Seattle Press on Line - Boating Season Opening Day, May 4, 2002

Boating

Boating Opening Day

Boating Season Opening Day, May 4, 2002

By Jo Bailey and Carl Nyberg

Seattle Fire boat Chief Seattle shows its stuff at the close of the 2001 parade. Photo courtesy of Seattle Yacht Club.

Apr 25, 2002 -- More than 225 registered boats are expected to participate in the annual celebration of Opening Day of Boating Season on Saturday, May 4. The tradition of Opening Day in Seattle goes back to a Fourth of July celebration on the Seattle Waterfront in 1895.

Sponsored by the Seattle Yacht Club, the boats will parade past spectators crowding the shorelines in Portage Bay and the Montlake Cut, some watching from their own boats moored along log booms in the Cut.

Boat owners and crew members are now busy decorating their craft for the "Safari at Sea" theme, with prizes awarded in twelve different classes of parade boat entries, including classic sailboats and power yachts, mega-yachts, working boats, novelty decorated, youth sponsored decorated and best spirit, along with small rowing and paddle boats.

Boats wear colorful costumes during the parade. Photo courtesy of Seattle Yacht Club.

Six judges will be east of the Montlake Bridge, in an area reserved for officials, determining winners in the Opening Day Parade Ceremonies. They have been selected from the military and arts and entertainment professions. They are Peggy Scales, The Production Network; Penny Legate, KIRO TV, Channel 7; Admiral Erroll Brown, Commander 13th Coast Guard District; Rear Admiral Vinson Smith, Commander Navy Region Northwest; Colonel Ralph H. Graves, P.E., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Captain Stan Mack, Submarine Group NINE.

Plans are that, starting at 12 noon, two vessels will lead the yacht parade through the Montlake Cut and out into Lake Washington from Portage Bay. One is an 82-foot Coast Guard cutter, and the other is the recently restored 125-foot historic steamer Virginia V, the last of Puget Sound's original Mosquito Fleet. The last boat in the parade is a Seattle Fire boat.

Crewers representing Team Survivor, a support group of cancer survivors, participated in the 2001 crew races. Photo courtesy of Seattle Yacht Club.

The fire boats will delight viewers with their fusillade of water showering the bay--and possibly those spectators in Portage Bay.

As always, a major attraction on Opening Day is the races between top collegiate and international rowing teams. The first of 18 crew races starts at 10:20 a.m. and the races end with the Windermere Cup at 11:25 and 11:35 a.m. The racing shells will be easy to watch from the Montlake Bridge.

This year Olympic medallists from Australia and Switzerland are featured, as well as local rowing club teams, including the Ancient Mariners Rowing Club, and teams from the University of Washington and Stanford University. Men's and women's teams from Great Britain, Beijing, Stanford University, and the UW will compete in the 2002 Windermere Cup Crew Races.

Motorists are advised that the Montlake Bridge will be opened (closed to vehicle traffic) from about noon on May 4 until shortly after 3 p.m.

Reader Comments

Discuss this article in the forums!

No comments yet!