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So, we're going to have a nice-sized fleet for the Opening Day Parade...which is terrific!
Here are some random items as we get closer to the event:
* ACCOMMODATIONS - If you're coming from a distance and want to stay somewhere overnight on Friday, I'd recommend Extended Stay America's motel at 13300 Stone Avenue North (one block east of Aurora Ave North) in north Seattle. We've stayed there before and have always found room to park our trailer boat. Here's their website:
http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/m...e/?HotelID=861
* LAUNCH RAMPS - Most folks who want to launch in Lake Washington prefer the Magnuson Park ramp (Sand Point), but you can also launch at Coulon Park or the East Channel ramp on Mercer Island. If you launch in Lake Washington you need to make your way through the Montlake Cut parade route westbound (next to Husky Stadium) BEFORE 9:30 a.m., since parade officials will close the Cut to all boat traffic at 9:40 sharp to start the crew races...and later the boat parade itself. If you prefer to launch inside the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the best bet is the 14th Avenue Northwest ramp, on the north shore of the Ship Canal one block east of the Ballard Bridge. If you launch there by 10 a.m. you shouldn't have trouble finding all-day parking for your tow rig and trailer. Some of us are coming to Seattle via Puget Sound and entering the Ship Canal through the Government Locks; if you want to do that, you can launch almost anywhere, including Kingston, Edmonds, Bainbridge, West Seattle, etc.
* THE SCHEDULE - The boat parade begins at 12 noon on Saturday. Our group will rendezvous for pre-parade festivities and final practice session between 10:30-11 a.m. at the south end of Lake Union. (As you're heading south on Lake Union, look for our cluster of boats at the northwest corner of South Lake Union Park--the waterfront park that includes the big, white former Naval Reserve building. You'll find us just west of The Center for Wooden Boats, and southeast of Kenmore Air's dock.) At the rendezvous point we'll apply all parade-required boat numbers; we'll go over final parade instructions issued by the sponsoring Seattle Yacht Club, and shortly after 12 noon we'll depart South Lake Union Park to practice 'parade formation' as we troll north into Portage Bay, the holding area for parade entrants. There are 23 groups of boats going through the parade, Classes A through W. Northwest Classic Boat Club is in the Spirit Class, which is Class T. This usually means that we don't actually enter the parade route until almost 2 p.m., since the last boat in Class W begins parading by 2:30 p.m.
* BASIC PARADE INSTRUCTIONS - Basically, we just play follow the leader through the entire parade route, trying to maintain boat speeds of 5-6 mph and boat spacing as tight as possible. (The sponsors want us to be 1-2 boat lengths apart from each other going through the parade route. We know from experience that 2 boat lengths is almost NEVER achieved by any fleet in the parade, but that's the goal...so when we start moving from the holding area, please try to stay as close as possible to the boat ahead of you. It'll be difficult as we first start moving, but as members' boat speeds begin to settle into a steady pattern, try to close ranks and look like a coherent group...not a far-flung and maybe unrelated group of boats.) Here's an important detail: When parading, we tend to think of the official parade formation as ending once we leave the concrete-walled Montlake Cut, pass the parade officials' boats on the starboard side, and enter the vast log-boom area, where hundreds of spectator boats and thousands of cheering parade-watchers will celebrate our group of classic boats. The key thing to remember is that all parade rules apply until we reach the far end of the spectator boats and pass the Harbor Police boat(s) at the true end of the parade routed...and the most important parade rule is to keep all of our boats moving in a forward direction, bows pointing toward Lake Washington, the entire distance. (Our fleet has been disqualified from judging each of the past two years because we didn't realize we were being monitored closely after leaving the Montlake Cut area. Some of our boats turned in complete circles along the parade route, in front of spectator boats, causing instant and automatic disqualification from judging...and possible awards we might have received for our fleet. Please maintain a straight-ahead line all the way to the end, and maybe this year we'll be recognized somehow for our participation in the parade.)
