Boating Opening Day – Seattle

Boating Opening Day on Saturday, May 4, 2013, is the official opening of Seattle's boating season. It is sponsored by the Seattle Yacht Club and includes many kinds of water activities. It will include a morning of crew races staring at 10:20 am and the grand Opening Day boat parade starting at noon. Participating yachts will be decorated to illustrate this year's theme for Opening Day, "Hawaiian Magic." The crew races are west to east through Montlake Cut and the boat parade is east to west through the Cut. Seattle has historically celebrated important occasions with water festivities. The Elliott Bay Yacht Club, the forerunner of the Seattle Yacht Club, held a regatta including several classes of boats in Elliott Bay for the Fourth of July, 1895.

The first SYC Opening Day took place in early May 1913 with a parade and a regatta in Elliott Bay. The first Opening Day parade through the Montlake Cut was in 1920 after the Seattle Yacht Club moved to its new (and present) facilities in Portage Bay.

Over the years, events such as the University of Washington crew races have become a part of the day's traditional festivities. Many spectators watch these popular races through the Montlake Cut from the shore, boats or TV. Opening Day 2013 marks the 29th anniversary of the Windermere Cup.

Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day has become the nation's largest regional celebration of water, spring and the opening of boating season. Opening Day in Seattle is a family and party affair. A huge spectator fleet lines the start of the crew races and the end of the boat parade from Montlake Cut east into Union Bay and Lake Washington. Spectator boats are also decorated (optional) and families and friends spread blankets on the shoreline and spend hours watching and picnicking.

On 5/7/11 Susan and I launched our new boat, “Happy Hours,” and, with our wonderful crew, we proceeded to Seattle’s Boating Opening Day celebration and boat parade. Tom’s Boat Shop and I entered Happy Hours in the parade. The Opening Day theme was "Salish Sea Treasures" and we received the Alaska Airlines Trophy for 1st place in our class (Decorated Commercial). Last year, with very stiff competition, we placed third. We are entered again this year. We hope to see you there!

2012 Summer in Seattle

 

The Dykstras’ summer on Lake Washington was the best ever! 2012 set the record with 81 days (mid July through mid October) with less than 0.03 inches of rain. We were out on our boat, Happy Hours, 53 days with family and friends. Comments from out-of-towners include, “Our most memorable day in the Seattle area.” Comments from locals include, “The best day of our summer.”

This is our second year with the boat and its reputation has grown. The number and length of visits from relatives and out-of-town friends increased. The grandkids learned to water ski behind the boat. Everyone loves the water slide! We’ve relaxed viewing the Map of the Stars, just enjoying the lake, going to waterfront restaurants and sunset rides. We viewed houses for sale and sold with Realtor friends and their clients. We’ve had slow rides pulling the big tube and higher-speed extreme tubing and water skiing.

Because the boat has flat decks and a fabulous stereo system, we’ve had wonderful dance parties on the boat. We've had fantastic party times on the boat with the flotillas at Boating Opening Day, the 4th of July on Lake Union, Seafair, and in the party coves of Andrews Bay, Meydenbauer Bay, Fairweather Bay, and Cozy Cove. We took the boat through the locks to Poulsbo and it performed beautifully in the Sound. We joined the Rainier Yacht Club which is known as “The Fun Club” and had a lot of fun with the club members and activities. I have 3,873 pictures and movies taken this year and I am in the process of editing them. The best of the summer are up on a new Happy Hours 2012 Picasa web album. Because of all the above, my golf scores are up and I am way behind in posting to this blog. I will be catching up!

Seattle’s Seafair 2012

 

Lake Washington is famous for Seattle’s Seafair summer celebration. This is a month long festival of many activities throughout Seattle and ends the first Sunday in August. The final four days feature hydroplane races and the Navy’s Blue Angels’ air shows. The hydroplane races are on the west side of the lake south of the I-90 floating bridge. The Stan S. Sayres Memorial Park, known as the “Sayres Pits” was established here in 1957. The pits are the launching, service and staging area for Seafair’s hydroplane racing boats.

The air show’s center is this area over the lake. The planes and their stunts can be seen from much of the lake and its shores. During these four days the lake is crowded with spectator boats and the lake is renowned for the associated “floating party” or “Mardi Gras on the water.” (See Seafair’s Water Party)

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 3-5, The Navy F-18 air show begins at 1 pm and the Blue Angels performance starts at 1:30 pm. (More information about the Blue Angels.)

