Christmas Ship’s 1st West Seattle stops greeted with umbrellas

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(UPDATED 11:29 PM – adding photos from Alki)

In the second :30 of that clip showing the Christmas Ship and its accompanying boats sailing away from Seacrest Pier less than an hour ago, after their first West Seattle serenade this season, you’ll see all the umbrellas – lots of hardy folks weren’t going to let the rain keep them away from this holiday tradition. Yes, there was even a bonfire, plus reps from your West Seattle Community Centers serving refreshments. The Christmas Ship will be back in our waters two more times tonight, but with a different choir. In case you missed Seacrest, here’s the first number performed there by Northwest Girlchoir Vivace:

The Dickens Carolers will be on board when the Christmas Ship arrives at Lowman Beach at 8:50, and Alki Beach at 9:40 for its next two 20-minute musical stops.

ADDED 11:29 PM: We made it to the Lowman stop, not to take photos/video, just to watch/listen. On that side of the Sound, the water was topped with fog, from which the Christmas Ship seemed to emerge, a bit eerily. The rain intensified during the performance there, and it was slippery going to cross back over the grassy, muddy park to get to the sidewalk/street. From there, the ship (known the rest of the year as Argosy’s Spirit of Seattle) moved on to Alki as planned – we called it a night at that point, but David Hutchinson shares these two photos from the Alki stop:

Here’s the schedule for the rest of its season (remember, Argosy Cruises sells tickets to ride on board the Christmas Ship and its official “parade boats,” too), including a final West Seattle stop on Monday (Don Armeni, 8:40 pm with Soundwave performing).

A December 11, 2010 (9:01 pm)

We skipped it bc we thought there wouldn’t be a bonfire or snacks. And with 3 small children in the rain… not fun.

WSB December 11, 2010 (9:39 pm)

they did have bonfire and snacks, Lowman too, we just came from there (I go to Seacrest to cover for here, Lowman just to enjoy it) … but wise decision with three little ones. Totally pouring within a few minutes of arriving at Lowman. And the ground was so completely saturated, big hazard to walk across that muddy field – even the gravelly path was muddy.

Born To Be Mild December 11, 2010 (9:14 pm)

Arrgh! That thing is loud.

k December 11, 2010 (9:41 pm)

christmas ships still a big treat even in the pouring rain! i just love ’em!

Dave December 11, 2010 (9:57 pm)

It is 9:55. We are up the hill from alki and we don’t hear the ships. Did we miss them?

WSB December 11, 2010 (10:27 pm)

Last I saw of them, they were headed that way around 9:30 – we went down Beach Drive as far as Jacobsen before deciding we were too soaked from Lowman to go to Alki too – but we saw them off Me-Kwa-Mooks/Emma Schmitz still heading back toward Alki … certainly lousy sailing conditions, hope they eventually showed up?

Dunno December 12, 2010 (8:09 am)

Loud? I’m having a good laugh. I was out there and if anything, the volume was too low and muffled by the rain.
Loud:
Music at the street fair
Alki on a warm day
Blue Angels
Music at Morgan Junction fair
Sirens
That jack hammer down the street
Having a home built next to you (us)

How long did you have to listen to this loud music?

md December 12, 2010 (9:41 am)

Gotta love the seal that pops into the 2nd video (NW Girl Choir) at the end! He enjoyed it too.

Born To Be Mild December 12, 2010 (12:50 pm)

@Dunno: It’s certainly not as loud as the Blue Angels but it IS loud inside my house at 9 at night. And it’s intrusive. This is a comment, not a complaint, as I don’t think it lasts more than a half hour. I think the Xmas ship has been around as long as I remember, but it used to be something to glimpse, and if you listened carefully you could hear the music. Now it’s more like a Spinal Tap concert.

Sorry, comment time is over.