Part 3, Lake Washington



May 5-10, 2005. Most of the time boating safety and finding the best cruising sites and activities is the result of meticulous planning; sometimes its just dumb luck. Such was the case when we floated into the biggest boating season Opening Day celebration in the country—a really big deal since Seattle more boat owners per capita than any city in the U.S. As planned on Thursday we made the short hop from Bell Harbor to Lake Washington via The Ballard Locks necessary to elevate boats 26 feet from sea level outside to the freshwater level outside. Safari joined the gaggle of some 35 waiting boats and on signal entered the lock, Gay expertly heaved our lines up to the lock-wall attendants, secured the boat against a concrete wall and helped a couple of sail boats raft along-side. The lock, 825 feet long and 80 feet wide, is about the size of one of the Panama Canal locks and easily contained the 35 or so boats in our group. Then the west gate closed, the rising water raised all boats, the east gate opened and all boats exited into Salmon Bay and Lake Union. The whole process was accomplished in a fairly efficient, semi-organized fashion without loss of life or limb. Water-related businesses solidly line both shores of Salmon Bay and Lake Union with boatyards, shipyards, marinas, fishing vessels, tramp steamers and working wharfs.



We observed the 7 knot speed limit through Lake Union, Portage Reach, Montlake Cut and Union Bay past the University of Washington and into Lake Washington where the Seattle Yacht Club had just anchored two parallel mile-long log booms (2-3 foot diameter cedar logs tethered end-to-end) about 40 yards apart. We quickly saw that the drill was to go on the outside of either of the log booms, drop an anchor about 100 out, back to the log boom and tie a couple of stern lines to the log. A friendly chap in a Boston Whaler introduced himself (Jerry) and gave us a hand. Four of Jerry’s UW fraternity bothers (Bob, Kurt, Ron and Bud) soon arrived in their boats along with their wives (Coleen, Cindy, Debbie, Una, and Louise), children and grandchildren. Within a couple of hours all of the gaps had been filled and we found ourselves rafted with about 300 boats across from another 300 boats rafted together on the opposing log boom—all ready for a party.



On Friday morning while Gay was walking with the ladies on the UW campus, a police boat with a local news crew aboard stopped and zoomed in on me as I watched the parade of boats between the two log booms and worked out on the stair master in the cockpit. Several people told me that they saw me on TV. The parade of boats—from kayaks to mega-yachts continued non-stop until the fireworks started at 9:30 just off our bow. On Saturday, the 7th, my birthday activities began with crew races followed by a Coast Guard cutter that led a three-hour parade of over 300 official entries in 23 different classes followed by a fireboat. Then all of the boats came back the other way joined by hundreds of spectator boats. All-in-all it was a very festive birthday party with 40 to 50,000 participants and spectators--and we now have some new boating friends.



Ready for some quiet time Safari spent a rainy Sunday afternoon and evening anchored in Andrews Bay and then moved on to anchor at Bellevue in front of the house of new friends Ron and Louise Lofgren who hosted us for dinner with even more new friends. By Tuesday the sun came back and we completed our tour of Lake Washington where the shore is lined with one mansion after another, including the homes of Bill Gates and Paul Allen.