12/16 - Lake Washington/Locks Cruise - CANCELLED

Factoid

14 Interesting Blessing Request.

During the terrible pogroms of the early 20th century a Russian rabbi was asked..."Rabbi, is there a blessing for the Czar. Yes my child,It goes like this...." May God Bless and keep the Czar.. far away from me"! (courtesy of Fiddler on the Roof)
 
Factoid

15. As of noon today there are 15 'people" signed up for the cruise. There may be more because a particular boat will probably carry at least 2 people. On the other hand some people will come by land. Please know that when we say "All are Welcome", we truly mean it. Although the daylight will be minimal and the weather iffy, I sincerely hope fo a typical 72 and sunny C-Brat Get together.
 
Factoid
16. All are Welcome..Dotty and I used to go to a very small Methodist Church in Kingston , NJ When I say small, well the chior was known as the Kingston Trio . Anyway, we had a sign outside that said "All are Welcome" and we really meant it. In fact, we used to rationalize that our congregation didn't grow because we were there mainly for the truly broken, like us, and when people got healed there they moved on. I once heard a guy who came to us from AA say, "you know we shouldn't encourage people from NA because well, you know.." 'He soon moved on. Anyway, our church street had a "one way" sign on it which always made me uneasy. Even worse, the little road leading to the cemetary across the street had a sign which said "exit"..

Kingston is on the route taken by the Continental Army on its way to the Battle of Princeton, the next town south. The next town North is New Brunswick, then known as Queenstown. It is the home of Rutgers which used to be called Old Queens College. Rutgers played Princeton in the first college football game ever. You can look it up.
 
All these factoids have confused me - what is the plan again? As a newbie I'm thinking of going, but want to have some idea of when I'll get back ... I've got down so far that we meet at Montlake cut at 10:00am (or 11:00 am?) and then head to the Searay dealer at Lake Union and then to the locks around (12:00, 12:30 ??). Some are going through the locks others arent? Once through the locks, do we turn around and go back through the locks again? Wasnt lunch mentioned at one time? Not trying to be too nitpicky, just want to know if I launch at Sandpoint and go through the locks - will I be able to get back to Sandpoint before dark? If I can get my boat in running condition - I plan on showing up.
 
Tom,
There will be a few of us that will be launching at Sandpoint Saturday morning. If the weather is OK I will be launching around 09:00 with R-Matey. I was going to cruise the lake for awhile and then meet up with everyone at 10 or so. Let us know when you are arriving and we can help seeing that you are new and all.
As far as a schedule, this is a C-Brat event and as Brock says "it's like hearding cats"

Fred
 
Good questions Tom. If you want to go through the locks and make it back to the ramp by sundown you will have to skip the C-Dory dealer leg and motor right by with our "lockmaster," Chubby Bunny, and a few other boats who have expressed a priority interest in going through the locks. Then you would turn right around and retrace your steps. . If you want to just get some time on your new boat and meet some of the C-Brats you may want to save the locks for another day. There will be free refreshments for us at the C-Dory dealer and if the weather's good and people don't see the dark as an issue, there may be a second stop in the early evening, probably at Ivars Salmon house. Those of us who do stop at the dealers will leave the dealers shortly after noon and plan to then motor along the ship canal to , but not thru, the locks. All of us will be in communication on channel 68. Thanks for your interest and I have noted your constructive remarks regarding the Factoids. I look forward to seeing you and Shan on the water.

Here again are the marks we're shooting for.
1000 Meet a Montlake cut
1100-1115 Arrive at Lake Union C-Dory Dealer
1200-1215 Leave dealer
1330 Arrive at Locks and turn around
1345 Leave locks on return trip, 8mph speed limit
1535 Arrive back at Montlake Cut
1615 Sunset
 
OK, back to the top!

Went over to Marty's house today, Marty is our fearless leader on this expedition! Come on Marty, you ARE fearless, admit it!

Anyway, for those of us opting to meet the Lake Union Sea Ray folks, there will be sandwiches and beverages, no need to consider a restaurant stop...knowing C-Dory (and Jeff Messmer will be there), it is likely to be a bit over the top.

So we meet up around Webster Point, the folks coming out of Coulon, Newport, and Mercer Island should meet up with the Magnuson Park folks around 10:00 a.m., but hey, if somebody is 15 minutes late, I say we wait, so we can have a magnificent parade through the Montlake Cut (anybody alert the press??). On to Lake Union and Lake Union Sea Ray, I am guessing stay there an hour and a half tops. The folks who are going on to the locks will just keep going and meet up with Chubby Bunny (William on Jenny G, our fearless lockmeister). The rest of us will go on through the Ship Canal on leaving Lake Union Sea Ray, up to the locks, and mayhaps meet up up with the other folks returning, mayhaps not...daylight being what it is, we will probably then just turn around and head back to our respective launch site - but a lot depends on the weather, if it is clear and moonlit, nobody should have any fear, just turn on the nav lights. But if it is cloudy, rainy, foggy or otherwise nasty, we will be hightailing it back to Mercer Island...

 
In all seriousness, you have just heard from a real leader. He got more done in less time and said more in fewer words than anyone would have believed possible. And you people know, Pat has a few other things on his mind these days. Thank you Pat!
 
OK, OK. The people have spoken. I accept the title of Sr. Adhoc temporary acting Fearless Leader (SATAFL). I recognize that this commission (warrant really) will expire one month from this date. Then can I have the big red letters for my posts?
 
