West Seattle, Washington
28 Sunday
(Added: Texted reader photo)
12:06 PM: Last Thursday, we noted that the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) was headed to its homeport in Bremerton after what’s expected to have been its last deployment before decommissioning, which means this is likely the last chance for ship-watchers to see it sail southbound past West Seattle shores. It stopped at Naval Magazine Indian Island for a few days and then left this morning for the last leg of the homeward journey; for those interested in seeing it, it should be in view relatively soon, according to the VesselFinder.com tracker, which shows it currently off North Seattle, southbound at 9+ knots.
(Added: Photo sent by Don Brubeck)
12:33 PM: Should be in view now, weather permitting, as it’s passing the north side of the mouth of Elliott Bay.
1:02 PM: Approaching Alki Point.
1:15 PM: Thanks for the photos! Adding!
1:20 PM: The half-century-old carrier has now turned into Rich Passage.
One week from tonight, the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship makes its only two West Seattle stops of the season, enhanced by the Alki Community Council‘s Alki Holiday Lights celebration, including local businesses and organizations offering holiday treats and fun. And this year, the ACC is hoping more boaters will join the party:
ACC president Charlotte Starck says all boaters are invited: “Sailboats, motorboats, yachts — come one, come all. Cruise along Alki anytime between 6–9 pm or arrive ahead of the Argosy Christmas Ship stop — whatever fits their schedule. The more sparkle on the water, the better. Last year’s crowds were very clear: they would love to see more boats join in the fun.” The Christmas Ship is due off the beach 8:35-8:55 pm; earlier in the evening, it will stop along Harbor Avenue (off Salty’s) 5:50-6:10 pm. (Here’s its full-season schedule.)
(March reader photo by Rick Cocker)
Usually we don’t get much notice of an aircraft carrier coming or going past West Seattle’s west-facing shores, sailing to or from Naval Base Kitsap. But for those interested in seeing what might be the USS Nimitz‘s final south/westbound trip this way, here’s your advance notice! The photo above is from the Nimitz’s departure back in March. It’s been at sea ever since, with its eventful “likely final” deployment including the loss of two aircraft (recently recovered). As usual, it stopped in San Diego post-deployment, and then left earlier this week to head north. While Stars and Stripes reported that Nimitz was due home December 16 – next Tuesday – tracking shows an unlabeled “US Government vessel” entering Puget Sound after sailing up from San Diego, so that timeline might have changed, unless the carrier has a stop on the way here.
TUESDAY 12/16 UPDATE: After a few days at Indian Island, trackers show the Nimitz headed this way as of 9 am today.
(WSB photo)
Two readers emailed us last night to point out that the floating crane Pacific Titan is moored in the Pier 1 area just north of the west entry to Jack Block Park (same area where hundreds gathered for the International Peace Day rally back in September). This is the largest floating crane on the West Coast, according to a spokesperson for its owners Stor Kran LLC, who emailed us about it a few weeks back, but didn’t have information at the time that it would be tied up here. Its booms alone are 330 feet; you can’t truly appreciate its size without an in-person look. If you’re interested in other stats about Pacific Titan – whose owners say it’s available for charter – here’s a news release they published on a maritime website, and here’s its page on the Stor Kran website, which notes it was formerly known as the Left Coast Lifter and used for projects including the San Francisco-Oakland bridge. According to this report from The Olympian, it spent a few weeks at the Port of Olympia before heading here.
Thanks to Gary Jones for the photos. Several readers asked today about the presence of multiple boats fishing with nets off Alki Point.
They’re purse seiners that show up about this time many years (here’s one of our past reports), fishing for chum salmon.
If you’re interested in the rules, maps, etc., here’s the 56-page document (which we also linked when purse seiners showed up briefly two months ago).
(Thanks to City Councilmember Dan Strauss’s newsletter for the image)
That’s the tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, and while we can’t say whether all those sails will be up, if you have a view of Elliott Bay on Wednesday morning, you might see it sail in for a 9 am arrival at Pier 66 downtown. It’s headed here as part of One Ocean Week, during a year-long voyage across Europe, North America, Central America, and South America (see the map here), promoting ocean sustainability. One Ocean Week, “catalyzing the Blue Economy,” includes a slate of local events, including a waterfront festival this Friday and Saturday; see the schedule here. That includes tours of the tall ship, 2-5 pm Friday, but you have to pre-register – here’s how.
