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.

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.

Summer and Seafair 2010

2010 was a wonderful summer with a lot going on. I’ve received some notes from my blog fans wanting more news. I am behind on my blogging but will catch up and keep current with weekly (average) postings. The big, time consuming activities this summer involved family, friends and our “Map of the Stars cruises” (the later blog that is above). Seafair was the center of our major activities. We had family visiting for 6 weeks with Seafair in the middle. We live on the west side of Mercer Island with our deck and dock on the 35 yard line for the Hydroplane races and the air shows.

In spite of the weather many thought 2010 was the best Seafair ever. My wife, Susan, and I had our whole family here (6 children, 6 grandchildren and 4 son-in-laws – 16 total) plus many friends. Friends and family are what made it great! The Blue Angels have 3 shows. The high show (clear weather), the low show (overcast) and the flat show (this year for the 1st time since I’ve been here). Plus they added an F-18 jets show before the Blue Angels’ show. We had more planes flying low over the dock than ever before!