Stan Sayres (1897-1956) was known as “The Legend of Lake Washington” and “The Fastest Man Afloat.” He was selling and racing cars in northeastern Oregon in 1926 when he had his first experience with a power-boat. He purchased a wrecked 40 mph outboard engine racing boat and began racing, designing and building race-boats. He moved to Seattle in 1931 and in 1937 he bought a 91 mph racing boat that his wife named Slow Motion. Stan changed the name to Slo-Mo-Shun, often called Slo-Mo. Stan designed, developed and built new and faster Slo-Mos. He moved to Hunts Point in the 1940s and built a 6,860 sq ft house on the tip of Hunts Point. (The house was demolished in 2008 and the vacant lot was sold March 31, 2011 for $14.8 million [see previous post]). The neighbors in this sleepy community “enjoyed” (?) the roar and 30 ft rooster tails of his trials and practices.

He set his first boat-on-water speed record of 160+ mph in 1950 on LW and continued to set new records, all on LW, with his last at 178.497 mph in 1952. After his first record he took Slo-Mo IV to Detroit and won the 1950 Gold Cup, boat racing’s biggest prize. This was a big upset to the hydroplane establishment. Stan brought hydroplane racing to LW in 1951 as part of the Seafair. The first Seafair was in 1950 to celebrate the centennial of the first U.S.-European Seattle settlement. The 1951 race was the first U.S. hydroplane race west of Detroit and was a huge success. Stan became a local hero. The races are now a Seafair tradition. He received a lot of local backing for his racing against the Detroit establishment. Slo-Mo-Shun IV and V won the next four Gold Cups.

We live in the Proctor Landing area of Mercer Island directly across the lake from the pits and the center of the big show. We and nearly all of our neighbors have Seafair parties over the week-end. The planes fly low directly over our dock. After the air-shows we will be making trips with our new boat, Happy Hours, to join the spectator fleet for Seattle’s Mardi Gras. For Seafair facts and history, go to Seafair’s site.

President Obama at Blumes’ Seattle Mansion

President Obama returned to the Seattle area last Thursday for a lavish fundraiser at a prominent waterfront mansion. The event was covered in a Seattle Times 5/10/12 article. The $35,800 per plate lunch was at the mansion of Bruce and Anne Blume in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of Seattle on Lake Washington waterfront. The article reported the Blumes are major Democratic donors, who have given more than $118,000 to federal Democratic candidates and committees since 2008, including $50,000 they gave to help finance Obama's inauguration party. President and Michelle Obama have attended previous lavish Lake Washington waterfront mansion fundraisers at the homes of Costco Co-Founder Jeff Brotman (12/18/12, 2/9/12, 10/24/10 posts), former Microsoft President Jon Shirley (10/5/11 post), and RealNetworks Founder Rob Glaser (9/27/10 post).

This $20 million mansion was built over a period of three plus years for the Blumes by Charter Construction. The mansion is on page 37 in Lake Washington 130 Homes. The neighborhood includes numerous prominent mansions including two that formerly belonged to two of the famous McCaw brothers. Neighborhood information is in LW Cruising 4/19/12 and 4/24/12 posts.

The Blumes’ former residence in Broadmoor is listed for sale for $3 million. Bruce is a prominent commercial real estate developer. His firm, The Blume Co., is a major developer in the South Lake Union and University of Washington districts. He founded the company in 1982. The company owns 16 buildings on 10 acres in 6 centers. The centers are Yale Campus, 1100 Eastlake, Eastlake Center, University Center, 45th Street Place and Northlake Place.

The mansion is 13,300 sq ft on 1.0 acres with 160 feet of waterfront. This is the former site of the Canadian Consulate. Blume acquired the property from Canada 1/18/05 for $7.8 million and, in 2006, demolished the consulate and started construction on the current mansion. The seller is listed as “Her Majesty Elizabeth II – Queen of Canada.” This is the way Canada lists its foreign properties but the Queen was never here. Some tours incorrectly tell their groups this was the site of the Seattle vacation home for the Queen. The Canadian Consulate is now located in downtown Seattle in the 30 story Century Square building at the corner of Pike and 4^th Ave.