Two sights sent by readers a short time ago:
SUBMARINE: A texter sent that photo of a submarine as it passed Alki Point, headed toward Bremerton.
RAINBOW: While the Mariners are playing right now at Toronto, their stadium back here at home is receiving a rainbow. Thanks to Kelly Malloy for the photo! This follows an unexpectedly sunny afternoon, but more rain is likely on the way.
3:59 PM: Seattle Fire is responding by land and sea to a boat off Beach Drive (near Shore Place) with a man and dog on board, now reporting that they are taking on water, according to the dispatch. Responders got a call about this boat earlier today, but at the time, the boater was reported to have said he didn’t need help, just had a dead battery, so that response was canceled fairly quickly.
4:05 PM: Crews just told dispatch that the boater reports 2 1/2 feet of water in his engine compartment, so they’re trying to get some equipment to help with that.
4:43 PM: Thanks to the reader who texted that photo. The fireboat crew has just told dispatch that they’ll be towing the boat to Don Armeni Boat Ramp.
Several WSB readers were startled to see purse-seine fishing off West Seattle these past few days – the photo above was taken from Lincoln Park on Tuesday, and another one came in from Upper Alki today:
Purse-seine fishing uses a net to scoop up the catch, which in this case is the same fish that’s filled Lincoln Park’s north shore with people, pink salmon. According to this state Fish and Wildlife Department document, the commercial season in this part of Puget Sound is in its second of three weeks. We’ve run various photos of this type of fishing off West Seattle over the years, but they’ve historically been later in the year, like these scenes from November 2021.
12:21 PM: We’re on Duwamish Head, near Luna/Anchor Park, as the Seafair Parade of Ships fleet approaches West Seattle’s shore, where the participating ships will turn eastward in Elliott Bay to “parade” past the downtown waterfront. Leading the way, as announced by the U.S. Navy this morning, is the amphibious-transport-dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), followed by the guided-missile destroyer USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), and U.S. Coast Guard ships we’ll ID as they come into view. SFD fireboat Leschi is headed westward in the bay to meet them, as usual.
(Fireboat Leschi, this photo and next two by Gary Jones)
(USS Somerset)
(USS Jack H. Lucas)
12:49 PM: The ships, led by Leschi with a festive spray show, are passing Duwamish Head now. … Sailors are lining the decks of both Navy ships. Helicopters are also in view on the Somerset’s deck. … The Navy tug YT801 Washtucna is between the Somerset and Jack H. Lucas. Unlike past years, they don’t appear to have Coast Guard vessels trailing the Navy ships – just one small USCG vessel in view alongside, so this is a short parade.
1:15 PM: The ships are now approaching downtown.
(Photo by Doug Eglington)
The Navy ships will be open for tours at Pier 46’s USCG facility 10 am-4 pm Thursday-Sunday – all the details are here.
ADDED 5:23 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos! The next four are from David Hutchinson – first, a USCG helicopter that flew over before the ships arrived:
Here are the helicopters we mentioned seeing on the Somerset’s deck:
Another full view of that ship:
And of the Jack H. Lucas:
Both of the Navy ships are now docked at the Coast Guard’s downtown facility, where the aforementioned tours will be held.
We’re in the heart of summer and there is no better time to get out on the water. Alki Kayak Tours and Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor) are offering a new way for you to do that – here’s the announcement that Alki Paddle Club has launched:
Alki Paddle Club is a new membership-based community club aiming to connect West Seattleites on and off the water. Membership includes access to three tours or specialty classes, a 50% discount on any rentals, and exclusive member-only events. We offer three sea kayak tours daily: an Alki Lighthouse tour, an Elliott Bay tour, and a Sunset tour. Our classes include an introduction to stand-up paddleboarding, an introduction to sea kayaking, and a sea kayaking rescue and recovery class.
Alki Kayak Tours offers rentals of bikes, longboards, SUPs, sit-on-tops, and sea kayaks, both with single and tandem options. We provide all the necessary gear to have a memorable time on or off the water.
