Tag Archives: Chittenden Locks

Port Townsend to Seattle

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Well … for anyone returning in anticipation of a new, witty, and thoughtful post similar to what you have come to expect from the previous few weeks, I apologize. There is not much interesting to report.

We spent yesterday at the Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend cleaning the boat. We washed down the kayaks and inflatable, cleaned the anchor and bow, washed the salt water off, and completed a few other minor projects. I added water to the batteries.

This Blue Heron hung out on the pilings near us most of the morning.

mv Archimedes Point Hudson Blue Heron Continue reading →

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.

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Blake Island with Friends

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Warning. Spoiler alert! This post contains descriptions and photos of actual boat use. Not the usual fix this, untangle that, install something sort of project post that has bogged this site down recently. Read on if you dare …

Our friends Tim and Carmel, and Cindy came up from Southern California for a day on the boat. The weekend before the Fourth of July was amazingly warm and perfect. People in California think it rains all the time in Seattle. It was nice to show them how wonderful it can really be here. We swore them to secrecy upon their return to California.

They only had one day with us so I picked them up from a dock on south Lake Union in the dinghy bright and early Saturday morning. Kim had breakfast waiting when we arrived. After a quick tour and orientation, we headed for the locks eating breakfast along the way Surprisingly, there was no wait at the locks. We motored in behind one boat and two smaller boats followed us in. We popped out through the locks and headed for Blake Island.

On the way over, Tim and Cindy were playing with the flybridge intercom. Tim ordered up a couple of Vodka Tonics. I called their bluff and produced two high quality drinks. They were surprised and somewhat appreciative. It was 10:30 in the morning. I think they liked them.

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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.

RKL_0414 Continue reading →