The last weekend in February was the third MBYC Winter Cruise that we have attended. All of them are held at Bell Harbor Marina on the downtown Seattle waterfront. It is only a couple of miles from Elliott Bay Marina where we dock Fiddler, so the engines barely get warmed up on the short trip over. The weather this day was spectacular with sunshine and moderate temperatures.
It is always nice to get out and stay on the boat. I was lucky to leave the dock for a couple of days in December, so it hasn’t been a terribly long time in between. This Winter Cruise happened at about the same time that the coronavirus hit Seattle, but there were no restrictions in place yet. But it happened to be the last social event held by MBYC as strict restrictions on public gatherings were later put into place to slow the virus spread. We hope there will be another cruise by Memorial Day.
Events included a couple of boat renaming ceremonies, a field trip to the Sector Puget Sound Coast Guard station and Vessel Traffic Control Center, happy hours, and dinner outings. The Coast Guard field trip was very interesting as we toured the live operations center where regional search and rescues are coordinated and across the hallway where commercial boat traffic is controlled, much like air traffic control for airports. They didn’t allow pictures in the control rooms, but here are some of the events on the dock, the Coast Guard briefing, and a dinner outing. The weather was pretty good for February, exceptionally nice on the day of arrival and cloudy and dry the rest of the weekend. The previous two Winter Cruises were cold and snowy.
Being on the Seattle waterfront offers quick access to restaurants, museums, and Pike Place Market. We had a nice view of downtown and the illuminated Great Wheel at night. The sunsets were also colorful and serene. We hope to be back next year too.
Fiddler 