photo credit: Scupper
Viking Tug invades Puget Sound…response is swift!
June 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Sweedish super tug, Tor Viking II was spotted sailing north past Blake Island…
when out of no where, the flat-top USS John C Stennis and a fleet of WA State ferries was on it's tail!!!
Never a dull moment covering Beach Drive.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Sea Lion or Seal?
June 19, 2012 by 3 Comments
At first glance, we didn’t realize this was a sea lion (or seal?) floating by.
Hoping this fella is feeling well and just enjoying the last evening of Spring. We caught these photos just in front of Emma Schmitz Memorial View Point.
Missing something??
June 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
This is the time of year when we see detached mooring buoys take a cruise along the shores of Beach Drive. The combo of newly grown kelp, sea-critters and extreme Spring tides will test for any weak links in a mooring system.
Anyone want to claim this one? Found off our place on Thursday's extreme low tide…
Before adding the tug of your boat to your float, might be a good idea to examine the shape of your gear. I was a bit nervous putting my 17 foot fishing boat out in early May for the Spot Shrimp season so employed Alpha Marine Installations to dive down and take a look. They've installed several systems along the "Drive" and will periodically offer to do a complete inspection and cleaning for $200. Pretty cheap insurance considering the alternative!
Is that another loose ball I see floating down the drive? This one's just off the south end of Emma Schmitz park.
Red arrow marks the location
Scupper for Beach Drive Blog
Shhhh…. Happening Now in the Sound…
June 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Don’t look now… but a sub appears to be a sub passing by Bainbridge Island. Hat tip to “Cat Woman”.
Luxury Super Yacht Arianna cruising off the shores of Beach Drive
May 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
This from Super Yacht Times:
“Delta has launched its latest custom superyacht, Arianna. Designed and engineered by the Delta Design Group, Arianna is the largest all composite 50-meter, full-displacement motor yacht in the world. With more than 780 gross tons ITC, a beam of nearly 34 feet, and over 7,500 square feet of living area Arianna has more interior volume than any other yacht her length. Built to travel and explore, Arianna is capable of transoceanic cruising with fortitude and grace.”
Delta Marine is the same builder of the Laurel. Order your super yacht today!
Happening Now in the Sound: Pleasure Craft catching a Tow
May 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Looks like a pleasure craft is catching a tow from the Coast Guard (smaller boat in photo) with a Seattle Fire Boat assisting (larger boat).
This photo, taken by Scupper, was taken when the boats were just north east of Blake Island. The fire boat is already back in Seattle.
Low tide neighbors get exposed!
May 7, 2012 by 2 Comments
Two days of low tides offered some great sights along a couple of West Seattle beaches. Starting with the beach off of Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, found this Stingray looking critter on it's back and set him back in the water before the birds made a meal of him!
then found these gooey looking dudes hanging off a rock about 200 yards out…
Click here for an album of other photos taken off Beach Drive.
Then it was off to Fauntleroy Cove where I could almost walk straight on the Ferry from the exposed beach under the piers. Great access from Fauntleroy Park located on the north side of the dock…
Great sculpture of a Raven marking the location of the park
Tomorrow promises to be another great day to see what's lurking below with a minus tide of -3.3. Someday I hope to get a glimpse of the famous Spirit Boulder that's been reported to peak it's head out at extreme low tides on the south side of the ferry dock.
Scupper for Beach Drive Blog
Happening Now: Beach Safari at Mee Kwa Mooks
May 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Seattle Parks Department is hosting a "family beach safari" on the shores of Mee Kwa Mooks (aka Emma Schmitz Viewpoint) right now. The walks are free and require advanced registration.
It's a great day to explore the beach with a low of minus 3.00 at 11:38 pm today.
The next walk at this park is scheduled on May 20, 2012. You can register for this walk by calling 206-386-4236 or by clicking here.
Local dive serves up great seafood and heavy drinkers!
May 1, 2012 by 1 Comment
Just a couple hundred yards off Beach Drive lies one of the best little dives along the entire Alki strip. Locals would reefer to it as a a swim-up bar but most get to it by boat (want more puns?).
Known to most as the Alki Rock Pile, this site also goes by Alki Reef, Jacobson Fishing Reef or Fish Haven (as noted on marine charts). Several popular dive sites on the web incorrectly state that this man-made reef was one of the original 13 artificial reefs created in Puget Sound in the mid 1970's by Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife. It was actually created in May of 1987 as a "mitigation reef" to offset the ecological damage created when developing the Elliott Bay Marina.
The idea was to carefully construct a reef which would provide an assemblage of economically important fish species similar to, or greater than, the impacted habitat.
A scientific study used to measure the effectiveness of the reef in 1989 described how it was built…
"A total of 181,400 metric tons of quarry rock was used to construct fourteen 41 m· 15 m· 6 m (high) reef structures in a 2.83 ha area during May 1987. This design of a 1:2 ratio of reef material: sand bottom also accommodated the trophic level relationships normally occurring for fishes feeding from reef structures and surrounding natural habitats."
While researching this particular reef on the internet, I found that it has become a reference point for building artificial reefs worldwide.
Today marks the opening day for Ling cod fishing which will attract several boats fishing the reef in May.
Photo credit to zlatcarp Hey baby, last time I seen a mouth like that, it had a hook in it!
Divers get their shot of these lunkers in the 3rd week in May
I'll end this fish story with a great video of a couple of divers that were escorted from Emma Schmitz Viewpoint to the reef by a "true local". Turn up your speakers and enjoy!
Scupper, for Beach Drive Blog
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