Stella Maris
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2008
- Messages
- 1,500
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-24 C
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- Helmsman PH38, 11' Boston Whaler, 9' Boston Whaler
- Vessel Name
- Destiny
We headed out of Des Moines at 9:30 on Saturday morning bound for Gig Harbor but........ when we listened to the weather report, it came back with rain and fog with less than a 1/2 mile visibility in Gig. That was all we needed to hear, it was decided we would head north to Lake Union. We motored along at seven knots in water that was flat calm. It seemed as if it was meant to be that we went to Lake Union. We had two ferry crossings to cross. At no point did we have to alter course or speed for the ferries. They either passed ahead of us or astern. Our timing was perfect.
As we approached the locks, they had just opened the downstream side and had started to fill for the lift up into Lake Union. We simply motored in, got secured to the wall, they closed the doors behind us, and up we went. Once out of the lock, we proceeded down the ship channel until we reached Lake Union. We made a slow circle around the lake and then pulled into Roanoke Reef Marina to "try on" a new slip for the night. We are currently considering taking Karma to the fresh waters of Lake Union for a couple of months. The slip we "tried on" has a beautiful view of the Space Needle as well as the north side of Seattle. From this location we could watch the seaplanes from Kenmore Air take off and land all day as well as all of the boats plying Lake Union.
While the sun was still out, we decided to take a walk through the neighborhood. On one side of the street you have your normal homes. On the other, it is the famous floating homes of Seattle. We spied a for sale sign with fliers in it so we grab one! How much could they really cost! Well this one was a steal! With 679 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, a 3/4 bath, all floating on Lake Union! You can have it all for the mere sum of $595,000! Boy at that price I would think you would be wise to pick up two!
We returned back to Karma just before the rain finally began to fall. We settled into the two best seats in the house. I took the helm seat, Maureen took the Navigator’s seat. We sat and watched the comings and goings on Lake Union for the rest of the afternoon. As darkness fell, the lights of the city began to come on. What an incredible view!
Just as darkness fell, Lyman and Janeane stopped over for a drink and conversation. As usual, the conversation drifted in the direction of what the “next” boats will be…… Always planning for the future!
Sunday morning we awoke before the sun began to shine its light over the eastern horizon. Sitting in the best seats again, we watched as the sun rose in the east and lit the skyline of Seattle ablaze with a beautiful orange glow. The lake was a beehive of activity already as the rowing clubs had a very large regatta. There had to be 30 to 40 crew boats out on the lake! We sat and drank our coffee and again admired the view and all of the boats.
We slipped the lines at 10:00 to start our trip back to Port Orchard. On the way down the ship canal we pulled into Nickerson Marina where Lyman and Janeane currently have Zuma moored. We attempted to slip a boat with ten foot of beam into a slip with 10 ½ feet of beam…… Well you can imagine, with the fenders out, we basically only got the bow in. No worries, it was the end of the fairway so we simply tied her off walked to the bow and stepped off!
Once back on the water we headed to the locks. Again, after a very short wait, into the small locks we went. Once we were secured, the doors closed behind us and down we went. When the doors opened, it was back into the salt waters of Puget Sound. The wind was blowing at 17 to 20 knots out of the south but, the sun was shining! Thankfully though, the tide was going out so it did not build into the nasty chop that it could have. We headed northwest for Agate Passage. Once we cleared Agate, it was south down Port Orchard and into the Sinclair Inlet. The wind was still blowing quite hard however the waters here are much more protected so there was only a very small chop and the sun was still shining!
Rounding the bend into the Sinclair Inlet, we spied another Ranger Tug. It was Bill out for a Sunday cruise on his R-25 “Odd Duck”. We passed close enough to get pictures of both vessels.
As we pulled into our slip at Port Orchard, our hour meter hit the magic 300 hours mark! Checking the trip screen on the Garmin, we noted that we have now traveled just over 2,195 miles and burned 1019 gallons of fuel. (Let’s see, at $3.00 a gallon average……) Not bad, that is an average burn rate of 3.39 gallons per hour.