You can sign up for Alki Paddle Club by going here.
Website links are:
www.kayakalki.com
www.m2soutfitters.com ”
That’s the destroyer USS Sampson, the U.S. Navy‘s contribution to last year’s Seafair Parade of Ships. Once again this year, Seafair says the Navy won’t announce until tomorrow – the day of the waterborne parade – which of its ships will sail past the West Seattle and downtown waterfronts, ending up at Pier 46’s Coast Guard Event Center, where the ship(s) will be open to public tours Thursday-Sunday. U.S. Coast Guard ships will be part of the Parade of Ships too, also as-yet unannounced. To watch the Parade of Ships, just be somewhere on the north-to-northwest-to-northeast-facing West Seattle shore around noon – from Alki Point to Jack Block Park. For tours, 10 am-4 pm Thursday-Sunday (note that the Navy website says 4 pm while the Seafair website says 3 pm), here are the Navy’s rules; note that RealID-compliant identification is required, so if you haven’t gotten around to that yet, you won’t be allowed aboard.
(Photo courtesy Northwest Open Water Swimming Association)
That’s Justin Davis, right after he completed what the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association calls the Amy Hiland Swim, Bremerton to Alki Point, this afternoon, as previewed here earlier this week. Supporters were there to cheer his achievement:
(Video by Chris Hasse, courtesy NOWSA)
We didn’t make it to the rocky shore of Alki Point until shortly after Justin arrived (and then left), so we didn’t get to talk with him, but Amanda Winans of NOWSA was there and told us that Justin – in his first official marathon swim – set the unofficial course record, 3:52:16, and is the first male swimmer to solo the 10.4-mile route. Also there was Chelsea Lee, who as also mentioned in our story earlier this week is preparing for a marathon swim, planning to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca – also 10.4 miles – this Friday or Saturday, depending on the wind forecast. She is exuberantly excited about the swim. They’re all members of the Notorious Alki Swimmers, the open-water swimmers often seen in Elliott Bay right off the beach.
3:27 PM: Emergency responders are headed for the 2600 block of Alki Avenue SW, where a person is reported in possible distress with a flipped canoe about 100 feet out. Updates to come.
3:29 PM UPDATE: Police/fire just told dispatch that the person in the canoe was assisted by paddleboarders and is no longer in trouble, so they’re canceling the response.
A once-a-year sight on Alki today – outrigger canoes arriving and departing for the Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club‘s annual “Da Grind” day of racing.
The racing wrapped up at mid-afternoon, after competition on 4-mile and 12-mile courses.
It was a sight on the sand, too, as participating clubs set up tents for the day.
Results eventually will be linked at the bottom of this page.
12:10 PM: That’s a U.S. Coast Guard file photo of the Eagle, a tall ship the USCG uses for training. It’s on the way to visit the USCG station on the downtown waterfront, so you’ll see it in Elliott Bay later today (we just checked Vessel Finder, and it’s in the North Sound, about to turn southward along Whidbey Island, traveling at 11 knots right now so likely a few hours out).
P.S. Checking the WSB archives, we covered a visit by the Eagle in 2008.
3:18 PM: And that was the last time it visited here, according to this USCG news release which includes info about public tours the next two days. Meantime, VesselFinder shows that the Eagle is just passing West Point right now, so it should be in Elliott Bay soon.
4:42 PM: Thanks to Steven Rice for the photo as Eagle sailed into the bay:
One day after Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth returned to three-boat service after almost three years, another milestone for Washington State Ferries – a builder has been chosen for its next three new boats. From the announcement:
Governor Bob Ferguson today announced he has selected the $714.5 million bid from Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries. Washington State Ferries (WSF) will move forward with the contracting process, following the first competitive bid for ferry construction in more than 25 years. …
The contract award comes after a comprehensive year-long process of advertising, pre-qualifying shipyards, and answering shipyard requests for clarification. Two shipyards submitted bids. Eastern’s bid was 6% lower than WSF’s own engineer’s estimate, and significantly lower than the other bidder.
