West Seattle, Washington
01 Friday
Thanks to our friend Rebecca from Ravenna Blog, who watches the Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners more closely than we do, for first word on this. What’s in the U.S. military photo above is the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, and it’s on its way to West Seattle’s Vigor (formerly Todd) Shipyards for $27 million in maintenance work also involving Boeing. It’ll be here for about three months, and is expected to arrive in the next week or so. The Sea-Based X-Band Radar belongs to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency; a news release described it as “one of the sensors for our nation’s missile-defense system … to identify ballistic-missile threats to our nation and relay that information to the communications, command and control center for missile defense.” It’s 240 feet wide, 390 feet long, and 280 feet high from the keel to the top of the radar dome. If you are a boater, note that there’s a “vessel protection zone” planned while it’s here – including a 100-yard keep-away zone. We’re told the media will be allowed in for a closer look while it’s here.
11:02 AM: Per the Orca Network‘s e-mail and Facebook alerts, several orcas have been seen this past hour in Elliott Bay – the sighting reports are closer to downtown, but that still means you might spot them from Alki/Harbor Avenues. Let us know if you do! Since the residents don’t usually come this far south this time of year, it’s believed these would be the “transients” that have been in the area.
1:25 PM UPDATE: Sounds like they have headed back out of the bay, according to comments on the Orca Network FB page.
Thanks to Guy for the sighting and Tracy for the ID (both via Facebook), and JayDee for the photo via e-mail: That’s the USS John C. Stennis, CVN-74, heading northbound in Puget Sound, past West Seattle, on the way to Southern California. The Kitsap Sun reports this seven-week trip will provide the Stennis crew and members of its strike group with training for an upcoming deployment to the Middle East.
It’s gray-whale season in Puget Sound – and there may be one in our area. Kevin sent this report Saturday night:
My wife and I and several others spotted a whale just off of the shore at Lincoln Park around 8:20 pm this evening. It was in the shallow water between the park and the ferry landing and eventually went back out to the sound near Blake Island. We aren’t sure what type of whale it was, but it looked like a gray whale and was on the smaller side. Have there been any other reports of this? We were unable to get a picture.
First place we checked was the Orca Network Facebook page, where sure enough, one person had posted “I live in SW Seattle. Near Seola beach. My neighbors have seen an Orca possibly in trouble, close to shore, with irregular breathing,” and then amended, ” It turns out it may have been a gray whale, according to another neighbor. Last seen heading north towards the Fauntleroy Ferry.” No further reports so far, but again, this is the season in which a few grays are spotted in Puget Sound; it was mid-April of last year when a gray whale stranded and died in West Seattle’s Arroyos neighborhood, and that was about two weeks after a gray whale spent the day swimming close to West Seattle’s shore. (If you see a marine mammal in distress, there’s a hotline: 800-853-1964.)
ADDED 10:20 AM: Stacey shares this photo from a week ago – no way to tell if it was the same whale, but if you haven’t seen one before, that gives you an idea of what a sighting might look like:
She explains, “We saw a gray whale off of 30th Ave SW in Shorewood last Sunday. It stayed around for a while going back and forth.”
(March photo by Kevin McClintic)
A note we received this afternoon said it looked like an Argosy Cruises boat was stuck during today’s very-low tide off Alki. Turns out, it wasn’t stuck, though Argosy gets that question about this boat all the time, and we had in fact asked them about it recently, intending to eventually write a story, so here it is: The one that’s seen off Alki frequently – anchored for hours at midday/early afternoon – is the Goodtime II, and Argosy’s Maureen Black explained that it’s used by Pacific Marine Research: “PMR is an educational organization that arranges marine science field trips in Puget Sound for local schoolchildren to help them understand Puget Sound and the watershed. Since 1972, Argosy Cruises has been providing boats and crew for the approximately 80 field trips held yearly from March to September. ” This promotional video shows what it is they’re up to during their field trips:
You can find out more at Pacific Marine Research’s website.
