West Seattle, Washington
26 Tuesday
Thanks to Mark for the photo. The state ferry under tow in Elliott Bay is M/V Walla Walla, headed for the Vigor shipyard on Harbor Island. This is the ferry that ran aground on Bainbridge Island in April. That problem was attributed to contaminated fuel. But that’s not why it’s going in for repairs. This is because of recent propeller damage, Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling tells WSB. The most-recent WSF weekly update explains:
Following a significant shudder felt aboard Walla Walla Friday, we sent divers to inspect the ferry’s propellers and they found damage to one of them. The vessel will need to go into dry dock so the prop can be replaced. If no other issues are found, the boat is expected to be out of service for up to four weeks. Until it returns, plan for reduced vehicle capacity on some routes.
Also currently at Vigor is M/V Wenatchee, for conversion to hybrid-electric.
Thanks for the texted tip! The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is in view from West Seattle, southbound, six weeks after it headed out. MarineTraffic.com says it’s been headed home to Bremerton since leaving San Diego six days ago.
(Photo courtesy “Boating Motes”)
Also seen in Elliott Bay – Washington State Ferries‘ M/V Wenatchee, under tow. It’s arriving at Vigor on Harbor Island to make history as the first WSF vessel to be converted to hybrid-electric. (That’s also where the ferry was built 25 years ago.) The Wenatchee’s propulsion system also will be updated during the conversion. When it’s complete next year, it will return to service on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route, and M/V Tacoma will head to Vigor for its hybrid-electric conversion.
(Photo sent by “Boating Motes”)
Thanks for the photos and tips! That big gray boat seen in Elliott Bay off West Seattle a short time ago is the Military Sealift Command vessel USNS Fisher (T-AKR 301). MSC ships like this are basically cargo ships for the military, though their crew is civilian.
Thanks to Al for sending photos and a report from tonight’s Sunset Paddle for Maui, a West Seattle on-the-water fundraiser organized by Alki Kayak Tours. Al told us via text, “15 boats, 21 people, at least 6 sea lions, and one gorgeous sunset…”
If you couldn’t join the paddle, here’s one way to help Maui fire survivors – the Maui Strong Fund.
That video is about the current voyage of Hōkūleʻa, a 49-year-old replica of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe that’s been traveling the world for decades and is due to arrive in Seattle on Saturday. If you’re looking out at Elliott Bay on Saturday morning, you might see it on the way in, so we’re publishing this heads-up. From the announcement:
Seattle’s Tribal Nations, Native Hawaiian residents, city officials and community members are planning a special welcome for Hōkūleʻa and her crew as the Polynesian voyaging canoe sails from Suquamish and enters Elliott Bay at approximately 8:00 am on Saturday, August 26. Tribal Nations protocol will open the way for a flotilla of outrigger paddling canoes, the City’s fire boat, and other vessels that are planning to give Hōkūleʻa a water welcome before escorting the canoe toward the Seattle Waterfront.
If you go downtown, you’ll have the chance to tour Hōkūleʻa between 1 and 4:30 pm on Saturday. It’s the first day of a four-day visit; the voyaging canoe is scheduled to move to Bell Harbor Marina (2203 Alaskan Way) for 1-3 pm tour opportunities Sunday and Monday – hokulea.com will have updates. On Wednesday (August 30th), Hōkūleʻa and crew will head past West Seattle again, including the west-facing shores, journeying to Tacoma for a noon arrival there. Their current voyage is described as a “four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific” that started up in Juneau on June 15. They expect to “cover an estimated 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific, visiting 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories, and more than 300 ports … to ignite a movement of 10 million ‘planetary navigators’ by developing young leaders and engaging communities around the world to take part in navigating earth toward a healthy, thriving future.”
(Added: Photo by John Skerratt)
Thanks for the texted tip. Six weeks after the Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) got home from deployment, it’s headed out again. MarineTraffic.com shows it currently west of Alki Point, midchannel.
3:30 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos (the one above is from Shaun) and questions about that fleet of boats in view from west-facing West Seattle, first headed northbound and now eastbound into Elliott Bay. MarineTraffic.com shows it’s the entire Kitsap Transit foot-ferry fleet, 10 boats. The reason for the group trip – photo op, perhaps? – we don’t know yet but will update when we do.
4:31 PM: Kitsap Transit confirmed to us via Twitter/X: “We are working on capturing photos and videos of our ferry fleet today.”
