All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
We spied this bone-chilling house on the 4800 block of Beach Drive the other day. 
With Halloween just a few days away, it would be spooktacular to share photos of your haunted Beach Drive homes, ghoulish carved pumpkins and spooky pets dressed in costumes on the blog. Email us your photos before Halloween!
How many movies can you count where an "incurable disease" threatens the worlds population? No worries if you can't think of any off-hand… they're still making them!
Unfortunately, this old plot is a bit too close to home for our local Puget Sound salmon runs. Recent news has reported a sample of wild Sockeye in British Columbia have contracted a European strain of Salmon Anemia. Which of course, is non-curable.This fish flu has historically only affected (devastated) the Atlantic Salmon farms in Norway, Scotland, Chile, and Eastern Canada but has never shown up on the Pacific side of the world… until now.
Like me, you may be asking what Atlantic Salmon are doing in the Pacific mixing with our own superior wild salmon species? Well, our northerly neighbors in British Columbia have been farming the Atlantic species for years now, buying the eggs from Norway (just like Chile did). Then it dawned on me that we have some aquatic salmon pens about 5 miles west of Beach Drive just inside the southern tip of Bainbridge Island inside Rich Passage.
I've motored over to the pens a few times each summer showing guests salmon splashing around and the seals begging a few get loose. A little research revealed: "Oly Yump'n yalmon!" those are Atlantic Salmon being farmed by American Gold Seafood for buyers such as Whole Foods who sells the fish outside our local market area (it's a "socially sensitive subject" in these parts). American Gold Seafood owns and operates over 120 salmon pens in Washington waters with this villian fish yet claim superior farming methods as compared to other competing sites. They have not detected the virus.
We've recently noticed the UW research vessel Thomas G Thompson snooping around between Beach Drive and Blake Island wondering if they're probing some of our friendly salmon or herring in their floating laboratory (place dramatic sci-fi music here).
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Starting to see the "net set" working the waters off of Beach Drive. A local resident we'll refer to as Mr. Green Horn hitched a ride Wednesday as a go-fer-boy and mentioned none of the boats are having great catches yet, "the Chums still don't seem to be all that plentiful right now".
Scupper, roporting for Beach Drive Blog
After two days of looking out our windows and watching the events unfold of salvaging Justin, the WWII vessel that was being used to assist with building a new bulkhead off of Beach Drive, it seemed refreshingly calm to only have this scene this morning.
We did wake up to flyovers from the Coast Guard to survey the area.
It didn't take too long for crews to show up to start salvaging items from the floor of Puget Sound.
It also appears that some patch repairs are being done to the vessel above (which had water pumped from it from damage this weekend). Note the diver on the smaller boat.
It looks like this anchor pole is being removed, possibly for repairs.
Update 9:40 am October 17, 11: More photos from Scupper showing the main barge that Justin was tied to showing the patch repair.
If you'd like to see all the photos that Scupper and I captured of this event, you're welcome to check them out on our Flickr page by clicking here.
Update 9:30 am, October 16, 2011: We've added a couple more of our favorite photos. We'll be posting a collection of our "Justin" photos from the past few days soon.
Scupper shivered his timbers capturing some great photos of the salvaging of the once sunk vessel off Beach Drive, Justin.
Because it's late and we typically don't blog as late as West Seattle Blog, we're going to share a few photos tonight and we'll update this tomorrow morning with more. Scupper took over 100 shots after nightfall alone and we want to select and share what we think are the best.
Here's a preview.
Justin is enroute to Tacoma per employees of Waterfront Construction.
Good news, Scupper found the owner of the hard hat that he found floating in the Sound. Hat and head will be reunited soon.
Watch for this post to be updated tomorrow!
Justin is the 75 foot vessel that sank yesterday off the shores of Beach Drive causing a fuel spill in the waters of Puget Sound. It’s a WWII style landing craft that was being used to carry boulders and material back and forth for construction of a bulkhead for a home located around the 5400 block of Beach Drive. We have our coverage, including photos and video posted here. We will be updating this post throughout the day. If you have photos, videos or tips you would like to share, please contact us!
This morning, they are preparing the raise Justin.
Throughout the night, the area was patrolled by the Coast Guard with their blue lights flashing. During the wee hours, a new barge with a crane has joined this attempt to fix the “Beach Drive Bulkhead Blunder”. Helicopters are already flying over this morning.
Tides just passed the first high tide of 10.09 at 8:08 this morning and will be slightly heading down to a low of 6.53 at 1:43 pm followed by the next high of 9.83 at 6:43 pm. At 1:40 am tomorrow, the tide will be at a low -0.64. According to various weather reports, it should be a crisp, sunny day following some morning fog. The tides and weather appear to be in Justin’s favor.
9:30 am update: The large crane is being positioned and there is a diver(s) in the water.
9:50 am update: we’ve noticed sheen from the fuel spill up to the shores of the 4700 block of Beach Drive (by Emma Schmitz Memorial Viewpoint).
West Seattle Blog’s continuing coverage is here. and…
West Seattle Herald’s continuing coverage is here.
10:20 am update: Scuppers notes that the cable that has been connected (to Justin?) has not budged in the last hour (watch the red diamond in the center of the photo).
