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Trip Report    

Sea Kayak - South Colvos Passage and Gig Harbor Triple Cross

This is a nice paddle along interesting shoreline and a great way to extend the mileage of the traditional Gig Harbor triple cross. The weather was good and snow overnight made the scenery more beautiful. Unfortunately we discovered a deceased person on the beach early in the trip which put a damper on our enjoyment of the day.

Will Greenough Will Greenough
March 16, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The roads getting to the launch and along I5 were slick with either black ice or slush.
    Olalla Bay Market was open and we availed ourselves of coffee and pastries as we prepared to launch.
    The weather was cool but mild, with only light winds for some of the day. Mostly sunny in the afternoon.

It had snowed overnight but stopped by the time we arrived at the ramp. We got on the water at 9:45am under a cloudy sky with only light wind. Crossing Colvos Passage to Vashon Island we enjoyed the sight of snow on the ground on both sides of the passage. Once across, we headed south, hugging the shore to stay out of the slight northerly current.

We had passed Lisabeula Park and rounded Sandford Point when about 1nm south of the point we observe a person lying on their side on the beach just a little way up from the water. We called to see if they needed help but got no response, so we landed and found that they were deceased. We called 911 to report it and waited on site until the EMT's and then King County Sherriff personnel arrived. From the time we landed at 10:49am to when we got back on the water after giving our information, it was about 50 minutes.

Back on the water, we continued south with the sun coming out and a little southerly breeze and stopped at Point Dalco for lunch. After lunch, we crossed to Point Defiance in calm water and then crossed again to the mouth of Gig Harbor. Turning north, we paddled up the shore and stopped for our last break at Sunrise Beach Park. From there we continued north along the shore and arrived back at Olalla around 4:25pm.


Aside from the downer of finding a deceased person, this was a really nice paddle with good weather.
Total distance: 15.53nm
Average moving speed: 3.2kt