* WHAT TO BRING - Because we won't leave the rendezvous area until noon or slightly later, and because we won't finish parading until after 2 p.m., members are encouraged to bring picnic lunches, sack lunches or whatever, and be prepared to eat aboard your boat either at the rendezvous point, the Portage Bay holding area...or right after the parade if you want to wait that long. Some of us who are planning to return through the Montlake Cut westbound after the parade (the Cut will reopen by 3 p.m., after the Seattle Fireboat goes through with its huge spray of water), will rendezvous in the northeast corner of Union Bay immediately after going through the parade...to hang out, maybe share some remaining picnic goodies, and wait for the reopening of the Cut. (If you want to join us, just turn left at the far end of the parade route, past the log-boomed spectator boats, and follow my old boat toward the corner of Union Bay.) I'll drop an anchor and we can raft up together.
* WHAT TO WEAR - The forecast for Opening Day always seems to be the same: "Prepare for Anything," ranging from bright sun to breezes, clouds, and/or possible rain showers. Overall, the weather usually turns out to be better than forecast, but be sure to come with the layered look...prepared for all various Northwest conditions.
* SAFETY - Please be sure you have the required safety equipment on board, including PFD's that are readily available for all adults and are being worn by all kids, and other required equipment for your boat. If you aren't sure, Google "Washington State Boating Safety," and you'll find a list on one of several websites.
* FUEL - The Opening Day event does not involve traveling great distances, but please be sure you have enough fuel to make it to and from your launching ramp...and to run at idle for several hours. If you get to the Portage Bay holding area and you fear you might run out of gas before making it through the Montlake Cut, please borrow some fuel from another member, since the worst thing would be to run out of fuel in the middle of the parade route!
* COMMUNICATIONS - As always, if you have a VHF our group will be on Channel 69. The Parade Director will be issuing instructions to various boating fleets on Channel 68, so you can switch back and forth to see which group (A through W) is next to enter the parade route. You can call me on the cell, (360) 301-6737, if something comes up at anytime on Saturday.
If you have any questions, please ask them here, or call me at (360) 301-6737.
Otherwise, we'll hope to see you Saturday morning at the south end of Lake Union, and have a great time together!
- Marty
Here are some random items as we get closer to the event:
* ACCOMMODATIONS - If you're coming from a distance and want to stay somewhere overnight on Friday, I'd recommend Extended Stay America's motel at 13300 Stone Avenue North (one block east of Aurora Ave North) in north Seattle. We've stayed there before and have always found room to park our trailer boat. Here's their website:
http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/m...e/?HotelID=861
* LAUNCH RAMPS - Most folks who want to launch in Lake Washington prefer the Magnuson Park ramp (Sand Point), but you can also launch at Coulon Park or the East Channel ramp on Mercer Island. If you launch in Lake Washington you need to make your way through the Montlake Cut parade route westbound (next to Husky Stadium) BEFORE 9:30 a.m., since parade officials will close the Cut to all boat traffic at 9:40 sharp to start the crew races...and later the boat parade itself. If you prefer to launch inside the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the best bet is the 14th Avenue Northwest ramp, on the north shore of the Ship Canal one block east of the Ballard Bridge. If you launch there by 10 a.m. you shouldn't have trouble finding all-day parking for your tow rig and trailer. Some of us are coming to Seattle via Puget Sound and entering the Ship Canal through the Government Locks; if you want to do that, you can launch almost anywhere, including Kingston, Edmonds, Bainbridge, West Seattle, etc.
* THE SCHEDULE - The boat parade begins at 12 noon on Saturday. Our group will rendezvous for pre-parade festivities and final practice session between 10:30-11 a.m. at the south end of Lake Union. (As you're heading south on Lake Union, look for our cluster of boats at the northwest corner of South Lake Union Park--the waterfront park that includes the big, white former Naval Reserve building. You'll find us just west of The Center for Wooden Boats, and southeast of Kenmore Air's dock.) At the rendezvous point we'll apply all parade-required boat numbers; we'll go over final parade instructions issued by the sponsoring Seattle Yacht Club, and shortly after 12 noon we'll depart South Lake Union Park to practice 'parade formation' as we troll north into Portage Bay, the holding area for parade entrants. There are 23 groups of boats going through the parade, Classes A through W. Northwest Classic Boat Club is in the Spirit Class, which is Class T. This usually means that we don't actually enter the parade route until almost 2 p.m., since the last boat in Class W begins parading by 2:30 p.m.
