Posts In The “North Puget Sound” Category
Earlier this month, we got a chance to tour the Hanjin Oslo at Seattle’s Terminal 46. We had an incredible time–we watched the ship come in, toured the yard, and best of all, were given a detailed onboard tour that included the machinery. The above photo of us on the bridge wing was taken by…
We’ve just returned from an incredible tour of the Hanjin Oslo at Seattle’s Terminal 46, courtesy of Peter Kim, who supervises the Hanjin container ports in the Puget Sound and Washington state. The scope and scale of the ship is amazing, and the Hanjin operation is extremely professional. We’ll be posting a more detailed description,…
With the official start of Seattle’s boating season nearly upon us, here’s our log for the winter off-season. On our weekend trips this year, we’ve ranged between LaConner to the north,Tramp Harbor to the south, Oyster Bay to the west and Bell Harbor Marina to the east, along with a week-long stay inside the…
Sunday’s snow mostly was gone by Monday, but we got another load later in the week. The weather system was difficult to forecast. Although the snowfall was less than the record originally anticipated, enough still fell to keep anyone off the roads who didn’t need to be out. And we got an unusual freezing rain…
Snow is fairly rare in the Puget Sound, so a layer of the white stuff always is a treat. We’d spent the weekend in LaConner, where 2-3 inches of snow had fallen overnight, and left around 7 this morning for the run back to Seattle. The trip through Swinomish Channel was magical in the dark….
We’ve just arrived in Barkley Sound for a Christmas tour, so we’ll be updating the live travel map to show the current trip. Our fall travel log is below, or you can display it on a map view. 12/09/11: Canal Boat Yard It’s 32F and frosty this morning, with sea smoke drifting across the water….
We’ve never seen so many boats in Liberty Bay. Easily a thousand vessels filled the anchorage, by some counts two or three thousand. This was our first time attending Poulsbo’s Third of July Independence Celebration, and the event clearly was popular. We’d been anchored at Nisqually Flats that morning when we read in the Three…
Tramp Harbor is an unusual anchorage on the east side of Vashon Island. The harbor is mentioned in the cruising guides, but not with a glowing recommendation. The anchorage is open to the north and southeast, but makes a good stop when winds are calm or from the west. Southwest winds can blow over the…
We moor most of the time at Bell Harbor Marina in downtown Seattle. About a third of the marina’s slips are available for monthly moorage over the winter, and the remainder are for transient moorage only. We enjoy the continually changing scene as boats come and go. Some weekdays the marina will be almost empty,…
Two weeks ago, while anchored off Blake Island, a Defender Class Coast Guard boat approached. Rare before 9/11, we now frequently see these boats around Elliott Bay, accompanying ferries, patrolling the shoreline, or passing through Bell Harbor Marina where we often keep our boat. This one approached unusually close, and the crew indicated that they…
We spent the July 4th Independence Day weekend anchored at the head of the Hood Canal (route map). We went mainly because we’d not anchored there before, and were planning to stay only for the 3rd. This, however, turned out to be a great place to watch fireworks. Private displays are illegal in most cities…
The week before last, our home was up in the air next to Emerald Harbor Marine‘s shop at Canal Boatyard in Ballard. Although we’re happy to be back at Bell Harbor, we had a good week. Living aboard in the yard was an adventure, and we enjoyed exploring Ballard and visiting its many pubs. We’d…
Lynwood Center, tucked into the corner at the west end of Rich Passage, has become one of our close-to-home favorites. It’s nearness to the ferry routes and other traffic in Rich Passage make it an unusual anchorage. When we first stopped there, we expected that ferry wakes in particular would toss the boat a fair…
A major spring storm was forecast to hit the Puget Sound on Friday. A 972-mb low over southern Vancouver Island would generate storm-force winds along the Washington state coast. A gale warning was in effect for the more-protected Puget Sound, and winds there were forecast to reach 30-40 knots, with wind waves of 5-7 feet….
On Monday we passed Anacortes and went through Swinomish Channel (area map) during a significant, and poorly forecast, wind event, with an amazing variety of weather. The barometer gained 10 mb in 4 hours and peak winds approached 60 knots. We had just crossed Rosario Strait in 4-5 feet seas, with 40-knot winds from the…
A big winter storm swept through the region yesterday. The barometer fell hard as the storm approached: from 1032 at 9pm the night before, to 1009 at 5am yesterday, down to 988 by 3pm yesterday afternoon. We recorded gusts to nearly 50 knots as the storm intensified. The pressure slope hit…
Approaching the head of Blakely Harbor this weekend, we saw what looked like a rock near where we planned to anchor. It turned out to a small boat, submerged bow-up. It was covered with barnacles and appeared to have been underwater for a while. We guessed that it must have blown in from farther out…
Like many Puget Sound boaters, we’ve passed Point No Point dozens of times on our way to and from places north of Seattle. The last time was on a sunny, warm day with calm winds. It was time for lunch, so we decided to stop there. We found good anchoring depths and holding on the…