5:13 PM: KT spokesperson Sanjay Bhatt adds via email that this is the first time they’ve ever done this.
As that photo sent by Amber shows (along with others emailed by readers – thank you!), it’s a busy day on Elliott Bay. The question: What’s everyone fishing for? The answer, salmon. Two types, according to Mark Yuasa with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who tells WSB, “Pink salmon are starting to arrive into Puget Sound,, and with almost 4 million expected to return, this should really generate a lot of anglers onto the water. This weekend inner-Elliott Bay also opens for Chinook salmon fishing.” That’s today through Monday (August 7th); for more on the pink-salmon season, go here.
(Added: USS Barry and fireboat Leschi)
12:31 PM: Now in view from Alki, the Seafair Parade of Ships, sailing past West Seattle on the way to the downtown waterfront. Participants as announced:
US Navy: USS Barry (DDG 52), a guided-missile destroyer homeported in Everett
U.S. Coast Guard: USCGC Robert Ward (WPC-1130), a cutter based in Los Angeles, and USCGC Henry Blake (WLM-563), a buoy tender (note: MarineTraffic.com IDs suggest the USCGC Wahoo [WPB 87345] is in the parade instead of or in addition to Robert Ward)
Royal Canadian Navy: HMCS Edmonton (703), HMCS Yellowknife (706), HMCS Nanaimo (MM 702)
The fireboat Leschi is greeting them, too:
12:47 PM: Approaching Duwamish Head. TV and Coast Guard helicopters in the area, too.
1:19 PM: The ships have passed West Seattle and are now downtown-bound, while we head back to HQ. As noted above, USCGC Wahoo sailed instead of USCGC Robert Ward; SPD’s Harbor 2 kept watch after it.
2:10 PM: Photos added, ours unless otherwise credited, like this one from Gary Jones at Alki Point – he noted the USS Barry was flying the flag of Hawai’i until swapped out just before the parade started passing West Seattle’s shore:
Information on touring the visiting ships this week is here.
(2022 Seafair Parade of Ships photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
This is Seafair‘s big week, and some of it will be visible from West Seattle. On Wednesday, expect Blue Angels fly-bys before the U.S. Navy demonstration team arrives at Boeing Field around 1:30 pm, but first, there’s the Seafair Fleet arrival tomorrow (Tuesday, August 1st), passing West Seattle’s Elliott Bay shores on their way to “parade” past the downtown waterfront. Today, Seafair has announced which ships are participating:
US Navy: USS Barry (DDG 52), a guided-missile destroyer homeported in Everett
U.S. Coast Guard: USCGC Robert Ward (WPC-1130), a cutter based in Los Angeles, and USCGC Henry Blake (WLM-563), a buoy tender
Royal Canadian Navy: HMCS Edmonton (703), HMCS Yellowknife (706), HMCS Nanaimo (MM 702)
The ships are due along the downtown waterfront at 1 pm so their West Seattle pass should be in the noon hour; you can usually get a good view anywhere from the Alki promenade to Seacrest Pier. Later this week they’ll be open for tours at three downtown locations – on Pier 46, Terminal 66, and Pier 68; the schedules are on the Seafair website.
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
11:31 AM: The first canoe families are arriving at Alki Beach after leaving Suquamish following a two-night stay during the first Canoe Journey since before the pandemic, the Paddle to Muckleshoot. Up to 100 canoes are expected.
Lots of backstory in our preview published last night. Hundreds of people are here, lining the beach and seawall, as arriving canoe families ask and are granted permission to come ashore.
(4:14 pm note: The stream just concluded, but you should be able watch a recorded replay here)
1:04 PM: The live stream we mentioned last night continues, showing a member of each arriving canoe family making the request, and Muckleshoot members on shore welcoming them.
The speeches – given in both Native languages and English – have been poignant, as some have spoken of “so much loss these past few years,” primarily because of the pandemic. One said they had lost their skipper to COVID. But the exchanges also have been joyful as the hosts promise the visitors “We will sing, we will dance, we will feast together.”
That will happen at the Muckleshoot Community Center in Auburn, to which the visitors will be taken by shuttle bus.
First, canoes are carried out of the water, and are parked on the beach. Many also carry flags showing where they’re from.
The paddles tell stories too.