From one of the wonderful photographers who has been kind enough to share their work here: Danny McMillin spotted this otter near Cormorant Cove along Beach Drive Friday night. Gives us another occasion to note that the otters we see here in West Seattle are not sea otters – those are the furry, more compact creatures that live out in the open ocean; these are river otters.
They do spend time out of the water as well as in it, so when you’re driving along Alki Avenue, Harbor Avenue, or Beach Drive, among other close-to-the-water streets, they’re another reason to be extra-watchful.
Thanks to CL for the view of Crystal Symphony this morning, with Anchor/Luna Park in the foreground. This is the first cruise ship to visit Seattle this season; it was scheduled to dock this hour at Pier 66. CL also had shared the Port of Seattle‘s link to the full-season schedule – see it here – things really pick up next month.
Just a few hours after Washington State Ferries sent a news release announcing that its new Todd (Vigor) Shipyards-built Salish is out on sea trials, before joining its sibling Chetzemoka on the Port Townsend run, it’s been spotted off Fauntleroy. Dan Jessup shared photos and this report:
The new ferry Salish just sped by the Fauntleroy area quite close to shore. The picture (with the crow) shows how fast the Salish was moving as it passed close in front of the ferry Sealth, which was approaching the Fauntleroy ferry dock. The second picture of the Salish was a few minutes later as it had passed Brace Point into the Endolyne area. This occurred about 13:05 today.
The third ferry in the Salish and Chetzemoka’s Kwa-di Tabil class, Kennewick, is under construction at Todd/Vigor right now.
EDITOR’S NOTE: West Seattle writer Jen Boyer covered “Deadliest Catch” stars and fans at the “CatchCon” annual gathering last year, and we published her work as a WSB Extra. This year, after part of the cast kicked off their promo tour with that recent Alki Tavern stop, Jen cast off to the big event again, and netted an interesting ride home.
Story and photos by Jen Boyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
For the third year in a row, die-hard “Deadliest Catch” fans descended on Seattle’s Pier 66 for CatchCon on Saturday. Discovery Channel’s convention for its crab-fishing reality show greeted a record 2,037 fans to mix, mingle, rub elbows with the fishing crews, and get a taste of crab-fishing tasks.
Photos to share before the night’s out: The owl in a Lincoln Park tree is courtesy of Patrick McCaffrey – thanks! Patrick says he’s been “getting to know a growing group of photographers, young and old, at Lincoln Park who greatly enjoy (the park’s) birds.”
Next, thanks to Bob A, who captured the USS John C. Stennis this morning from his Admiral backyard, as the carrier passed West Point, headed northward, out of Puget Sound:
That’s NOT the same carrier that came home to Everett this morning; that was the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Stennis left Bremerton for pilot-qualifying; here’s a story from the Kitsap Sun.
And Luckie shared photos from tonight’s Lafayette Elementary Science Fair – here we have a “pneumatic kid elevator”:
“Brought to you by the folks behind Skeleton Theatre,” she adds. Click ahead for three more!Read More
(2009 photo of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft hosting a visitor)
If you have a lost/found item, we’ll usually direct you to the WSB Forums (or to the WSB Pets page if it’s a pet). But then there are the occasional very unusual items that turn up or go missing … like the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft off west Alki. Joy’s husband Guy Smith sent word last night that, 2 days after he reported it missing, it’s been found, thanks to helpful Beach Drive residents Trish and Dawnie, who he wanted to thank publicly for being good neighbors: “They spotted the buoy and raft moving north, and when it got close enough they disconnected the buoy and anchor lines and hauled that part up to their bulkhead. They tried to drag the raft higher, but it is too heavy. We hauled away the easy part, but left the raft tethered to a rock until we get help to move it. Here’s hoping it stays in place.” Rafts like this – vulnerable to the elements no matter what their owners do – are considered valuable as a place for seals and other wildlife to rest, away from the potential dangers on shore.
