The Couple’s Downtown Getaway


Our usual cruising destinations are


among towering trees, but an unplanned weekend in Seattle has turned into an anniversary cruise tradition.


By Michael Karangelen The destination of choice for our


anniversary weekends is now Bell Harbor Marina. Located in downtown Seattle, there is so much to do and see. Starbucks is across the street, and Anthony’s Restaurant is just outside the gate. We usually head to Steamers which is five blocks south. Pike’s Place Market is just up the hill. There are antique stores, shops, and restaurants galore, all within walking distance. The backdrop for most of our


weekend cruising is towering fir trees instead of tall buildings. We started our thirteenth anniversary under the trees at Blake Island, and then decided to sail to Bell Harbor. I had a fuzzy description of where it was located, which included the words “downtown” and “cruise ship”. The entrance was a little hard to see, but there is a sign and it was right behind the cruise ship. We called on


“Sweat Pea” in Bell Harbor Marina for the Karangelen’s 20th Anniversary.


channel 66 on the VHF and found out they have hourly moorage for about the same price as parking the car. Our weekend was so much fun


we decided to do the same thing on our eighteenth anniversary. We left Gig Harbor at 1:00 and motorsailed up Colvos Passage arriving at Blake Island at 5:00. There was a 15 knot wind from the north as we sailed around Blake Island looking for a buoy. They had taken out the inline buoy system at the northwest corner of the island, and all the remaining buoys were filled. There is no real protected anchorage at Blake, so we headed for the marina ready to pay for moorage. We managed to be the first boat rejected from the full marina. Now I felt a little like Joseph going


into Bethlehem. Fortunately, my wife was not great with child. Our three kids were safe at home. Night was coming,


so we ran for Seattle on a beam reach. We were flying through a small chop with good wind from the north. If we didn’t get in at Bell Harbor, it was going to be a dark ride back to Des Moines as I wasn’t sure I could find Shilshole at night. Arriving at the harbor entrance, those wonderful words came over the VHF “we have room”. There was a young man at the dock


to take our lines. He welcomed us and told us since the office was closed we could pay in the morning. I quickly fired up the grill and soon we had succulent shish kabobs made all the more savory by a great day of sailing and the relief of a safe harbor. We ate dinner and retired for the night. The boat seemed pretty big with only the two of us. On our next anniversary, I decided to get smart and make reservations; 48° NORTH, SEPTEMBER 2010 PAGE 53


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