One skipper spoke with a bit of humor:
The list of participating canoe families is here. Some families have traveled in more than one canoe. Some canoes carried members of multiple Indigenous nations and cultures – we heard introductions mentioning Hawai’i, the Navajo Nation, even the Maori of New Zealand.
4 PM: The live stream is still going as a few last canoes arrive. Some also have asked for permission to send their canoes home – by trailer – once they land. (Added: Doug Eglington saw some departures from Don Armeni:)
Many remain on the Alki sand for now, as Jamie Kinney‘s photo shows:
One of the last arrivals carried people from Alaska and B.C. The woman who spoke for them to ask permission also said they had come to ask for help in healing the Earth: “The world is toxic … support us in protecting babies and moms.”
4:13 PM: Minutes later, the final arrival – the Muckleshoot’s own canoe family. Tribal chair Jaison Elkins welcomed them.
7:09 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos! These next three are from David Hutchinson:
And these two are from Theresa Arbow-O’Connor – note the fireboat in the background of the first photo:
P.S. We drove through Alki at sunset and saw many canoes remaining on the beach, so if you missed the chance to see them, some will certainly be there tomorrow. This map shows the routes and dates taken to get here.
(Photo by Rose De Dan)
10:23 AM: As noted in our daily preview list, outrigger-canoe paddlers from around the region are at Alki Beach today for the annual “Da Grind” races, hosted by the Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club.
About 50 canoes were registered to participate. The short-course race started at 9 am and the long-course (12 miles) waves are scheduled to start around 10:30. The event ends with an award ceremony around 3:30 pm. More photos later!
6:53 PM: As promised:
The results will be posted here.
The major Seafair events are about to begin – and we have West Seattle notes on 3 of them:
MISS HOMESTREET IN WEST SEATTLE: On its way to the Tri-Cities races this weekend and the Seafair races next weekend, the Miss HomeStreet hydroplane was parked outside HomeStreet Bank-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) tonight. Above are Sharon, Bob, and Joyce from HomeStreet, and Bryan from the Miss HomeStreet crew. The hydro also was in last Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade.
SPEAKING OF PARADES … The Seafair Fleet Week Parade of Ships sails past West Seattle’s Elliott Bay shoreline on its way downtown, and that’s happening next Tuesday (August 1st). The ships are due downtown around 1 pm, which means they should be passing West Seattle around noon. The lineup hasn’t been announced yet but it will include a U.S. Navy destroyer as well as U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy ships; the participant ships then will be open for tours later in the week.
(August 2019 photo by Monica Zaborac)
BLUE ANGELS: The U.S. Navy’s demonstration team is back for the Seafair airshow this year, and they’re scheduled to arrive at Boeing Field around 1:30 pm Wednesday (August 2nd). We’re checking on whether one of the non-performing jets is scheduled to be here earlier in the week as is usually the case. The full Seafair airshow lineup and schedule for next Friday-Sunday (August 4-6) is here; the Blue Angels usually go up for practice flights on Thursday too.
Thanks to Mike Y. for the photo of the Zhen Hua 23 as it passed West Seattle, northbound, this afternoon. That’s the ship we showed you June 23rd as it passed, southbound, headed for Tacoma, carrying four new port cranes from ZPMC in China. Two were dropped off at the Washington United Terminal in Tacoma; the other two are now on their way to Los Angeles. We’ll see a similar sight this fall when two new cranes are brought to West Seattle’s Terminal 5 for its second modernized berth.
ADDED: One more photo from today, sent by Jerry Simmons:
Thanks for the tip and photo! That’s the Zhen Hua 23 passing West Seattle, carrying four China-built port cranes southward. Usually there’s a big advance alert about this kind of thing, but so far all we’ve found is that the Zhen Hua 23 is on Monday’s schedule to dock at the Port of Tacoma’s WUT (Washington United Terminals) terminal. (Terminal 5 in West Seattle is due to get cranes for the second modernized berth, but that’s still some months away.)
ADDED: Here’s the WUT announcement from when these cranes were ordered.
Two West Seattle shore sights to mention:
NEW BROWNISH BLOOM: A week ago, the reddish-orange Noctiluca bloom startled water-watchers along the West Seattle shore. Today, we got questions about a brownish-green bloom, and this photo from Manuel:
Yes, it looks like a spill. But it’s not, as explained here. Biologists say these blooms are largely nontoxic – but swallowing or inhaling them isn’t recommended.