What an incredible day and weekend! Sunny skies when we needed them, great friends and great boats!
Next week, it’s off to Bell Harbor to Celebrate Karma’s first birthday and our 30th wedding anniversary!
As we approached the locks, they had just opened the downstream side and had started to fill for the lift up into Lake Union. We simply motored in, got secured to the wall, they closed the doors behind us, and up we went. Once out of the lock, we proceeded down the ship channel until we reached Lake Union. We made a slow circle around the lake and then pulled into Roanoke Reef Marina to "try on" a new slip for the night. We are currently considering taking Karma to the fresh waters of Lake Union for a couple of months. The slip we "tried on" has a beautiful view of the Space Needle as well as the north side of Seattle. From this location we could watch the seaplanes from Kenmore Air take off and land all day as well as all of the boats plying Lake Union.
While the sun was still out, we decided to take a walk through the neighborhood. On one side of the street you have your normal homes. On the other, it is the famous floating homes of Seattle. We spied a for sale sign with fliers in it so we grab one! How much could they really cost! Well this one was a steal! With 679 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, a 3/4 bath, all floating on Lake Union! You can have it all for the mere sum of $595,000! Boy at that price I would think you would be wise to pick up two!
We returned back to Karma just before the rain finally began to fall. We settled into the two best seats in the house. I took the helm seat, Maureen took the Navigator’s seat. We sat and watched the comings and goings on Lake Union for the rest of the afternoon. As darkness fell, the lights of the city began to come on. What an incredible view!
Just as darkness fell, Lyman and Janeane stopped over for a drink and conversation. As usual, the conversation drifted in the direction of what the “next” boats will be…… Always planning for the future!
Sunday morning we awoke before the sun began to shine its light over the eastern horizon. Sitting in the best seats again, we watched as the sun rose in the east and lit the skyline of Seattle ablaze with a beautiful orange glow. The lake was a beehive of activity already as the rowing clubs had a very large regatta. There had to be 30 to 40 crew boats out on the lake! We sat and drank our coffee and again admired the view and all of the boats.
We slipped the lines at 10:00 to start our trip back to Port Orchard. On the way down the ship canal we pulled into Nickerson Marina where Lyman and Janeane currently have Zuma moored. We attempted to slip a boat with ten foot of beam into a slip with 10 ½ feet of beam…… Well you can imagine, with the fenders out, we basically only got the bow in. No worries, it was the end of the fairway so we simply tied her off walked to the bow and stepped off!
Once back on the water we headed to the locks. Again, after a very short wait, into the small locks we went. Once we were secured, the doors closed behind us and down we went. When the doors opened, it was back into the salt waters of Puget Sound. The wind was blowing at 17 to 20 knots out of the south but, the sun was shining! Thankfully though, the tide was going out so it did not build into the nasty chop that it could have. We headed northwest for Agate Passage. Once we cleared Agate, it was south down Port Orchard and into the Sinclair Inlet. The wind was still blowing quite hard however the waters here are much more protected so there was only a very small chop and the sun was still shining!
Rounding the bend into the Sinclair Inlet, we spied another Ranger Tug. It was Bill out for a Sunday cruise on his R-25 “Odd Duck”. We passed close enough to get pictures of both vessels.
As we pulled into our slip at Port Orchard, our hour meter hit the magic 300 hours mark! Checking the trip screen on the Garmin, we noted that we have now traveled just over 2,195 miles and burned 1019 gallons of fuel. (Let’s see, at $3.00 a gallon average……) Not bad, that is an average burn rate of 3.39 gallons per hour.
What an incredible day and weekend! Sunny skies when we needed them, great friends and great boats!
Next week, it’s off to Bell Harbor to Celebrate Karma’s first birthday and our 30th wedding anniversary!
