The Classic Yacht Association held a boat show at the Bell
Street Marina, so we went down to the waterfront to play tourist.
The Seattle waterfront is undergoing a massive
transformation. Construction, traffic,
barriers, detours, it’s a delightful mess.
But you can see the promise and the hope of what could and likely will
be. Once the Viaduct is down, there’s
an opportunity for a near world-class waterfront.
Once we got through the mess, we went to the Marina and visited the boats, many of which were open for boarding.
The Classic boats represented a wide spectrum of
yesteryear. From the elegant ‘Olympus’
to a small liveaboard ‘well used’ old wooden boat. The ‘Olympus’ had a surprisingly small wheel house. 3 people could fit in it – but just barely. But nothing was spared with the elegant
salon and separate – and magnificient – formal dining room. The ‘Olympus’ was from an age where owners
ruled and the skipper – paid hand – was relegated to hired help.
Our favorite was the ‘Corsair II’. Built in 1926, she’s had the same owners for over 30 years. 50 feet long but impressively narrow, she
carried the elegance of her years on scale that one could relate to. Her pilothouse was comfortable with a nice
cushioned bench seat. A great platform
for going north. All the time worrying
that some part from the 1920’s was about to fail…..
There were 3 cruise ships in town and the ‘Norwegian Jewel’
left as we departed the show.
Seattle’s “Big Wheel” was nearing completion and just had to
include a shot of the space needle as we played tourist.
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