Scupper is heading out in the BDB Zodiak to investigate how far north the fuel sheen has spread.
Update 10:30 am: the cable just pulled up something – not sure if it’s a metal part from Justin, possibly a piece of it’s railing?
Update 11:25 am: Scupper has returned with video showing a thicker slick north of Emma Schmitz View Point (4600 Beach Drive). We wish the media could get a shot from the air to show the current extent of the fuel slick.
A seal pops up to check out the seen.
2:10pm update: We can see Justin!
Crew has rigged up new larger strap.
Update 4:30 pm: the crew has rigged two harnesses around Justin and making adjustments, preparing to raise the sunken vessel.
The sunset will be around 6:202 tonight with the tide heading back down at 6:45pm.
5:37 pm update: We’re seeing more of what appears to be Justin’s cabin.
6:00 pm update: more photos of Justin as the vessel continues to be lifted from Puget Sound and of the Coast Guard helicopter that has been circling overhead.
7:15 pm update… more photos compliments of Scupper.
Click here for more night photos and the final stages of salvaging the sunk vessel, Justin.
The sunset last night was so beautiful that people were stopping their cars at Emma Schmitz View Point just to take it in.
EDITORS NOTE: We will continue to update this post throughout the day as the story of the sunken vessel and fuel spill off of Beach Drive continues.
Two armed Coast Guard boats that typically escort Washington Ferries are cruising the shores off Beach Drive. They seem to be spending a lot of time by the crane and one of the boats has a crew member at one of the gun stations.
Update: it appears to be a water rescue off of 5411 Beach Dr SW per Seattle 9-1-1.
Update 8:34 am: it appears that "loader" type boat used in delivering rocks to this bulkhead capsized this morning. More info (and photos) to follow.
Update 8:58 am: King 5 News reports that the vessel that sank is 75 feet long and an obsorbant oil boom is being deployed. West Seattle Blog reports that no one was believed to be on board – King 5 news states it is unknown and that divers are in the water.
Update 9:05 am: it looks like this vessel sank around high tide, which was 11.1 ft at 7:30 am, we're heading towards a low tide of 6.1 at 1:00 pm.
The vessel is tied to the crane/barge operated by Waterfront Construction.
The 75 foot vessel appeared to have been a WWII landing craft that was being used to deliver rocks for the building of the new bulkhead off Beach Drive. It sank about 100 yards from a very popular dive spot "The Rock Pile" that is rich with ling cod and other bottom fish.
Update 9:30 am: Here is a photo we captured last Wednesday which includes a landing craft, quite possibly the one that is now sank and leaving fuel.
This photo of The Justin, was taken on October 4, 2011.
Update 10:00am booms being deployed to try to contain the fuel spill.
This appears to be the back up crane that may be used in recovering the sunken vessel along with two Coast Guard ships.
Update 10:50 am: Efforts to contain the fuel spill.
Update 12:42 pm: Attempts to lift the sunk vessel are taking place with water being pumped off the crane/barge.
Looks like boats from NRC (National Resource Consultants?) are on scene to check out impacts on the environment.
Update 1:30pm (hat tip West Seattle Blog via Twitter) from the Coast Guard's News Release:
It has been confirmed that no one was on board when the vessel sank. The owner of the vessel has reported there is approximately 300 gallons of diesel and 50 gallons of motor oil on board. There is an approximate 600 by 300-foot sheen on the water.
A sheen of diesel fuel this size will deteriorate as it is exposed to elements and natural wave action, but petroleum spills of any size cause environmental damage to water.
The responsible party has contracted National Response Corp. Environmental Services, which is on scene deploying boom, a skimmer and absorbent pads to contain and absorb the spill. They have also contracted divers to contain potential pollution. As the vessel was sinking, efforts were made by the responsible party to plug the fuel vents to prevent pollution.
Agencies are flying over the scene to survey the spill.
This photo just in from Scupper: "Safety is Everyone's Business"
4:50 pm update: a news truck has been parked by Emma Schmitz View Point next to an NCS dumpster.
Scupper picked up this hard hat with other trash.
Update 5:00pm: Channel 7 reports that the barge was damaged by the sinking vessel and was taking on water which is why the water was being pumped out.
KOMO-4 has footage interviewing Scupper, who was giving the media rides on the BDB Zodiak for close up views. A lot of the close-up footage is courtesy of Scupper – tune in at 6:00 and 11:00!
Larry just emailed us with this information from a Beach Drive neighbor:
“At the start of my run this morning at 5:30 am, I saw a coyote chasing a collared yellow tabby cat down 64th towards Beach Drive. I followed them and after some time, was finally able to scare away the coyote. The cat was scared and hid under the rocks at the beach – I couldn't get it to go home. Just thought that our neighbors may want to know that there is a determined coyote around Alki trying to eat cats!”
You might want to try to keep your kitties indoors.
A woman was successfully rescued from the waters across the street from Mee Kwa Mooks Park just after at 10:00 this morning.
Update 11:08 am: West Seattle Blog reports the woman, in her 30s, has been taken to Harborview Hospital with possible hypothermia.
Recent Comments