Dykstra at 2012 Seattle Boat Show

Seattle Boat Show 2012

Friday 1/27 – Sunday 2/5/12

800 Occidental Ave So, Seattle - CenturyLink Field

Hours:  Mon-Thur 11am – 8pm

               Fridays     11am – 9pm

               Saturdays 10am – 8pm

               Sundays    10am – 6pm

Book Signing – Author Appearance

Lake Washington 130 Homes

by David C. Dykstra

I will be at Captain’s Nautical Supplies booth, Concourse 2237, at the show signing copies of the book, playing on HDTV a new multi-media presentation of the Evening Magazine segment on the book, the book’s highlights and boating on LW. “Lake Washington 130 Homes” is a guided waterfront tour of Lake Washington’s most magnificent mansions and estates creatively woven with current and historical information about the homes, owners, their businesses and their communities.” Books will be on sale and available for purchase and, along with personal signings, I will be available for informal Q&A. Please stop by anytime at Captain’s Nautical Supplies booth – Concourse 2237.

I will be conducting a seminar Wednesday, 2/1/12, at 1:15 in the Gold Room. The seminar title is “Cruising Lake Washington: The Map of the Stars.” The seminar will be for both people who frequently and rarely boat in LW. There are more than 200 additional interesting boating and fishing seminars at the show.

I will occasionally be at Tom’s – Avalon Luxury Pontoon Boats, booth North 155. I bought my new Avalon (Avalon video) luxury pontoon boat (boating blog and video) from Tom at last year’s show. I recommend you stop by and see some of the perfect boats for the PNW. www.TomsBoatShop.com.

Go to Dykstra Boat Show pdf for more information.

Call my cell – 206-931-6065 for show passes.

2012 Seattle Boat Show

Seattle Boat Show 2012

Friday 1/27 – Sunday 2/5/12

800 Occidental Ave So, Seattle

CenturyLink Field

Hours:   Mon-Thur 11am – 8pm

               Fridays     11am – 9pm

               Saturdays 10am – 8pm

               Sundays    10am – 6pm

This is the biggest boat show on the west coast. The show features more than 1,000 yachts and boats plus the latest accessories and supplies. There are more than 200 interesting boating and fishing seminars. I will be conducting a seminar Wednesday, 2/1/12, at 1:15 pm in the Gold Room. The seminar title is “Cruising Lake Washington: The Map of the Stars.” The seminar will be for both people who frequently and rarely boat in LW.


The Boat Show’s main location is indoors at the CenturyLink Field Convention Center. In addition the Show has exhibitors showing large yachts in the water at South Lake Union. There is free shuttle service between the two locations. www.seattleboatshow.com.

I will be exhibiting at Captain’s Nautical Supplies, booth Concourse 2237 and will be there most of the time. I will occasionally be at Tom’s – Avalon Luxury Pontoon Boats – booth, North 155. I will also be conducting a seminar. Click here for my personal Boat Show information.

Go to Dykstra Boat Show pdf for more information.

Call my cell – 206-931-6065 for show passes.

Seattle Boat Show Captain’s Nautical

Seattle Boat Show 2012

Friday 1/27 – Sunday 2/5/12

800 Occidental Ave So

SeattleCenturyLink Field

Hours:   Mon-Thur 11am – 8pm

               Fridays      11am – 9pm

               Saturdays 10am – 8pm

               Sundays    10am – 6pm

Captain’s Nautical Supplies

Booth - Concourse 2237

I will be exhibiting at this booth. Captain’s sells conventional and exotic nautical equipment and supplies, marine charts and flags of the world plus nautical and related books. The booth is close to the box office and entrance on the second floor of the parking garage.  www.captainsnautical.com.

Captain’s started in Seattle as Max Kuner Company in 1897. They changed to the current name in 1979 to better reflect what they do. Their store is located at 2500 15th Ave West, Seattle, 98119, a mile south of Fishermen’s Terminal and the Ballard Bridge. The store is worth many visits for any boater.

Go to Dykstra Boat Show pdf for more information.
Call my cell – 206-931-6065 for show passes.

Tom’s Boats 2012 Seattle Boat Show

Seattle Boat Show 2012

Friday 1/27 – Sunday 2/5/12

800 Occidental Ave So, Seattle

CenturyLink Field

Hours:     Mon-Thur 11am – 8pm

               Fridays     11am – 9pm
               Saturdays  10am – 8pm
               Sundays    10am – 6pm

Tom’s – Avalon Luxury Pontoon Boats

Booth – North 155

I bought my boat, Happy Hours, from Tom’s Boat Shop at the Seattle Boat Show in February 2011. Tom has been selling and servicing boats in Wilbur WA for many years. Tom opened his Seattle area dealership and showroom in Ballard May 1st, 2011. After I met Tom at the Boat Show we became good friends and he gave me a super deal for having the first of his Avalon luxury pontoon boats on Lake Washington. I have his advertising on the sides of my boat.

