Or how we lucked out with few days of late winter and early
spring sunshine in Seattle…
Catherine and I had a chance to spend a several days in Seattle taking care of Stonerose and fire department business as well as a few personal chores. Getting by with a little help from our friends included our lodging on the waterfront of Elliott Bay seen in this image with Bell Harbor Marina as part of the front yard.
Enjoyed capturing this image of two of the Northwest's icons: a section of the Pike Place Market and one of the Washington State Ferries heading on a crossing to Bainbridge Island.
Catherine in our digs enjoying another sunset over Elliott
Bay and the distant Olympic Mountains.
One of the Argosy tour vessels on an evening dinner cruise
along the Seattle waterfront. During this visit to "The Emerald City"
we did splurge for the Argosy Ballard Locks tour (more on that later)...
Another dawn on the waterfront of Elliott Bay looking into Bell Harbor Marina near a historical point of interest for any of us naval buffs. This sculpted tower, erected on National Maritime Day 1961, marks the spot where the U.S. Navy's "Great White Fleet" anchored in 1908 during their famous 46,000 mile world cruise.
Lake Union, seen in this image from the Space Needle is in
the heart of Seattle. Catherine and I did a leisurely bicycle ride along what
is known as the West Lake area, a nautical community of small marinas, boat
brokers, houseboat neighborhoods and chandlery shops.
Catherine walking her bike along an abandoned rail pathway on
West Lake, which serves part of the Seattle houseboat community.
This row of quaint mailboxes nearly grown into the
surrounding shrubs are also part of the houseboat neighborhood.
And one of the boardwalk pathways to a number of the
houseboats on located West Lake Union in Seattle.
It was during our cycle along the lake that we chanced upon
the sailing vessel ZODIAC laying pier side at the southern end of the lake. The
ZODIAC is a beautiful, old, wooden sailing vessel I've had the chance to
photograph while it was traveling in the San Juan Islands under sail. Neither
of us had ever seen the vessel up close.
As it worked out while Catherine and I paused on our bikes
and stood admiring the ZODIAC her watchmate, Don came on deck and began a
conversation with us. When Don heard that Catherine serves as secretary to the
Rickey Point Sail Club and I the commodore he insisted we come aboard for an
'informal' tour. In this image Don and Catherine are in the galley of the
schooner ZODIAC.
The ZODIAC is 160 feet long, 26 feet beam, displacing 145
tons and was launched in 1924. The vessel is currently used for charter,
research and education. Don captured this image of Catherine and I at the
crew's dining table in the ZODIAC.
Here is an image I caught through a pilothouse portal of the
ZODIAC looking aft onto her starboard deck.
The dedication plaque in the ZODIAC placing the vessel on
the national historic register.
And this last image of the ZODIAC is of the earliest known
photograph of the vessel under full sail. This framed image is hanging on a
gang-way wall of the vessel itself.
Nicknamed the Ballard Locks, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks,
seen in this image beyond the railroad bridge, was constructed in 1911 and
provides a link for boats sailing between the salt water of Puget Sound and the
fresh water of the Ship Canal connecting Lake Union and Lake Washington.
Catherine and I plan on piloting our sailing Vessel AQUILA
thru these locks within the next few years and had been wanting to see how they
worked. Thus when the opportunity presented itself to join Argosy Cruise for a
tour of the locks we went for it. My 1st mate is seen here sharing the heave
line for the shoreside tie with our tour guide Tray.
The vertical lifting capacity of the Hiram M. Chittenden
Locks is up to 20' but each lift of each passage is dependent on tides. Here
our Argosy tour vessel is poised at the opening gate, facing eastwards and
ready for a passage from saltwater into the freshwater confines of the Ships
Canal and eventually Lake Union.
The next day Catherine and I returned to the locks for a
walk through the surrounding gardens and some time spent watching various
vessels make the passage on both the westerly and easterly points of sail.
This restored trawler is making an easterly passage in the
smaller of the two locks.
Besides the locks themselves the facility has other features
including a fish-ladder, spillway and saltwater barrier. All of which are
designed to address unique functions of this freshwater / saltwater transition
area. Here a group of fishing cormorants are taking advantage of "Smolt
flumes" in the spillway. These flumes assist young salmon to pass safely
downstream, of course "safely" for the young salmon is relative and
depends on the number, appetite and skill of the cormorants.
These next few images are focused on the nautical aspect of
the greater Seattle area. This statue, dedicated to Leif Erickson attests to
the strong nautical ties of the area. Set at the Shilshoal Marina the plaque
reads: "Leif Erikson, the first recorded European to set foot on North
American shores symbolizes the long history of Scandinavian-American
immigration. "
Thinking about an anchor upgrade to my 30' sailing vessel
AQUILA: or not! During our cycle art-tour, Catherine caught me goofing off on
this 18,500# anchor from the Holland America motor vessel VEENDAM.
Caught this image of a vessel in transit entering the
downtown Seattle waterfront of Elliott Bay off Pier 66 from the Space Needle.
Alki Point, the site of the first European settlement is visible in the
distance.
This stylized ships wheel is one of many embedded in the
concrete wall lining the downtown pier area. This one is near the dedication
plaque erected on Maritime Day 1961.
This
vessel, EXPLORER IV, was one of our neighbors for several days during it's stay
at the Bell Harbor Marina. Home port of Saint Johns, Newfoundland tells part of
the story of just how far this vessel has come to find itself visiting this
northern Pacific waterfront
More to come ~ check back soon...
