

Overall, this was a fun trip with great paddlers combining a moderate paddle with a great meal and socializing. We lucked out on the weather - this trip can be very challenging with different weather conditions.