LOW-LOW TIDE: The next round of low-low tides is on the way. Saturday at 11:02 am, it’ll be out to -2.6 feet, and then for the next four days, the lowest tides will be out past -3 feet – here’s the chart. If you head out on the beach and tread lightly, you might see sights like the ones Rosalie Miller photographed during the last round of low-low tides:
That’s an urchin with a painted anemone and sea star. If you want help identifying what you’re seeing, Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will be out at Constellation Park (63rd/Beach) and Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) during the lowest tides the next five days, starting with 9:30 am-12:30 pm tomorrow – see the full schedule here.
Thanks to James Bratsanos for the photos of a cluster of fishing boats south off Alki Point today. Online research suggested they’re likely looking for lingcod, and state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Chase Gunnell confirmed it: “Yes, May 1 is the annual lingcod fishing opener for recreational anglers in Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Rockpiles and reefs off Alki Point and Blake Island are popular fishing spots for these predatory and delicious bottomfish.”
Gunnell also notes you can find out more about lingcod fishing here.
(Photo tweeted by U.S. Coast Guard)
6:17 PM: We’re mentioning this because (a) west-facing West Seattleites might see emergency vessel/helicopter traffic as a result, and (b) the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route might get busier because of it: A Washington State Ferries boat has run aground while traveling from Bremerton to Seattle. U.S. Coast Guard vessels are at the scene where M/V Walla Walla is grounded in Rich Passage along the south side of Bainbridge Island near West Blakely [vicinity map]. It happened around 4:30 pm, WSF says, adding that initial indications are that “generator failure” was a factor. The Seattle-Bremerton run is out of service until further notice because of the mishap, as Walla Walla (50 years old) was the only boat on the run. No injuries reported, per the Coast Guard.
6:39 PM: The state Ecology Department says neither hull damage nor pollution has been detected so far. … One of the passengers stuck aboard tweeted that they’re “waiting to abandon ship but not clear how yet.”
7:50 PM: As noted in comments, Kitsap Transit has two of its foot ferries standing by to help get the passengers off the Walla Walla.
8:29 PM: And the Coast Guard says that’s happening right now:
(Photo tweeted by U.S. Coast Guard)
10:46 PM: The Coast Guard says the passenger evacuation is wrapping up and: “The rising tide will assist during the slated removal of the vessel from the shoal water. Peak high tide is at 3:23 am.”
ADDED SUNDAY: The boat indeed was refloated on the early-morning high tide and moved to Bremerton, where people were able to go retrieve their vehicles later in the morning. The Bremerton-Seattle run is being handled today by M/V Issaquah so the Walla Walla could be evaluated.
(Photo sent by Duncan)
10:20 AM: Thanks for the tips and photos! The aircraft carrier headed northbound right now is USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), confirmed via MarineTraffic.com. It arrived in Bremerton in 2021 for major overhaul work.
1 PM: You can read more about the Theodore Roosevelt’s departure – headed back to its San Diego homeport – via the Kitsap Sun.
Thanks to Rachel for the photos of Seattle Fire Department fireboat Leschi off Don Armeni Boat Ramp this afternoon. It’s not unusual to see a fireboat out testing – or sometimes welcoming (during the Seafair Fleet arrival or the first cruise ship of the season, for example) – but Rachel also heard the unmistakable strains of “Amazing Grace.” So we contacted SFD to see if it perhaps had been a memorial. Just got the reply. The Leschi was already scheduled to be out drilling, and then: “A retired Seattle Fire Boat Engineer recently passed away. The crew learned that the family was going to be at the park, so during their drill, they did a thoughtful gesture and honored Retired Fire Boat Engineer Connie Sample with a water show. One of the firefighters had his bagpipes with him and played.”
Thanks to Brooke Gosztola for the photo! In case you wondered too – the sailboats visible from west-facing West Seattle are, as best we can determine, part of a Corinthian Yacht Club race (starting and finishing at Shilshole).
Thanks for the photo and tips. Another submarine sighting off West Seattle this morning, this time inbound to Bremerton. We have an inquiry out to Naval Base Kitsap. The last passing-submarine sighting reported here, on February 10th, was eventually reported by the Kitsap Sun to have been the USS Key West, arriving for decommissioning. The one seen the day before that was the USS Louisiana, outbound after a 41-month overhaul.
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