Sea Kayak - Nisqually to Point Defiance

After setting up the shuttle, we were able to launch at 9:30am. The wind was lighter than forecast  - maybe 3-5kt from the south, so not much in the way of waves to surf on during most of the morning. Just after launching, we were surprised by small flock of swans flying over.

The ebb current and wind were helping us along pretty well, so the group elected to bypass the planned stop at Cole Point on Anderson Island and continue all the way up to Gibson Point on Fox Island for our first break. Passing close to Toliva Shoal, we arrived at Gibson Point at 11:55am after paddling almost 9nm at an average speed of 3.7kt.

After a 25 minute break we paddled off again towards the Tacoma Narrows bridge, passing under the westernmost span as the the tide turned from ebb to flood. Past the bridge, we stopped for lunch at Point Evans around 1:44pm.

Leaving Point Evans at 2:09pm, we worked the back eddy along the shore for a bit and then ferried across the Narrows to the shore north of Salmon Beach. The adverse current was much stronger as expected along the west half of the crossing and then slowed down considerably on the east half. Once along the shore, the back eddy along this area helped us along to Point Defiance. We swung wide around the point in spite of the significant adverse current to avoid large groups of seals hauled out on the beaches. 

Once around the point, we made our way against the flooding current back to Owen Beach, arriving at 3:27pm.

Total distance: 17:03nm
Average moving speed: 3.4kt