LW Waterfront Welfare Mansion

A Lake Washington waterfront welfare recipient, who is living in a $3 million mansion, has been in recent local and national news. ($3 million is my estimated value of the mansion. The appraised value is $1.2 million.)

A 12/7/11 KING 5 News post by Chris Ingalls has the most information and a video of the home and story. According to KING 5, Lyudmila Shimonova, who has received $135,000 in government (Seattle Housing Authority and HUD) housing assistance, has lived in the mansion since 2003. The mansion is owned by Seattle doctor David Silverstein. The KING 5 article stated, “ . . . Shimonova identified [Silverstein] as her landlord when she filed for housing and cash assistance and food stamps. Government investigators believe Silverstein and Shimonova are actually married and that they live together in the lakeside house. . . . [government] Inspectors [annual inspections] . . . never reported any suspicion about fraud, according to the Seattle Housing Authority. . . Neither Shimonova or Silverstein has been charged.” The mansion has 53 feet of prime waterfront with a dock, boat and fantastic views of Mount Rainier.

View from Mansion

UW’s Big Dawg

Big Dawg at the front row (far left) dock for game day

Big Dawg and Kittilsby mansion (left) on Mercer Island

UW’s Big Dawg was featured in The New York Times recent article about UW’s Sailgate parties (previous post). The Big Dawg belongs to the Frank Miles family. The article labeled the Big Dawg yacht “a 94-foot, 3-story barge.”

Excerpts from the article include: “Members of the Miles family come to games on the Big Dawg . . . the family patriarch, Frank Miles . . . Frank met his wife, Jeanie, in high school, and after they graduated from U.W. they bought a 23-foot boat and started taking it to games. As the size of their boat increased, so did the size of their party, which began to include employees from their sand and gravel company . . . Others, like the Miles family, dock up front, and pay for permits that cost $215 to $750 each season, depending on boat size.”

The Big Dawg’s home is the dock of Tim and Lisa (Frank and Jeanie’s daughter) Kittilsby on the north end of Mercer Island. The property is between the LW 130 homes on pages 47 and 48. The one acre property includes a 6000 sq ft mansion plus covered and open sports courts. Frank founded Auburn based Miles Sand and Gravel in 1943. Tim and Lisa are now in charge of the company.

UW’s Sailgate Parties

The University of Washington is famous for its “Sailgate Parties. The partiers in Lake Washington’s Union Bay, just west of Husky Stadium, are in full force before, during and after the UW home games. This was an exceptionally good year with great weather and an above average number of afternoon games. Next year will be without these parties as Husky Stadium is being renovated and the Huskies will be playing in CenturyLink Field.

The New York Times ran a recent article featuring these parties: “. . . On fall Saturdays . . . when Washington plays at home, the occupants of Husky Harbor emerge near the stadium’s east end like some sort of tailgate flotilla. They come on charters, luxury yachts and smaller vessels, in sailboats, motorboats and speedboats, even boats coated in purple paint . . . Once docked or anchored, they tailgate with a twist, a practice the locals have alternately called boatgating, sailgating and sterngating. . .”

The NY Times also has some great photos in a 13 picture slidshow.

We were at these parties with our boat, Happy Hours, (previous post). We took friends to the games and enjoyed the parties in the water. The water-slide was a huge hit!

Seattle Fall Colors

You do not need to travel to Vermont and New Hampshire to see beautiful fall colors. We have our own in the Pacific Northwest. The best place to view the foliage is from the water. Lake Washington offers some of the best scenery and you can also take in viewing the fabulous mansions with, compared to the summer, less leaves obscuring them. The above pictures were taken from the lake on the south and west side of Mercer Island. The southern and western sun and the reflections from the water highlight the colors. Other places with spectacular color are looking at the west side of Medina and the northern part of lake which is less populated and, therefore, has more forest land. If you have not put your boat up for the winter you should take it out sightseeing on our nice autumn days.

Summer in Seattle

Our summer on Lake Washington has been fantastic! Many of our family and friends have been boating with us aboard Happy Hours and rave about the experience. Comments from out-of-towners include, “Our most memorable day in the Seattle area.” Comments from locals include, “The best day of our summer.”

