Loretta and Chip Dotcom

Kayak Trip Through the Chittendon Locks April 14, 2001 - Seattle, WA

Click on an image for a larger view

We started out at a municipal boat launch in an industrial area of Seattle. It's just West of the Ballard Bridge. That's Pete Rudie's Guillemot on the right. Mine is a Chesapeake 17'.	We get underway and paddle one mile to the Locks. The neighborhood is mainly large fishing vessels and dry docks. We're passing some kind of scrap heap here.
The Chittendon Locks join the Ship Canal, Lake Union, Lake Washington and adjacent waterways to the Puget Sound. In this picture, the Lock is drained and the Ship Canal is about 20 feet over our heads. It is a popular tourist destination so there are crowds of people everywhere. The atmosphere is almost like a parade...a great way to show off.	We paddled into the wind to Golden Gardens; about two miles north on Puget Sound. We enjoyed some mild wave action, a Blue Heron and a raft of noisy Sea Lions on the way. Once at the park, we tried out each others boats. I had never been in a Guillemot before. I really liked the feel of it. Pete has also made some nice customizations to his. On the right you can see a Greenland paddle he carved from a 2x4; it works great.
We made friends with another builder, Todd who was launching from there. He had just completed this beautiful Arctic Tern one month ago.	We start heading back and find ourselves in this beautiful landscape. The Olympic Mountains were out and a large Gaff Cutter (I think) was furling its sails.
We get into the Locks for the ride back up. Pete is holding on as the doors swing closed behind him.