The shipyard bid is only part of the new build process. There is an additional approximately $150 million for the first vessel for owner-furnished equipment, construction management, WSF crew training, and risk contingencies. This brings the cost of the first vessel to approximately $405 million, the second to $360 million, and the third to $325 million, as contingency risk decreases with lessons learned from each previous construction. …
According to its website, Eastern Shipbuilding Group has built more than 350 vessels, including ferries. It was one of two bidders; the other was Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island. State law was changed to allow ferries to be built out of state.
1:22 PM: Just a note in case you’re hearing the cannon fire: The Seafair Pirates, aboard the landing craft Prudhoe Bay again this year, are on their way to storm Alki Beach. Updates to come.
1:38 PM: The Pirates have arrived. Lots of cannon fire preceded. We’re told they’ll seize the key to the city from a deputy mayor.
2:06 PM: Still awaiting that.
2:49 PM: All the antics and ceremony aboard Moby Duck – with Queen Alcyone (former SPD Chief Carmen Best), King Neptune (former TV news anchor Eric Johnson), and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong – has concluded. Separate report later with pics and video! (Update: See all that here.)
Thanks to Steven Rice for the photos as the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords arrived in Elliott Bay today.
Vigor has a $55+ million contract to work on the Gabrielle Giffords, named for the former Arizona U.S. House member who survived an assassination attempt 14 years ago. She visited the ship at the Harbor Island shipyard when it was previously here for work four years ago.
(First five photos by Oliver Hamlin for WSB)
A few hours into today’s air-and-sea SWAT drill off West Seattle, we had the chance to visit the staging area on Port of Seattle property, where participating officers were boarding helicopters. The “helipad” used for the occasion was a big empty lot just south and uphill from the port-property entrance across from the Harbor Island 7-11.
Three law-enforcement helicopters were coming and going, delivering officers to participating vessels off both the north and west shores of West Seattle, including the King County Water Taxi‘s M/V Sally Fox:
Officers also were deployed from law-enforcement boats:
We asked King County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division Chief Jeff Flohr, who’s in charge of SWAT and other teams, about the drill scenario and who was involved:
KCSO had three of its four helicopters participating – two were Guardian Twos (the Hueys with the unmistakable low and loud chopping sound – listen to our short clip)
Also participating, one of KCSO’s two Guardian Ones, the newer one; these are the helicopters most seen in crime-related responses, the only law-enforcement helicopters in the region, so they assist other agencies including Seattle Police,.
Though the original announcement had the training running as late as 7 pm, Chief Flohr said the flights will be over no later than 3:30.
(Texted reader photo)
We’ve been hearing from people about police-boat activity seen off West Seattle shores, involving various commercial boats (Kitsap Transit, Victoria Clipper among the sightings reported). Turns out that the type of drill we got warning of for tomorrow, involving the Water Taxi, apparently are happening with other agencies today, although the time frame in this representative tweet is a little off.
(Photo by Javier Fosado)
Thanks for the photos! As noted in our WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – because we finally remembered THIS year to check in advance – today is a big day for fishing in the waters off West Seattle. It’s the one-day, four-hour “season” for recreational spot-shrimp fishing, 9 am to 1 pm.
(Photo by Mark Bauschke)
We haven’t been to Don Armeni Boat Ramp for a look but on this day every year it’s usually full of trailers, and the area will be busy once the closing time is past this afternoon. The state says spot shrimp are the largest shrimp in Puget Sound and can grow to nine inches long.
That’s one of our photos from a law-enforcement tactical drill off West Seattle shores in 2016. The King County Sheriff’s Office has sent this advance alert of something similar planned for this Thursday:
The King County Sheriff’s Office TAC-30 and Seattle SWAT teams will be conducting a maritime training exercise in West Seattle in support of our regional transit partners on May 22nd, 2025 from 7 am-7 pm. There will be Officers and Deputies near Jack Block Park and the West Seattle Water Taxi Terminal (1660 Harbor Ave SW) wearing SWAT equipment and uniforms. There will also be several police helicopters and vessels operating in the area. There will be no interruption to the normal Water Taxi schedule for commuters. We have made every effort to ensure aircraft flight paths stay over the water as much as possible to minimize any disruptions. King County’s TAC-30 and Seattle SWAT are constantly training to provide the citizens of King County with quality police services.
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