(Photo added 6:20 pm, taken by Jon from state ferry near Southworth – more to be added)
ORIGINAL 1:27 PM REPORT: From Orca Network, a report that the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry spotted “a lot of orcas” off Alki Point less than half an hour ago, heading south. Looking waterward, we see a big group of small boats in mid-Sound off South Bainbridge/North Blake Island – can’t tell if they’re following whales, though. Let us know if you see ’em! (P.S. And if you love orcas, don’t miss The Whale Trail‘s special event @ Duwamish Longhouse this Thursday night – details here.)
6:21 PM: Jon shared photos he took from near Southworth – THANKS!
One more round of views of the incredible sun, wind and waves from Saturday – First, from David Rosen of SlickPix Photography, up, up, and away over the surf! A shoreside view of something similar, from Kenna of Kenna Klosterman Photography:
Next, Craig Young caught sea-sprayed kids on the Alki boardwalk …
… and Cheryl from Cnellis Photography found people running from/through the megawaves:
And the waves left behind quite the cleanup job, as David Hutchinson documented:
Hope nobody spent much time cleaning it all up Saturday afternoon/evening, since 6 am today brings an even-higher tide than yesterday … 12.9 feet. (Minus the north wind, though.)
ADDED: Fritz Rud‘s photo of the waves at sunset along Alki – hadn’t quite calmed down yet!
(Saturday night note – another roundup in the works with today’s great photos – editor@westseattleblog.com if you have one to share)
Before we move on to the rest of today’s news, more photos of this morning’s confluence of high tide, north wind, and full moon (thanks to everyone for sharing!) … Above, Cormac captured the seaspray at Alki. Someone else who lives near Alki Point e-mailed to say it was so fierce early this morning, they were getting soaked on the second floor of their building. From a bit more of a distance, David Hutchinson sends this rosy view of the Olympics and a choppy-sea-navigating tugboat:
David reported it was about 34 degrees (before the wind chill!) when he sent that. (added) Later in the morning, Danny McMillin photographed the wave action, with Mount Constance towering overhead:
And how about one more shot of the moonset?
That’s courtesy of Leaf, taken along Beach Drive. If you want to see something close to any of the above again – tomorrow morning just might bring a repeat – except for the part about the gusty wind. The tide will be a bit higher than it was this morning when it peaks just after 6 tomorrow morning; the Sunday forecast looks just as clear as today.
Though they’re to the south of us at last report, local orca experts did spot whales in West Seattle waters again today, and sightings on the Orca Network Facebook wall affirm this. We mention it so that you can be on the lookout between now and dusk – on days when they pass here headed southbound, they often reappear in this area late in the day (last Sunday, orcas made a very close pass by Alki, and some even went on into Elliott Bay, toward downtown). We’ll add updates here if they’re seen in our waters again before dark.
P.S. West Seattle-founded The Whale Trail has another presentation coming up that orca fans won’t want to miss – find out about Tucker, the dog who’s helping save orcas! It’s at the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle at 7 pm February 24th, and advance tickets are available now – full details on The Whale Trail’s website.
Three gorgeous pictures came in from wonderful West Seattle photographers today – we’re sharing two tonight, and saving one for tomorrow’s morning preview. Thanks to Mike Scharer for the paddleboarder picture above, and Robin Lindsey (also known for her Seal Sitters work) for the great-blue-heron image below:
Got a photo to share with your West Seattle neighbors via WSB? Here’s how.
4:12 PM: Local whale experts have spotted the orcas off West Seattle again – Fauntleroy and heading north within the past hour – so if you’re by the water, keep an eye out.
4:28 PM: A caller just mentioned that there’s a NOAA research boat in the area of the whales – so if you’re looking for them, look for that boat.
To our knowledge, no one reported spotting the distinctive dark fins of orcas off West Seattle shores today, but Trileigh is sharing photos tonight of a not-so-everyday sea-lion sighting:
My partner and I encountered a wonderful Sea Lion spectacle at the Lincoln Park beach this afternoon. There were several sea lions-at least three or four. At first they were just drifting around off the north beach, looking like logs except that they’d raise their heads every once in a while. Then we saw a single sea lion further offshore, resting on its back with flippers up, just like a big sleepy bear in the water!
