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Trip Report    

Transit from Union Bay to Port of Edmonds

Transited from Union Bay, through the Ballard Locks, to Edmonds.

  • Mon, Sep 5, 2016
  • Esther, Port of Edmonds Marina
  • Sailing
  • Successful
  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • Light winds, but from the South so we were able to go quite a ways before burning a dinosaur.

Met at the UW Waterfront Activities Center.  After the safety briefing we cast off and headed down the Mountlake Cut.  Had a smooth and relatively light traffic trip though Portage Bay, Lake Union, and the Ship Canal.  And just as we pulled up to the Ballard Locks they started loading us in the small lock.  Ahead was a very large commercial fishing boat!  A large power boat was on the port and a small run about on starboard.  For the first time in this skipper's experience, they had us raft up in the small lock.  They must have been in a hurry, they started closing the doors before we were even tied off.  Had a gentle drop to sea level from there.  After exiting the locks we headed out on the Sound and hoisted sail.  Wind was light and got lighter, but we had a great potluck lunch running north on a broad reach.  The crew were great folks and very pleasant company.  After lunch we continued under sail for about another half hour or so, but the wind became almost non existent, so we furled the head sail and fired up the iron jenny.  We made great time back to Edmonds and were docked much earlier than the estimated 6 PM arrival.  The crew were shuttled back to their cars with plenty of daylight and hopefully light traffic.