From Tom’s web page: “Tom's Boat Shop is a Family-owned, Family run, full service boat dealer. We believe in providing the absolute best customer service possible and we mean it. Before, during and long after the sale, we treat people with the greatest respect and are available to do whatever is needed to take care of our customer. We believe premium service along with premium products is a winning package, add to that exceptional people and you end up with a one of a kind dealer who really does care!

I will occasionally be at his booth. I recommend you stop by and see some of the perfect boats for the PNW. www.TomsBoatShop.com.

Go to Dykstra Boat Show pdf for more information.
Call my cell – 206-931-6065 for show passes.

Multi-Million $ Mercer Island Homes Discounted

$4.2M Mansion Sold On Right
Darren Berg’s Former $5.9M Mansion On Left 

A property listed for $6.5 million was sold at a 35% discount. A north end Mercer Island home was sold in October 2011 for $4.21 million. This is not as large as the 72% discount ($12 million versus the original listing of $43 million) for the nearby sale of the former Lytle mansion to Peter Edwards of Video Only (see 9/27/10 post). The $4.2M home was featured in a 5/21/11 post when it was listed for $6.45 million. The purchasers are Timothy and Sherie Bernardez. Timothy is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Evergreen Pacific Partners, a prominent Seattle based private investment firm with $700 million under management.

From the MLS listing (Betty DeLaurenti and Julia Nordby, John L. Scott): (includes numerous interior photos): “European style home, 6 BR,7BA w/a large bonus rm, exercise rm and a home office w/a separate entrance. Extensive use of marble, granite, tile and hardwood throughout. Grand formal spaces and a gourmet kitchen you may never want to leave. All is complemented by graceful manicured gardens, multiple decks, covered outdoor patio and a firepit at waters edge. Approx 104+/- feet of prime North End Lake Washington waterfront is ready for use with a L shaped dock, covered boat lift and a sandy beach.”

The home is 6,071 sq ft on 0.4 acres with 104 feet of waterfront. This home is six houses west of page 43 in LW 130 Homes and one house northwest of Darren Berg’s (Ponzi scheme fame) former house (12/30/10 , 1/17/11, 5/22/11 and 12/30/11 posts). Berg’s house was sold through the bankruptcy court for $5.9 million in January 2011.

Berg Writing Book

Yacht in front of Berg’s former mansion

Berg’s former Mercer Island mansion

The Seattle Times published an extensive article Friday 12/30/11 by Rami Grunbaum about Darren Berg being in the process of writing a book. “ . . . he's written more than 350 pages of a planned e-book ‘to make some sense of the financial carnage I caused.’ ” Grunbaum quotes portions of the book where Berg makes unsupported claims in gibberish that others were to blame: “ ‘. . . dysfunctional bankruptcy process . . . perversely incented . . . system . . . a daft and disgruntled former employee . . ., etc.’ ”

Berg is charged in the biggest Ponzi scheme ever prosecuted in Washington state. Through his company, Meridian Group, he is accused of defrauding hundreds, some of whom their life savings, of more than $280 million. Berg was indicted and filed for bankruptcy in 2010. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1/20/12 and the 49 year-old faces a recommended sentence of 18 years in jail.

The article details other portions of the book and others’ reactions to the book and Berg’s history and personality.

My prior posts on 5/22/11, 1/17/11 and 12/30/10 included information regarding his Ponzi, scheme, the court process and the $5.9 million sale of his Mercer Island north-end waterfront home.

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!

$7M Property Sells Fast on Mercer Island

2.4 acres with large covered dock

A north end Mercer Island property was listed at $7.0 million and sold in the same month for $6.8 million. The sale was recorded on 6/27/11, the purchaser was listed as On the Rock 98040 LLC and the seller was Cordell J. Almond. Mr. Almond is a CPA, partner in the Hersman Serles Almond accounting and consulting firm and principal for Seidman Private Securities, LLC. The property consists of two parcels and is one of the largest low-bank, buildable properties on Mercer Island. It also features a large covered dock (grandfathered) which could not be replicated under the current Shoreline Management Act. It is adjacent (west of) the El Dorado Beach Club. The Club is an enclave of eight homes with a community clubhouse, waterfront pool and dock. To the immediate east of the Club is the home of Jeffrey Greenstein who is in jail for orchestrating tax evasion schemes (see 2/2/11 post) and whose home is on page 76 of LW 130 Homes.

The listing (Kathy Beckes, CB Danforth) stated: “North End Mercer Island, 2.4 ACRES, 150' No Bank Waterfront, Mesmerizing views from Bellevue to University of Washington. White sand beach, Boat House, Boat Launch, Dock for multiple boats, Street to Waterfront Estate Property, Subdivide or keep as your Family Compound. Cottage on property originally built for the Fisher Flower Family. 1st time ever on Market. Privacy, tranquility, your own soccer field. Build your dream home, tennis court & swimming pool. No limits here! One-of-a-kind!”

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.