Tag Archives: Ballard Locks

Seattle to Spencer Spit

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We departed Seattle Saturday afternoon. The plan was to get outside the locks so we could motor north early. Lots of boats waiting so we all ended up in the large lock. The large lock is easy, but it is always interesting. The larger boats tie to the wall with the smaller boats rafted to them. As soon as the gates open, they announce “larger boats first”. Invariably, the small boats all rush in. There is no where for them to go and no way for the larger boats to get in. The lock attendants patiently sort out the chaos and we all eventually end up where we wanted to go.

mv Archimedes in the large lock Continue reading →

Blake Island without friends

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As avid readers of this site (if there are any other than close relatives (and I am not sure about them)) will note, we’ve been to Blake Island an awful lot lately. In our defense, sans windlass, we are currently limited to marinas and mooring buoys. We choose mooring buoys over marinas any day. That limits us to relatively few places close to Seattle.

So that’s how Kim and I ended up at Blake Island all by ourselves (but by no means alone) this weekend.

RKL_5019
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On our way to our first rendezvous

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We are on our way to our first Grand Banks rendezvous. Our destination is Roche Harbor on San Juan Island.

This will be our first rendezvous. Our idea of boating is a quiet place with no one else are around. This will be interesting. We are sporting brand new brightwork by Native Brightworks and shiny new doors from Mike Thomas at Thomas Marine Interiors.

Last night we were at the Point Hudson marina. Fewer boats than I would have expected here. In fact, there were only six.

Archimedes at Point hudson Marina on Port Townsend

Our next stop is Roche Harbor. We’ll be on our way shortly.

Locking Through the Chittenden Locks

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If you are a boater in the Seattle area, you will eventually experience the opportunity to transit the Hiram Chittenden Locks. This is a fairly easy process, but many face their first experience with fear and trepidation. There is no need. The process is straightforward and the lock attendants are quite helpful. You will be an expert in no time. We’ve done this many times and thought it might help others to write it all up.

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Almost Alone at Blake Island

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With the boat headed for a month or so of downtime, we though it best to hop over to Blake Island for the weekend. This being February, and with a bit of a chill in the air, other boats were scarce.

On the upside, no waiting at the locks. The sailboat ahead of us was kind enough to do the waiting for us.

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