We had 38 outings with over 300 passengers. Many others have stepped aboard at a dock. Others have swum or boated over and climbed aboard. Everyone loves the water slide! We’ve relaxed viewing the Map of the Stars, just enjoying the lake, going to waterfront restaurants and sunset rides. We viewed houses for sale and sold with Realtors and their clients. We’ve hosted premium charity auction item outings.

We’ve had slow rides pulling the big tube and higher-speed extreme tubing and water skiing. Because the boat has flat decks and a fabulous stereo system, we’ve had wonderful dance parties on the boat. We've had fantastic party times on the boat with the flotillas at Boating Opening Day, the 4th of July on Lake Union, Seafair, University of Washington "sailgate" parties, and in the party coves of Andrews Bay, Meydenbauer Bay, Fairweather Bay, and Cozy Cove. Pictures are up on a new Happy Hours Picasa web album.

Because of all the above, I am way behind in posting to this blog. I will be catching up!

Seattle’s Summer Mardi Gras

Lake Washington is famous for Seattle’s Seafair summer celebration.  This is a month long festival of many activities throughout Seattle and ends the first Sunday in August.  The final four days feature hydroplane races, the Navy’s Blue Angels’ air shows (previous post) and the Seattle area’s biggest party. Over a million people watch the Blue Angels and party on the water and shoreline.

During the Seafair air shows all the boats, except those tied to the log boom, between the I-90 Bridge and Seward Park must move out of this area. After the Friday through Sunday air shows, which is usually around 2:30 pm, the boats return in mass. The party-on-the-water begins!

This is Seattle’s summer on-the-water version of Mardi Gras. Thousands of boats packed with partiers crowd the area. Most are in swimming suits and the babes are in bikinis. Some only wear the bottom part. Many with the tops on (sometimes) collect strings of beads Mardi Gras style.

Boats raft to other boats. The hydroplane races are the excuse but very few watch. Water fights with high powered water guns, hoses and water balloons are everywhere. Of course there is a lot of drinking. Over the last few years the police have cracked down on drinking while piloting a boat. Boats need to have a designated captain.

After the air-shows we make trips with our new boat, Happy Hours, to join the spectator fleet. Because of our location we have a head start versus the main flotilla. We provide water guns. Prepare to get wet if you wish to join us on these excursions.

Professional photographer, Bernard Zee, has a neat website with a lot of great photographs of 2009’s party-on-the-water.

Seattle’s Seafair

Lake Washington is famous for Seattle’s Seafair summer celebration.  This is a month long festival of many activities throughout Seattle and ends the first Sunday in August.  The final four days feature hydroplane races and the Navy’s Blue Angels’ air shows.  The hydroplane races are on the west side of the lake south of the I-90 floating bridge. The Stan S. Sayres Memorial Park, known as the “Sayres Pits” was established here in 1957. The pits are the launching, service and staging area for Seafair’s hydroplane racing boats.

The air show’s center is this area over the lake. The planes and their stunts can be seen from much of the lake and its shores.  During these four days the lake is crowded with spectator boats and the lake is renowned for the associated “floating party” or “Mardi Gras on the water.”

On Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7, The Navy F-18 air show begins at 1 pm and the Blue Angels performance starts at 1:30 pm. (More information about the Blue Angels.)

Stan Sayres (1897-1956) was known as “The Legend of Lake Washington” and “The Fastest Man Afloat.”  He was selling and racing cars in northeastern Oregon in 1926 when he had his first experience with a power-boat.  He purchased a wrecked 40 mph outboard engine racing boat and began racing, designing and building race-boats.  He moved to Seattle in 1931 and in 1937 he bought a 91 mph racing boat that his wife named Slow Motion.  Stan changed the name to Slo-Mo-Shun, often called Slo-Mo.  Stan designed, developed and built new and faster Slo-Mos.  He moved to Hunts Point in the 1940s and built a 6,860 sq ft house on the tip of Hunts Point. (The house was demolished in 2008 and the vacant lot was sold March 31, 2011 for $14.8 million [see previous post]). The neighbors in this sleepy community “enjoyed” (?) the roar and 30 ft rooster tails of his trials and practices.

