This beautiful video highlights, in my view, a thoughtful man and a capable vehicle working together in service of others. I love it.
Archives for posts with tag: Seattle
A couple of weeks ago we boarded Seattle’s historic steamer, Virginia V, at Lake Union and sailed to Bainbridge Island.
The Virginia V is quite an experience. You really get the feeling of traveling in another time. And she’s so quiet. Gliding through the ship canal she barely made a sound.
She was built in 1921 and became a part of what was then known as the “Mosquito Fleet,” a group of hundreds of small vessels that plied Puget Sound in the era before state-run public transit. All the vessels were privately owned, initially unregulated, and often competed for business on the same routes, with the first ship to the dock getting the lion’s share of the fares.
The Virginia V is powered by a 400-hp, double-expansion, three-cylinder steam engine, built in 1898. The 115-year-old engine has a maximum RPM of 200, although it mostly spins at about 80 or 90 RPM. She used to be oil-fired but today burns diesel to develop steam.
Our route took us down the Washington Ship Canal and through the Chittenden Locks. Lake Union is at a higher elevation than Puget Sound, hence the need for the locks.
Locking through is a neat experience. The huge, steel doors of the lock were open at one end as we came into the locks, then shut behind us. The water was then drained out of the lock as the ship dropped about 25 feet down. The doors at the other end of the lock were opened, and out we went, into the Sound.
The Virginia V doesn’t sail very often—she is crewed solely by volunteers. If she has a trip scheduled, and you happen to be in Seattle, make of day of it. It’s a very unique and enjoyable experience.
Link: Virginia V Public Schedule
Read further for a gallery of photos from our day aboard, as well as a quick video.
Read the rest of this entry »
Last Friday we had our boat, Carmana, hauled out at Canal Boatyard in Seattle for some upgrades and repair work. We had a new chartplotter/display fitted so we can see where we’re going—I navigated by a little, hand-held GPS on the way down from Canada. The new display meant getting a new transducer. The new transducer meant a larger hole through the hull. And that meant hauling her out.
It’s amazing the amount of work a boat takes. Of course, everyone tells you that before you buy one. It’s funny—some people, when we said we’d bought a boat said, “Congratulations!”. Others said, “Uhh, oh…”
We scrubbed the water tanks, installed new LED lights, oiled the interior teak, and had the propane system inspected—a new regulator and propane sniffer are on the way. We put a grill on the stern rail, a house warming gift from my parents. We got bigger fenders. We’re putting an LED anchor light at the top of the mast to save on battery power, since the anchor light stays on all night when we anchor. We had the battery charger replaced so that we can charge the batteries from shore power. Natalie shined up the brass light fixtures in the cabin with lemon and vinegar. They look like new! I installed a water filter and fixed a leak in the water line. It took weeks just to track down the right fittings. We cut vents into the hanging lockers so they won’t smell musty. I replaced the pump for the head and got a new toilet seat. That looks new as well. Natalie even sewed a grill and winches covers by hand, with an awl. There are lots of little things too, zincs that need to be replaced and hatches that need latches.
We’re itching to get going though. We’re itching to get out into the San Juan Islands and pull into little coves, drop our anchor—we’ve got two to choose from now—prop our feet up in the cockpit or row Carmanita, our little dingy, to shore. We’re itching to get out and live…
That said, seeing the neighborhoods of Ballard and Fremont has been nice. Our endless runs to Fisheries Supply reveal new little coffee houses and taquerias almost every day. This is living too. Every day seems like two. We spend the mornings driving around for parts and the afternoons and evenings installing them. We’re living in the boatyard at the moment, so showers are few and far between and we don’t have running water. We have baby wipes and Crystal Geyser by the gallon. Our days are full and our lifestyle is lean.
We’re looking forward to heading out. This Friday we launch from the yard and head down the canal to Yacht Masters on Lake Union for some rigging work. Sunday is Natalie’s birthday and Monday we’ll head back down the canal, through the opening drawbridges, through the gates of the lock, on to Puget Sound, and out into the world.
We’ll see you there.
Here’s the seaplane at the dock at Lake Union.
A couple of weeks ago I got on a seaplane docked at Seattle’s Lake Union and flew to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, to pick up our truck, which we’d left behind when we sailed from Canada. It turned out that flying was the most convenient, quick way to get there. Sweet. The plane belonged to Kenmore Air and the flight was $140 one way.
Here are some photos of that trip.
A nice view of the Aurora Bridge
We’ve got the boat on the hard at the moment at Canal Boatyard in Seattle. While we’ve been pretty busy with boat projects, we did manage to take a walk the other evening on the Burke-Gilman Trail, a bike and cycle path that runs alongside the Lake Washington Ship Canal to Lake Union and on to northern tip of Lake Washington, where it ends. We took it as far as Gas Works Park on Lake Union.
Here are some photos. Read the rest of this entry »
If you happen to be in Seattle, check out Rocco’s, a new pizzeria / bar that opened up about five months ago in Belltown. The interior is stylish: black-painted tin ceiling, wall paper, framed hanging succulents, and vintage-beer-signs-as-art on the back wall; and the pizzas are delicious: light, thin crusts, and topped with things like fennel, sage, and butternut squash. Plus they have a full bar. It’s a pretty enticing combo.
They’re located at 2228 Second Avenue in Seattle. If you don’t have time to take in the atmosphere, give them a call. I’m sure they’ll make a pizza for you for take out: 206.448.2625.
There’s a map after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »