While we get going on today’s news and events – four photos we ran out of time to publish last night, as the “last weekend of summer” begins (we know it’s not TECHNICALLY the end of summer, since the autumn equinox is still three weeks away). Above, Danny McMillin photographed a stand-up paddleboarder passing a rafting sea lion; next, Ryan captured the evening “parking” scene at Ercolini Park west of The Junction:
Back to the water – John Hinkey‘s view from Constellation Park:
And, also from the Beach Drive vicinity (east of Weather Watch Park), Greg snapped the sunset colors:
Thanks as always to community photo contributors – editor@westseattleblog.com is the best way to share yours! Now, on to the rest of the weekend – lots more to report, and share, as Saturday begins.
Thanks to Christine for the tip – she e-mailed with news of a “cool twin-masted sailboat” passing by; MarineTraffic.com revealed it was Lady Washington, the tall ship that’s been featured in movies and music videos (including Macklemore‘s “Can’t Hold Us,” a winner at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards), so we headed down to the shore to grab a photo. According to its website, the Lady Washington is en route from Tacoma to Kirkland, where it’ll be based with another tall ship, Hawaiian Chieftain, through Labor Day. P.S. Macklemore has even made a PSA video urging people to support the nonprofit-owned-and-operated Lady Washington – see it here.
A special attraction on the seawall during this morning’s Great Cross-Sound Race to and from Alki – the OAR Northwest ocean-rowing boat. But the main attraction, as always, was Sound Rowers‘ 7-mile race, with dozens of rowers heading to Bainbridge Island and back (see the course map here). They start fairly far offshore, so, with some zoom and shake, here’s a bit of the early going:
And here’s our video of the first finishers – Conal Groom and Peter Hirtle, followed by a single (we’re awaiting the official results to verify that rower’s name):
SIDE NOTE: The racing on Alki tomorrow will be on land, with the Alki Beach 5K Run/Walk for Northwest Hope and Healing starting near the bathhouse at 9 am. Even if you’re not participating or watching, remember that Alki Avenue will be closed for a few hours tomorrow morning before and during the race.
Before we get going with the rest of today’s coverage – Danny McMillin, whose photos have appeared on WSB from time to time (especially birds!), made a time-lapse video of last night’s sunset and offered us the chance to share it. In just under one minute, his time-lapse travels all the way to dusk. Thanks, Danny!
The photo and report are from Guy and Joy Smith near Alki Point:
Everyone is enjoying the great summer along Alki. This photo was taken just north of the Lighthouse on Sunday the 11th, showing Elliott Bay’s greenest salmon troller and a canoe passing each other. Leg power and arm power.
P.S. Another reminder – next Saturday, kayakers are invited to join in a West Seattle-based pink-salmon fishing tournament – here’s the announcement we published earlier this week.
In the foreground, that’s “Sparkle” the seal pup, the first one spotted this season by Seal Sitters – and its appearance on an Alki-area platform these past few days unfortunately is cause for an urgent reminder instead of a happy announcement, because of boaters getting way too close. Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey estimates the pup to be just a few days old, which means if its mom is scared away, its life is at risk: “It is imperative that people STAY BACK from this platform (both in the water and on shore) to lessen the risk of abandonment and death for this pup, shown here with a larger yearling. There was a steady stream of boaters getting much closer than NOAA’s 100-yard recommendation, causing the adult seals to flee into the Sound.” Robin reiterates that “human interference truly is a matter of life and death for all seal pups their first year of life – and most certainly the first 4 weeks when they are nursing on mom’s rich milk, unable to forage on their own. We are documenting all violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and sending photos to NOAA’s Office for Law Enforcement and WDFW Enforcement for investigations – neither of which takes harassment of wildlife lightly. Boaters need to stay back from rafts, docks and buoys with resting seals and sea lions. For boater guidelines, go here.” Robin shows and tells even more of the story on Blubberblog.
P.S. If you see a seal pup – or a marine mammal of any kind, alive or dead – ashore in the West Seattle area, please call Seal Sitters at 206-905-SEAL (206-905-7325). Elsewhere – find info here.
(August 2011 photo by Craig Savey, taken from Harbor Island)
Consider that orca to be jumping for joy – as orca lovers and protectors are doing too, at least in spirit. The federal government is reported today to have rejected the petition filed earlier this year suggesting that the Southern Resident Killer Whales do not merit protection as a separate, endangered species, so that protection will continue. Here’s a link from The Seattle Times (WSB partner); here’s reaction from the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed the petition that led to the SRKWs’ protection in 2005.
Thanks to Beach Drive Blog for first word of this – a new buoy off Lincoln Park that’s gathering water-quality information around the clock. After seeing BDB’s story this afternoon, we asked the county if it had an announcement to share:
A new marine water quality monitoring buoy launched this week by King County will provide a wealth of data about water conditions on Puget Sound to scientists and the public alike.
At more than seven and a half feet in diameter and standing three feet tall with a seven-foot-tall mast, the yellow, donut-shaped buoy is firmly anchored in about 550 feet of water just less than half a mile off Point Williams in West Seattle. The buoy was deployed July 30th by staff with the King County Environmental Laboratory’s Field Science Unit.
The water quality monitoring system on the buoy consists of water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, nitrate and depth sensors that collect data measurements every 15 minutes.
These sensors are suspended about three feet below the buoy. Collected data are sent via a cell phone in near real-time to the County’s marine mooring webpage where the public can access the data, at green.kingcounty.gov/marine-buoy/default.aspx.
Water quality sensors and communications equipment were repurposed from a former monitoring system that stopped functioning about one year ago.
The new water quality monitoring system is one of four locations in Puget Sound that collect data every 15 minutes.
Collected data are integrated into the County’s monthly marine monitoring program in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of marine water quality dynamics.
The county link doesn’t seem to be working right now, but this one from the BDB report is – just click the green circle off West Seattle.
HARBOR-SEAL BIRTH: If you haven’t already seen that video – which we first noticed on the website of our friends at KING 5 – it might be of interest: The surveillance system at Elliott Bay Marina, across the bay in Magnolia, recorded a harbor seal giving birth to a pup this past Monday. (In case you wonder before hitting “play,” the video is taken from a distance and does not seem graphic or intrusive, at least to us, and we’re fairly sensitive/squeamish.) KING quotes the harbormaster as saying the mom and pup headed into the water about three hours later. Harbor seals, of course, are the primary species with which West Seattle-based Seal Sitters deal; one more reminder that they have a beach cleanup coming up 9 am-noon this Saturday – this post on their Blubberblog explains how to RSVP and participate.
OCTOPUS-PROTECTION DECISION: This Friday in Olympia, the state Wildlife Commission is scheduled to make its decision about whether/how the Great Pacific Octopus should be protected. Here’s the 44-page presentation that commissioners will review – proposing options from no protection to a complete moratorium on any octopus fishing in Puget Sound. This traces back to last November’s controversy over an octopus caught in West Seattle waters. The young diver who caught it subsequently advocated in Olympia for protecting the species. The decision is scheduled to be made at 1 pm; the meeting will be live on TVW.
‘PINKAPALOOZA’: We don’t know for sure if that’s what the people in Mark Ahlness‘s photo, shared via the WSB Flickr group, were fishing for at Lincoln Park – but we do know that the every-other-year pink-salmon run, dubbed “pinkapalooza” in this story from the Seattle Times (WSB partner), is on the way. Six million of them, in fact, says The Times, with the Puget Sound catch peaking in the next few weeks.
BENEATH THE SURFACE:“Diver Laura” James has a video shot while she was out for some underwater cleanup off Alki, concurrent with the beach cleanup yesterday, mentioned here last night. This video was shot right off the sandy beach while they were out:
In addition to a “tour” of the eelgrass offshore – the grass that nourishes a variety of sea/shore life, including the beautiful brant geese who migrate here every year – you’ll also see an encounter with a “fried egg” jellyfish, the type you’ll see if you watch the water this time of year – especially off piers like Seacrest and Jack Block (where we saw several on Friday).
(UPDATED with video of entire 10-minute fireworks display)
9:49 PM: Beautiful end to what started as a foggy day! That vessel arrived off Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook in the 4500 block of Beach Drive about half an hour ago, for the “private” (but publicly visible) fireworks show we first told you about almost three weeks ago, expected to start by 10 pm. And spectators are gathering in the park to watch the fireworks. We’ll update when they’re over.
10:34 PM: If you were within earshot, you know they’ve been over for about 20 minutes – we couldn’t update until we got home from the park. Adding video when it’s ready.
11:45 PM: Though small-screen video of fireworks isn’t much like experiencing it in person – here (above) is the full 10-minute show, for posterity’s sake. We watched it from the water’s edge on the lower level of Emma Schmitz Overlook, about as close as you could get to the barge without going into the water.
ADDED SUNDAY: The cleanup on Sunday morning didn’t turn up much:
We were out as promised, and did a sweep of the beach with T & T, which also had a skiff checking the near shore. Unfortunately we were unable to find very much fireworks debris. I did find one fuse? assembly and a handful of cardboard that was IDENTICAL to the debris we clean up at the Lake Union show (it was not a consumer grade item) So I am asking folks in west seattle to keep an eye out for stuff washing up on the beach or when you are out kayaking/boarding. It will resemble a heavy duty box that got chopped up in a boat motor and by now be a bit waterlogged. There will likely be more of the blue material tube wrapped in burnt plastic items …
Like this:
Laura continued, “If you happen to find stuff that looks “different” than the normal beach trash please take a picture, note time and place, and send it to me: laura (at) pugetsoundkeeper.org.”
Another eye-catching visitor to West Seattle waters – Susan shared that photo (thanks!) of the Hugo Boss-sponsored racing yacht in Elliott Bay today. It’s a 60-foot racing yacht which with skipper Alex Thomson is touring the West Coast for the first time right now – here after a visit to Vancouver, and headed next to San Diego, according to this online report. Seattle Magazine’s Ali Brownrigg reports here that it’ll be at Bell Harbor downtown until Sunday.
We’ve received several questions about that unusual-looking ship anchored in Elliott Bay, not far from the West Seattle shore. It’s a U.S. Navy vessel, USNS Montford Point, a brand-new, first-of-its-class Mobile Landing Platform, christened this past March, delivered to the Navy in May in San Diego, where it was built. Its name is in honor of 20,000 African American Marine Corps recruits who trained at Montford Point, North Carolina, in the 1940s, according to the Navy announcement that says the other two MLPs will be named USNS John Glenn and USNS Lewis B. Puller (after the most-decorated US Marine). The Montford Point is not expected to go into operation for another year or so.
Yes, but what’s it doing here, you ask? According to this wire report, it’ll be berthed temporarily at Naval Station Everett while getting ready for a major inspection this fall. (More details in this Navy news release.) If we find out anything more about the Seattle side trip, we’ll add it.
Heads up, fireworks fans – while we don’t have 4th of July fireworks in Elliott Bay any more, there will be a show off West Seattle’s west-facing shore a few weeks later. Fauntleroy-founded Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering is getting the word out about the show as part of an event it’s producing on July 20th:
On Saturday, July 20, 2013, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering will be producing a one-time special event in the Genesee Hill neighborhood for an anniversary party. The party will be held at a private residence between 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM. At approximately 10:00 PM, a 10-minute professional fireworks display will be held on a barge on Puget Sound off the 4500 block of Beach Drive (just south of Me-Kwa-Mooks; map). Guests will be viewing this display from a private home.
For surrounding businesses or residents: if you have comments that you’d like to make about any impacts this event will have on your home or business, please e-mail our organization and the City of Seattle Special Events Committee at:
Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering
4101 Airport Way South
Seattle, WA 98108
info@tuxedosandtennisshoes.com
(206) 932-1059
Chris Swenson, Chair
City of Seattle Special Events Office
Seattle, WA 98124 chris.swenson@seattle.gov
11:03 PM: Thanks to Tony in Seaview for sending word that this yacht, just launched by Duwamish River-headquartered Delta Marine, was in West Seattle waters. Others have subsequently reported it’s been out there for hours. Tony shared two links – this one, and this one under its former name. We’re looking around for additional details.
P.S. Can’t help but wonder if it might have started out as this (sighted on a barge off Alki a year and a half ago). Anyone with a keener eye than ours care to opine?
Thanks to Heidi for sharing the photo and word of what Mountain to Sound Outfitters‘ Adventure Day Campers are up to, out on the water: She says they “haul(ed) in a derelict rope from Puget Sound onto Alki Beach.” The camp, by the way, is for 11- to 15-year-olds.
We’ve reported on it multipletimes already this year, and questions are still coming in about the “red stuff in the water” off West Seattle shores. As the non-toxic “noctiluca” bloom continues to appear, we have aerial views tonight courtesy of West Seattle photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen. Above, the view looks south toward West Seattle’s north shore. Next, a closer view as a boat goes through a patch:
And north across Elliott Bay, looking at West Point west of Discovery Park and Magnolia:
Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing photos from tonight’s The Whale Trail presentation at The Hall at Fauntleroy. She reports 100 people turned out to hear from Erich Hoyt, who TWT founder Donna Sandstrom says she was thrilled to host, because: “Almost everything I know about orcas, I first learned from reading Erich’s book, ‘Orca: The Whale Called Killer,’ way back in the early ’80s.”
Note the 23-foot inflatable orca in the background – a special touch for this event. Previous Whale Trail-presented speakers have included local orca expert Mark Sears, Keep an eye on TWT’s website for future events.
Lots of questions tonight about what looks like reddish-brown muck in the water along West Seattle shores – and some who saw it are sharing photos, too; the one above is from Cheryl via the WSB Facebook page. No, it’s not “red tide” (which as the state notes seldom looks “red” at all) – it’s another round of noctiluca, the non-toxic single-celled organisms that “bloom” when conditions are just right, and this year it’s already the second major wave – we mentioned it back in May, as well as last year, and the year before.
You’ve seen the work of West Seattle’s award-winning“Diver Laura” James – a filmmaker, photographer, writer, environmental activist – here and elsewhere over the past few years. Now, we get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get those views; much more complicated than simply jumping into the water with a camera. The video above tells that story as part of a profile of Laura’s work, made for the Puget Sound Starts Here campaign by another local filmmaker, Matthew J. Clark. Some beautiful scenery above the water, too (look for the Seacrest sequence) – Laura says it was shot in mid-April.
(Photo copyright Evgeniya Lazareva, Far East Russia Orca Project [FEROP, WDC])
One more talk is set for The Whale Trail‘s series, announced today by TWT’s Donna Sandstrom: “Adventures with Orcas in the North Pacific, From A1 Stubbs to Iceberg, the White Russian Bull,” featuring author/researcher Erich Hoyt. Big topic, and a bigger venue – after filling C & P Coffee(WSB sponsor) for each of the four previous talks, this time it’ll be at The Hall at Fauntleroy, and instead of on a weeknight, it’s on a Saturday night, June 8th (7-9 pm). Tickets are available now! Read on for the full announcement:
7:17 PM: We have multiple reports of a search under way off the Washington State Ferry Wenatchee, in Elliott Bay north of Alki Beach, after a report of someone overboard. The U.S. Coast Guard is helping search. The ferry was headed to Bainbridge Island.
7:26 PM: Wenatchee is continuing on to Bainbridge. No official report on the fate of the person reported overboard.
11:26 PM: More information late tonight from the community-news website Inside Bainbridge: They report the search started after someone on the Wenatchee reported seeing a body in the water. Searchers couldn’t find it, though, and IB says the USCG stopped searching about two hours ago.
It’s becoming an annual reminder, but an important one so newcomers (etc.) don’t get worried: If you see reddish-orange water like this off West Seattle shores, it’s not a spill, and it’s not poisonous. It’s a bloom of single-cell plankton known as “noctiluca.” Thanks to Beach Drive resident Lura Ercolano for sharing the photo she took this morning, now that the current wave has hit full bloom; she helped educate us and readers about it two years ago, too. The state tracks blooms like this, so if you see it, you’ll find an e-mail address for reporting it on this Department of Ecology page, which explains that blooms usually result from “abundant sunlight, nutrients, and the right water conditions.”
FRIDAY FOLLOWUP: The state Ecology Department has a news release this morning about the bloom, earlier than usual, they say. You can see it here.
A new marine water quality monitoring buoy launched this week by King County will provide a wealth of data about water conditions on Puget Sound to scientists and the public alike.
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