West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
Second orca alert of the day! This time from Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, reporting northbound orcas in the Fauntleroy ferry lanes. Let us know if you see them!
Add to the list of things you can do today – go look for orcas! Kersti Muul sends word there are whales just north of Elliott Bay, headed southbound. Let us know if you see them!
Just got the tip from Kersti Muul: A group of orcas identified as the T-65a transients (who, she notes, include a year-old calf) is headed southbound, seen off Yeomalt Point on Bainbridge Island [map]. Midchannel, so if you go out looking, bring binoculars. Let us know if you see them! We’ll keep updating this story, though we’re working on a lot today so it won’t be at the top of the stream for long.
(Photo by Mark Sears – permit 21348)
What did the Legislature approve to protect Puget Sound orcas, and what happens next? You can find out at The Whale Trail‘s next gathering, which also will feature orca researcher Mark Sears. Here’s the announcement for the event Thursday night (May 16th):
“Celebrate Orca Legislation and Puget Sound Orca Update Featuring Mark Sears”
When: Thursday, May 16, 7:00 – 8:30
–Doors open at 6:30
Where: C & P Coffee Company, 5612 California Ave SW
Cost: $5 suggested donation; kids free
Advance tickets: brownpapertickets.comLast week Governor Jay Inslee signed five bills to protect southern resident orcas. The new laws will reduce vessel noise and disturbance, improve salmon habitat, reduce contaminants, provide protection from oil spills, and educate boaters. The Canadian Government also announced new measures to protect orcas including establishing feeding sanctuaries for the orcas and setting a distance setback of 400 yards for all vessels. A good week for the whales!
Join us to celebrate a new era in orca protection, and hear an update about orca activity in Puget Sound from whale researcher Mark Sears. Learn what’s next for orcas, the Task Force, and the Whale Trail, and how you can help!
Buy tickets now to reserve your seat.
Our report on last month’s Whale Trail gathering/presentation is here.
(Photo by Kersti Muul)
Two reports of reddish-orange water in Puget Sound along West Seattle shores mean it’s time for the annual reminder of what this is: An algae bloom, usually Noctiluca. Though it’s nontoxic, and it’s not a new phenomenon, it’s not benign, as the state Department of Ecology noted in this post last year – “An increase in the abundance of Noctiluca is an indication of an unbalanced system, and while the plankton is not toxic itself, their presence creates a cascade of effects in the marine food web.” Excess nutrients are a big part of the imbalance; here’s more on that.
12:26 PM: Another submarine pass off Alki Point – the photo is cropped from a telescope view texted by a reader a short time ago. MarineTraffic.com identifies it only as “warship.” Hard to know if it is the same one, but there also was a northbound pass last Sunday, and a southbound one yesterday. The U.S. Navy base in Kitsap County is home to some submarines, though more on the Bangor (Hood Canal side) than the Bremerton side.
2:28 PM: Another photo, this one by Jim Borrow:
The Muckleshoot Tribe canoe family is one of at least two paddling off West Seattle today; thanks to Lynn Hall for the photo. The Muckleshoots will again host an Alki Beach stop on the annual Tribal Journeys canoe voyage this summer; it’s shown online as tentatively scheduled for July 18. This year, canoe families are paddling north to the Lummi Nation west of Bellingham.
Seen off West Seattle Saturday night:
That submarine passed in the early evening – thanks to the person who texted us the photo (206-293-6302 any time). A couple hours later, Lynn Hall caught a sailboat in the sunset:
Thanks to Scott at Seattle Dive Tours for the report and photos:
On Saturday, April 27th, Seattle Dive Tours coordinated an underwater clean up at Seacrest Park. 10 divers committed their time to clean up debris found underwater and were able to remove around 100 pounds of debris from our ocean.
West Seattle-based and West Seattle-owned Seattle Dive Tours coordinated the event to help clean up their primary dive site. They used Project Aware’s Dive Against Debris program to provide education and a PADI dive specialty certification that included a short presentation from an environmental scientist. After collection, all the debris was weighed, sorted and cataloged by a volunteer from the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
Project Aware’s Dive Against Debris program collects data from divers and dive businesses around the world to assist in aggregating data of marine debris to better understand this issue confronting our world.
The most interesting item found was a tennis racket while the heaviest item was a car tire. As always, there is always a plethora of plastic spoons found. Previously, Seattle Dive Tours owner Scott Flaherty recovered a McDonald’s coffee stir spoon that hasn’t been produced since the early 1990s. This is just another reminder that plastics do not break down. Sadly, the vast majority of the debris is always found closer to water taxi at the buoy line.