He set his first boat-on-water speed record of 160+ mph in 1950 on LW and continued to set new records, all on LW, with his last at 178.497 mph in 1952.  After his first record he took Slo-Mo IV to Detroit and won the 1950 Gold Cup, boat racing’s biggest prize.  This was a big upset to the hydroplane establishment.  Stan brought hydroplane racing to LW in 1951 as part of the Seafair.  The first Seafair was in 1950 to celebrate the centennial of the first U.S.-European Seattle settlement.  The 1951 race was the first U.S. hydroplane race west of Detroit and was a huge success.  Stan became a local hero.  The races are now a Seafair tradition.  He received a lot of local backing for his racing against the Detroit establishment.  Slo-Mo-Shun IV and V won the next four Gold Cups.

We live in the Proctor Landing area of Mercer Island directly across the lake from the pits and the center of the big show. We and nearly all of our neighbors have Seafair parties over the week-end. The planes fly low directly over our dock. After the air-shows we will be making trips with our new boat, Happy Hours, to join the spectator fleet for Seattle’s Mardi Gras. For Seafair facts and history, go to Seafair’s site.

Lake Washington Pontoons

“Lake Washington Pontoons” are much more than floating bridges. The new generation of luxury pontoon-trimarans are the perfect boats for Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. It is a luxury deck and party room on the water at the dock, floating or motoring.

On 5/7/11 Susan and I launched our new boat, “Happy Hours,” and, with our wonderful crew, we proceeded to Seattle’s Boating Opening Day celebration and boat parade and received the Alaska Airlines Trophy for 1st place in our class (Decorated Commercial).

Happy Hours is the first boat of its kind in the Seattle/Lake-Washington area. This is an Avalon luxury pontoon boat. It is sometimes called a party barge - but it will go 35+ mph and can pull water skiers. We go happy hours sightseeing in luxury or just float and with kids of all ages relaxing or playing on the water slide. It is also great extension of our dock. We now have a luxury cocktail lounge, sundeck and wet bar with refrigerator and blender at our dock.

I bought the boat from Tom’s Boat Shop at the Seattle Boat Show in February 2011. Tom opened his Seattle area dealership and showroom in Ballard in May 2011.

I have a Happy Hours blog with more information, including FREE RIDES and DOCK PARTIES. I apologize for being behind on posting to this blog due to the new boat and blog.

Simonyi’s Windows 2000 House

Charles Simonyi is a Hungarian-born former Microsoft executive. He was the man once behind constructing Microsoft Office's Word and Excel software. His Medina mansion is one of the most picturesque and must-see places on Lake Washington (LW 130 Homes pages 4 and 94). The mansion is 19,000 sq ft on 1.3 acres with 300 feet of waterfront. The home is known locally as the “Windows 2000 House” and “Villa Simonyi.” It got the Windows 2000 name when Microsoft introduced Windows 2000. The rumor is a few windows were added to the house to bring the total to 2,000.

His former girl-friend, from the 1980s until 2008, was Martha Stewart. He picked her up with his personal jet when she got out of jail in 2005. He had a sudden infatuation with a new girlfriend Lisa Persdotter a Swedish socialite. They got engaged in St. Tropez, France on 08/08/08, the same day as 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. He was 60 and she was 28 at the time. They were married in Gothenburg, Sweden, on November 22, 2008, following three days of celebrations whose attendees included neighbor Bill Gates.

Simonyi was one of the initial commercial astronauts. He paid $25 million for a 2007 two-week International Space Station roundtrip aboard the Russian Soyuz space shuttles. He paid $35 million for a similar trip in 2009.

Map of the Stars – Lake Washington

Hundred Homes Publishing has published the map "Lake Washington Map of the Stars."  It provides a detailed from the water guide for viewing 55 of the most spectacular mansions (some multi-mansion compounds) in Lake Washington 130 Homes.  The map is available in book stores throughout the PNW. (It is not available online.)  The map is 91 cents ($1 including tax) and free with the purchase of Lake Washington 130 Homes.

Lake Washington 130 Homes Review – Sam DeBord

Sam DeBord posted an excellent review of Lake Washington 130 Homes.

“When I'm not spending my time working with clients, I still love to take my family down to the waterfront whenever possible. Viewing Lake Washington waterfront homes, whether by boat or visiting open houses has always been one of my favorite pastimes (I know, I should probably have a little more division between business and leisure).