We walked to the beach south of Colman Pool, and then things got really interesting. A big brown female sea lion was actively fishing, much to the excitement of the gulls flocking overhead and on nearby water … Word apparently got around, and soon she was joined by three additional sea lions (maybe those were the guys lounging around by the north beach). They dove and did headstands as they hunted underwater.
(The next photo shows) that the sea lions were pretty good fishers.
What a wonderful place to live!
12:26 PM: If you have followed the comments on our original Wednesday story about the dead cow that washed up on Beach Drive, you know it was towed away by Seattle Police Harbor Patrol this morning. We are at Don Armeni, where they have just turned it over to Seattle Animal Shelter agents.
1:13 PM: As one of the SAS agents told us, it’ll be difficult for anything to live up to this – for at least the rest of the day! This morning, Beach Drive Blog kayaked over to the latest discovery site to talk with police (video interview in this story). They also tweeted when the SPD boat towed the cow away, and that’s when we picked up the chase. Watching the police boat pass Duwamish Head very slowly – and spotting a SAS truck passing us on Alki Avenue – we put two and two together and continued on to Don Armeni.
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
That’s where we found the agents awaiting the boat (and awaiting the rendering truck they had called for). In short order, the police boat tied up – cow in tow:
The agents pulled the cow onto the boat ramp, and kept their truck there guarding it till Bud Mothershed from QAR Rendering Services in Graham showed up. Note what’s written on the side of his truck:
Once he’d winched the cow up off the ramp and into his truck, Bud gave us a refrigerator magnet that points out his company deals in “dead stock removal” and “private cremations.” He’s been in business more than 30 years. And he’s the last stop for the mystery cow of Beach Drive – whose origins remain unknown, though the speculation continues (did it float over from Vashon, which has a history of cattle ranching?), and may for quite some time.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: The Beach Drive residents whose beach was the cow’s final unplanned West Seattle stop have sent word of praise for authorities – read on:Read More
Second day in a row for orca sightings in this part of the Sound – they were seen off Maury Island earlier, headed south, but now we got a text from our whale-expert tipsters saying they’re headed back this way, just sighted off Point Robinson.
1:51 PM UPDATE: As Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail notes in comments, her fellow West Seattle-based whale expert Jeff Hogan from Killer Whale Tales reports that the whales split into two groups, one headed north, one headed south. (Thanks also to Orca Network for its alerts via various channels.)
THURSDAY NIGHT P.S.: Right before dusk, the whales were seen in the Fauntleroy area, putting on quite a show. They had passed Maury/Vashon again on the way back north, and one viewer posted this incredible photo on Facebook.
7:41 AM: Just got a call from Amy, who says she’s spotted orcas heading south, off Fauntleroy. Off to take a look!
8:12 AM: No luck from just south of Fauntleroy. Let us know if you see them (for quick reports – on anything that’s “happening now” – call/text 206-293-6302 any time)
9:10 AM: Just texted – orcas heading down EAST side of Vashon (update from a moment ago, the 2nd text we received corrected the 1st).
Thanks to David Rosen of SlickPix Photography for these Alki views from early this morning at the peak of the winter’s highest tide, 13.3 feet, which will be replicated tomorrow morning at 7:25 am.
These extra-high tides are known as “king tides,” and as mentioned here the other day, the state is asking photographers to share their pictures, to learn more about the potential effects of coastal flooding.
Thanks to JayDee for the photo from Wednesday night’s moonrise, a perfect bookend to a day that began with an incredible moonset (nice views from Beach Drive Blog too). This full moon is bringing another round of very high tides – this morning, it’s up to 12.8 feet just before 6 am; this round will peak with the highest tides this winter, 13.3-foot high tides (per the chart we use) in the 7 am vicinity Saturday and Sunday. The state, by the way, is looking for your photos of these so-called “king tides.” P.S. Back to the moonrise – check out this breathtaking non-WS view sent via Twitter.
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