What does Class 2 mean?

Class 2 is BoatRoutes' own 1-to-5 rating of how costly a timing or judgment mistake is here — it is not a NOAA scale. Class 2 means one thing to plan around (depth, a schedule, or mild current); getting it wrong costs time, not safety.

Colvos Passage — Currents, Slack & Local Knowledge

Colvos Passage 2

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Colvos Passage runs about 11 miles down the west side of Vashon Island, roughly a mile wide, from near Alki Point in the north to Point Defiance in the south. The Coast Pilot calls it free of dangers, safe on a midchannel course, and marked by lights.

Timing

The current sets north on both the ebb and the flood — boats headed from Tacoma to Seattle sometimes use that to their advantage.

Colvos PassagePhoto: Lumpytrout / Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Coast Pilot, In Plain Words

Here is what the U.S. Coast Pilot says about Colvos Passage and the water around it. The official text is below.

Read the official text

East Passage to Gig Harbor

Colvos Passage, on the west side of Vashon Island, extends about 11 miles in a general south direction, with an average width of 1 mile. The passage is free of dangers. The north entrance is about 4.5 miles southwest of Alki Point, and the south entrance is abreast Point Defiance. The passage is used principally by tugs hauling logs for sawmills and by medium-sized vessels departing Tacoma. A midchannel course can be followed with safety. The passage is marked by lights.

The current in Colvos Passage sets north on the ebb and flood, and at times advantage is taken of this fact by vessels bound from Tacoma to Seattle. The current in the middle of Dalco Passage and along the southwest shore of Commencement Bay sets west or northwest almost continuously.

Point Southworth, on the west side of the north entrance, is high and wooded. A ferry slip is 0.2 mile northwest of the point. An automobile ferry runs to Fauntleroy and Vashon Heights.

Fragaria and Olalla, on the west shore of Colvos Passage, are small residential communities. Only isolated pilings remain of their former wharves. A rock that bares at half tide is 400 yards north of the former wharf at Olalla. Olalla has a small-craft float landing and a general store. Gasoline, water, ice and some marine supplies are available.

Source: U.S. Coast Pilot 10, Chapter 8, 7 ed. (NOAA, Office of Coast Survey). Updated weekly. Official Coast Pilot ↗

Local Knowledge

Timing
The current sets north on both the ebb and the flood — boats headed from Tacoma to Seattle sometimes use that to their advantage.
Tip
Point Southworth marks the west side of the north entrance. A ferry slip sits just northwest of the point, running to Fauntleroy and Vashon Heights.
Tip
Fragaria and Olalla, small communities on the west shore, are the only real facilities along the channel — Olalla has a small-craft float and a general store.

Plan a Trip Through Colvos Passage

1. Start from

Nearest harbor on each side of the narrows. Pick a side to start there.

2. Cross to the other side of Colvos Passage

Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard → Colvos Passage · 4.0 nm · ~0h 30m at · from the south

Stations & Data

Times are NOAA predictions, not live readings. Open a station for its full tide and current charts.

Questions

What is Colvos Passage?: Colvos Passage runs about 11 miles down the west side of Vashon Island, roughly a mile wide, from near Alki Point in the north to Point Defiance in the south. The Coast Pilot calls it free of dangers, safe on a midchannel course, and marked by lights.
When is the best time to go through Colvos Passage?: The current sets north on both the ebb and the flood — boats headed from Tacoma to Seattle sometimes use that to their advantage.
What does Class 2 mean?: Class 2 is BoatRoutes' own 1-to-5 rating of how costly a timing or judgment mistake is here — it is not a NOAA scale. Class 2 means one thing to plan around (depth, a schedule, or mild current); getting it wrong costs time, not safety.

Predictions, not observations · U.S. Coast Pilot 10 (7 ed.)

U.S. Coast Pilot text is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain. Per 17 U.S.C. §403, no copyright is claimed in that text. BoatRoutes is not endorsed by NOAA.