“One of the best publications I've read in years is David Dykstra's Lake Washington 130 Homes. It's a virtual guide to the stars in the Greater Seattle region, with waterfront photos, history, personal stories and background on his "Top 130" homes on Lake Washington. While you can see satellite photos and "for sale" listings online, you rarely get this kind of an up-close look at these kinds of properties.” (plus much more)

Since late December 2010 DeBord’s Seattle Waterfront Homes blog has been featuring a “Lake Washington Waterfront Home of the Day” from Lake Washington 130 Homes.

Sam DeBord is a Realtor® and Managing Broker with SeattleHome.com and Coldwell Banker Danforth. His research and writing focus on Seattle Waterfront homes, as well as the Seattle luxury real estate market. His Seattle Waterfront Homes blog is an excellent source of news and information about Lake Washington homes and real estate activity.

Gary Reed Moves into Madison Park Mansion

William G. “Gary” Jr. and Victoria Reed moved from their Medina home (see earlier blog below) late last year. The new home has 7,700 sq ft on 0.7 acres with 60 feet of waterfront. It is three houses south of the Reed Estate homes (pages 19 through 22 in Lake Washington 130 Homes, http://www.hundredhomes.net/). The southern home (page 22) in the Reed Estate is owned by Furman Moseley and his wife and Gary’s sister, Martha Reed Moseley. I’ve been told Furman and Martha live elsewhere and their son, Colin Moseley and his family live in that house. Colin is the current Chairman of Simpson Investment.

The 8 acre Reed Estate is where Gary and Martha grew up. It was established in the early 1900s by their grandfather, Mark E. Reed. It was that era’s version of the current Gates and Allen estates. It was subdivided in the 1940s into a private gated community of nine homes. Howard Schultz owns the most prominent of the current homes (page 21). His property has a gate inside the gate.

(Information on his previous Medina home is below.)

Gary Reed Sells Medina Mansion for $22 Million

William G. “Gary” Jr. and Victoria Reed sold their 8,600 sq ft Medina home (page 100 in Lake Washington 130 Homes, http://www.hundredhomes.net/) in September 2009. This and the Bezos estates at 5.35 acres each are the largest in Medina. This estate has 305 feet of waterfront and the property stretches over 200 yards from the shoreline to Overlake Drive. The lot is relatively flat with lush landscaping and a tennis court at the water’s edge. The sale went relatively unknown since it was a private, family transaction. The recorded buyer was Blue Water Realty LLC whose principals are Gary’s son, Doug Reed, and Sarah Reed. I have not been able to verify if that is who is living there. Please comment if you know.

Gary and Victoria have moved to their new mansion in Madison Park (see later blog above). The Seattle Times labeled Gary “the most powerful Seattle business leader you’ve likely never heard of.” He is or has been on the Boards of Microsoft, Paccar, Safeco, The Seattle Times Company and Washington Mutual. He is the grandson of Mark Edward Reed who joined Simpson Logging in 1897 and was named president after the company’s founder, Sol Simpson, died in 1906. The Reed family bought out the Simpson family and the company is now one of the largest private, family owned companies in the state. It is now Tacoma-based Simpson Investment Company. Gary worked in executive positions with the company starting in the 1960s and served as Chairman from 1971 to 1996. He oversaw the company’s expansion into plastics and other manufacturing.

(Information on his new Madison Park home is above.)

Bezos Completes $28 Million Home Improvement

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.Com, recently completed his $28 million Medina home improvement.  Property records show a $28 million building permit was issued in 2008 and completed in August 2010.  This was accomplished with little publicity or fanfare.  The living area increased from 13,200 sq ft to 29,000 sq ft in two buildings.  In addition there are “non living area” buildings that include the largest boat/party house (about 4,500 sq ft) on Lake Washington, a caretaker’s cottage and other buildings.  This and the Reed estates at 5.35 acres each are the largest in Medina.  Bezos has 310 feet of waterfront and the property stretches over 200 yards from the shoreline to Evergreen Point Road. The lot is wooded with a steep bank so very little of the buildings, except for the boat and dock structure, can be seen from the water.  (See pages 105 and 112 in Lake Washington 130 Homes, www.hundredhomes.net)