See, wad I telllya? Who's really in charge here? By the way, we have a LK W. Cruise staff opening-Photographer. Hopefully we can get a lot of good photos. Also hopefully, Brock will agree to accept the position of Master Chief Yoeman and write an article about our cruise for Nor'westing magazine. You may want to look up some of his previous work in that magazine regarding C-Dory..
 
For those who plan to overnight in Elliot Bay you should know...Factoid

17. The first dozen European settlers arrived at Alki Point (southwest most point of Elliot Bay) in 1852. They soon moved to what is now Pioneer Square and set up a saw mill, which led to the term..

18 Skid Row..The first skid row was Skid Road (Yesler Way) in Seattle, where logs were skidded into the water on a corduroy road for delivery to Henry Yesler's lumber mills. During the Great Depression, the area went into decline, and "skid row" became synonymous with "bad neighborhood."

19 There is a full size operating carousel located deep inside the arcade at pier 57. If you have small children with you, or if you want to experience the wonder of small children, seek this out.
 
November in Seattle, courtesy of Washington State Library.... Factoids

20.On November 18th, 1906, the Mosquito Fleet steamer SS Dix -- enroute from Seattle to Port Blakely -- collided with the schooner SS Jeannie two miles north of Alki Point. The Dix, being top heavy, keeled over and sank almost immediately, leaving no time to distribute life jackets or launch lifeboats. In less than five minutes, 39 passengers and crewmembers met their death as the Dix plunged beneath the waves, making this the largest maritime disaster on Puget Sound. Wear your lifejacket!

21..Ninety years ago this week, test pilot Herb Munter took the controls of the first completely original Boeing airplane and lifted off from Lake Union on November 23, 1916. William Boeing had built and flown the derivative B&W a few months earlier, but this Model C floatplane was designed from the ground up for his new Pacific Aero-Products (later reincorporated as the Boeing Airplane Co.).

22. One hundred and fifty years ago this week, Gustave Englebrecht became the first member of the U.S. Navy to be killed in the Pacific (broadly speaking) when he was shot during a raid of northern Indians at Port Gamble on November 21, 1856. A chief was also killed in the melee, and the Indians retaliated a year later by chopping off Isaac Ebey's head on Whidbey Island

"My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be ... "

-- Robert Frost, "My November Guest

Happy Thanksgiving C-Brats!
 
I suppose I may as well add one to your factoids

23. I lived in Seattle and was a 14 year old for this event. My dad worked for Boeing and was one of the engineers for this plane. I remember watching it awestruck.
Boeing executives planned to unveil the Dash-80 (later to be named the Boeing 707) at Seattle’s annual Seafair celebration in August of 1955. Planning to entertain prospective buyers at the hydroplane boat races on Lake Washington, "Tex" Johnson, a test pilot for Boeing, would simply make a flyover in the new Dash-80 to impress everyone. Everything was going according to the plan and the local news media turned out to not only cover the hydroplane races, but to view Boeings new airplane.
Tex Johnson began his flyover before thousands of spectators as motion picture cameras rolled to preserve this memorable event. It was indeed memorable. As the Dash-80s flyover concluded, Tex Johnson "barrel rolled" the plane a full 360 degrees. As he flew the Dash-80 away, the spectators were awestruck. Never before had such an aerial maneuver been attempted in a plane of that size.
Boeing execs asked Tex Johnston "what the hell did he think he was doing" after that roll and he replied "selling aeroplanes".
Though this act grounded Tex Johnson as a test pilot for the Boeing Company (temporarily, that is), he demonstrated the integrity and airworthiness of Boeing airplanes. His maverick action that day sealed the fate of the company and ensured the future of Renton.

To see a video of the event click HERE.
The video was made in 1955 so don’t expect the quality to be that great.
_________
Dave dlt.gif
 
The story after the roll...
The plane lands at Boeing field and Tex gets out and starts to walk away from the plane. A Boeing official runs over to Tex and tells him Mr. Allen wants to see him now. Mr. Allen is the president of Boeing.
So Tex heads off across the street to the Boeing Exec offices and into Mr. Allens office.
Tex walks in. Mr Allen from behind his desk says "How are Tex...Hows the family"? Tex answers the boss.
Mr Allen the says "I hear you rolled the plane today, Tex".
Tex says quietly....."Yes sir I did".
Mr Allen answers..."Don't do it again.......Bye Tex..say hello to the wife..".
 
I was down in Seattle today, getting canvas installed on C-Cakes and went to Elliott Bay Marina, Bell Harbor Marina, and Sandy Point launch area just to familiarize myself. Both marinas said there should be little/no problem getting in on the 16th. The guy at Bell Harbor suggested I could get around the "no reservations under 25' by just declaring my 22' is really 25'. Just pay the extra few dollars and no problem, so C-Cakes may grow 3' for the trip. Bell Harbor, for those who may not know, is just a ten minute walk from Pike Place Market and the downtown area. Elliott Bay is too far to walk but the Harbormaster's office said taxis are readily available for folks wanting to get downtown. I am a little concerned about leaving my truck/trailer at Sandy Point though. There is a prominent sign on the way to the launch ramp saying there are a lot of automobile breakins at that location and to be sure and remove any valuables from the vehicle. That doesn't make me very anxious to see if my elderly Chevy would be too ratty for the thieves. Does anyone have experience there? Should we look for another launch point??
 
Dave, Thanks for the video link.... I had heard about that... you know alot of Boeing work is done here in Wichita. I worked nights at Boeing while going to undergraduate school. John
 
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