* BASIC PARADE INSTRUCTIONS - Basically, we just play follow the leader through the entire parade route, trying to maintain boat speeds of 5-6 mph and boat spacing as tight as possible. (The sponsors want us to be 1-2 boat lengths apart from each other going through the parade route. We know from experience that 2 boat lengths is almost NEVER achieved by any fleet in the parade, but that's the goal...so when we start moving from the holding area, please try to stay as close as possible to the boat ahead of you. It'll be difficult as we first start moving, but as members' boat speeds begin to settle into a steady pattern, try to close ranks and look like a coherent group...not a far-flung and maybe unrelated group of boats.) Here's an important detail: When parading, we tend to think of the official parade formation as ending once we leave the concrete-walled Montlake Cut, pass the parade officials' boats on the starboard side, and enter the vast log-boom area, where hundreds of spectator boats and thousands of cheering parade-watchers will celebrate our group of classic boats. The key thing to remember is that all parade rules apply until we reach the far end of the spectator boats and pass the Harbor Police boat(s) at the true end of the parade routed...and the most important parade rule is to keep all of our boats moving in a forward direction, bows pointing toward Lake Washington, the entire distance. (Our fleet has been disqualified from judging each of the past two years because we didn't realize we were being monitored closely after leaving the Montlake Cut area. Some of our boats turned in complete circles along the parade route, in front of spectator boats, causing instant and automatic disqualification from judging...and possible awards we might have received for our fleet. Please maintain a straight-ahead line all the way to the end, and maybe this year we'll be recognized somehow for our participation in the parade.)
* WHAT TO BRING - Because we won't leave the rendezvous area until noon or slightly later, and because we won't finish parading until after 2 p.m., members are encouraged to bring picnic lunches, sack lunches or whatever, and be prepared to eat aboard your boat either at the rendezvous point, the Portage Bay holding area...or right after the parade if you want to wait that long. Some of us who are planning to return through the Montlake Cut westbound after the parade (the Cut will reopen by 3 p.m., after the Seattle Fireboat goes through with its huge spray of water), will rendezvous in the northeast corner of Union Bay immediately after going through the parade...to hang out, maybe share some remaining picnic goodies, and wait for the reopening of the Cut. (If you want to join us, just turn left at the far end of the parade route, past the log-boomed spectator boats, and follow my old boat toward the corner of Union Bay.) I'll drop an anchor and we can raft up together.
* WHAT TO WEAR - The forecast for Opening Day always seems to be the same: "Prepare for Anything," ranging from bright sun to breezes, clouds, and/or possible rain showers. Overall, the weather usually turns out to be better than forecast, but be sure to come with the layered look...prepared for all various Northwest conditions.
* SAFETY - Please be sure you have the required safety equipment on board, including PFD's that are readily available for all adults and are being worn by all kids, and other required equipment for your boat. If you aren't sure, Google "Washington State Boating Safety," and you'll find a list on one of several websites.
* FUEL - The Opening Day event does not involve traveling great distances, but please be sure you have enough fuel to make it to and from your launching ramp...and to run at idle for several hours. If you get to the Portage Bay holding area and you fear you might run out of gas before making it through the Montlake Cut, please borrow some fuel from another member, since the worst thing would be to run out of fuel in the middle of the parade route!
* COMMUNICATIONS - As always, if you have a VHF our group will be on Channel 69. The Parade Director will be issuing instructions to various boating fleets on Channel 68, so you can switch back and forth to see which group (A through W) is next to enter the parade route. You can call me on the cell, (360) 301-6737, if something comes up at anytime on Saturday.
If you have any questions, please ask them here, or call me at (360) 301-6737.
Otherwise, we'll hope to see you Saturday morning at the south end of Lake Union, and have a great time together!
- Marty
boat I have to be prepared and ask...
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