A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound

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 A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound: July 2021

After purchasing Amy Marie we spent some time customizing her to our tastes.  She was well maintained and loved by previous owners so not much was needed.  We focused our efforts on "tuning" storage, becoming familiar with onboard systems, adding a memory foam topper in the V-berth and other items to prepare her for the type of cruising we wanted to do.  The difficult part of the preparation has been trying to fit all the "toys" we want to bring into her 27' length.  The toy list included folding bikes and a stand-up paddle board.

Our first day we visited Seattle.  We overnighted in Elliot Bay Marina

Seattle has such  a distinctive skyline.  It is especially striking when approaching by boat.
Elliott Bay Marina is just north of downtown Seattle.  A good staging spot for traversing the Chittenden Locks into Lake Union and Lake Washington.  It is a clean Marina with great facilities.
Cocktail hour was enhanced by the wonderful sunset over the distant Olympic mountains.

The next morning our propane tank ran dry while cooking breakfast.  So we loaded it on my bike headed to the nearest filling station about 3 miles from the boat.  The Elliott Bay Bike Trail took us most of the way.  The hidden benefit was some morning exercise along with a newly filled bottle of propane.
An enthusiastic crowd greeted us the next day as we traversed our first lock ever.  We prepared by spending several hours, a couple of days earlier, watching other boater move through the locks.  We also talked to the attendants to get their pointers.  It helped tremendously.  The final indoctrination is actually moving through the locks.  While we were anxious, it went well.
Beth checks our lines, tied to the floating wall, as we traverse the lock.

A map of the lock

Now out of the lock we head toward Lake Union.


Of course, Lake Union is surrounded by houseboats of all shapes and sizes.


A rowing center on Lake Union

The canal that connects Lake Union to Lake Washington

A modest home on Lake Washington with their quaint fishing boat at dock


The Andrew's Bay anchorage had a bit of a party vibe going



More local color

On the trip back to salt water the change back to sea level was a drop of 24 feet

We next visited the little town of Winslow on Bainbridge Island.  Very nice - we would return

Boats at dock in Winslow


Tall Ship Lady Washington sailing the sound.



We stayed overnight at Bremerton.  Took the ferry across to Port Orchard and visited the Destroyer USS Turner Joy

On the foredeck of the USS Turner Joy


Inside the USS Turner Joy

Touring the crew space on the USS Turner Joy


We visited Blake Island.  

Gig Harbor is such a well protected harbor.  We anchored for two nights

The first morning at Gig Harbor we woke to low clouds.  The sun came out in the afternoon

An Eagle watches for "lunch"




The Sons of Norway Hall in Poulsbo




We love Keyport.  Found a nice Mercantile for lunch and the Naval Undersea Museum


The Deep Submersible Trieste II 

The Museum

The control room from a nuclear sub

A divers suit

Up Periscope!

A Howell torpedo

The Mercantile near the Keyport Public Dock

Yay!  Ice Cream

Amy Marie at dock in Keyport
The Dock is free for up to 6 hours
This allows time to visit the Naval Undersea Museum









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