(WSB photos, taken from Jack Block Park)
Just arrived at Terminal 5: The 860-foot Matson container ship Mahimahi, first call of Matson’s new lease to use part of T-5 while modernization work gets going on another part of it.
Mahimahi sails weekly between Seattle and Hawaii. The last regularly scheduled container operations at T-5 were in 2014.
Matson previously called at T-30 on the south end of the downtown waterfront.
With renowned yacht builder Delta Marine nearby, we have superyacht sightings off West Seattle now and then. This morning, Jim Borrow photographed 175-foot MLR, launched by Delta earlier this year. MegaYacht News notes it docked recently downtown, and includes aerial-tour video provided by MLR’s designer Jonathan Quinn Barnett.
(Added: Saturday evening photo, before Norwegian Joy moved to Harbor Island)
1:53 PM: Though cruise-ship season doesn’t officially resume until May 4th, a big ship is at Pier 66 today and will then be at Harbor Island for a while. Port of Seattle spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB that the 3,804-passenger-capacity Norwegian Joy will move from the downtown dock to Vigor “for some minor interior work” before it returns to 66 for the May 4th departure. (This report indicates that’s the final phase in a “refit” as the two-year-old ship shifts to Alaska cruises after starting out in Asia.)
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: MarineTraffic.com shows the Joy is now off Harbor Island.
ADDED: Thanks to Max for the photo:
Two ships that Elliott Bay-watchers will see soon:
FIRST CRUISE SHIP ON MONDAY: Though regular weekly cruise-ship departures don’t start until May, the first call of the season will be on Monday (April 15th), when the Celebrity Cruises ship Eclipse stops at Pier 66. It will be on its way to Vancouver, B.C., where it will depart on a 12-night one-way cruise to Hawaii two days later. After that, the next arrivals aren’t scheduled until May 4th. See the full schedule here; the port’s 2019 cruise-season one-sheet is here.
MATSON’S MOVE: We’re following up on all the changes set in motion by last week’s vote approving short-term and long-term leases for West Seattle’s Terminal 5. The former, Matson, will have its first T-5 call on April 26, according to the Northwest Seaport Alliance, whose spokesperson Katie Whittier adds, in response to our inquiry, that “Matson yard equipment will be delivered to T-5 between now and April 22. The gate will open for receiving cargo on April 22.” According to the Matson website, that Hawaii-bound vessel should be the Mahimahi.
10:01 AM: Just in from Kersti Muul – orca alert! She says a small group, probably transients, is headed southbound, off Alki. Let us know if you see them!
11:11 AM: David Hutchinson saw them – from Constellation Park – and sent the photo we just added above.
1:55 PM: Kersti reports in comments that they are headed back northbound!
2:25 PM: Update from Kersti – they’re “just north of the Fauntleroy ferry, NB on the east side of the channel.” Research boat headed that way, too.
(Added: Photo by Gary Jones)
8:18 AM: We’ve just received multiple reports of orcas in the area right now! Five seen headed southbound, south of Alki Point. Please let us know if you see them!
(Added: Photo by Gary Jones)
8:50 AM: Thanks to Jim, Kersti, and Betsy for the alerts. Jim was first to call and subsequently has reported multiple groups.
(Added: Photo sent by Lori)
9:37 AM: Still in view if you look toward Blake Island, we’re told. Kersti says they’re transients. Adding more photos – thank you, everyone!
FRIDAY NIGHT: Thanks for the photos added in comments! Also, Jim Borrow caught this view of the Vashon Water Taxi Sally Fox whale-watching:
… it might be related to a Sunday incident involving this one:
That U.S. Coast Guard photo and the one below were taken by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Caraballo in the Sunday morning fog on the water between Fauntleroy and Blake Island. This Coast Guard news release explains the rest of the story:
A Coast Guard boat crew responded to a report of an unmanned adrift kayak and found that it belonged to a group of six kayakers stranded on Blake Island Sunday.
A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Seattle safely transported all six people and their dog from Blake Island back to a pier in Manchester, as well as recovered two of their five missing kayaks.
At 8:07 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound watchstanders received a report from the crew of the Washington State Ferry Chelan of an unmanned and adrift kayak. The ferry crew spotted the red kayak while pulling in to the Fauntleroy terminal.
The Station Seattle boat crew launched in response, conducted a search for the reported kayak and located it in the vicinity of Faunteroy and Vashon Island.
Around the same time, one of the kayak owners had contacted the watchstanders at Coast Guard 13th District Command Center. They reported that they had been camping on Blake Island and when they woke up, all five of their kayaks were gone. District personnel connected them to the Sector Puget Sound staff, and their red kayak matched the description of one of their missing craft.
Station Seattle grabbed the kayak, headed toward the campers, and found a second one of their kayaks while en route.
A tug crew in the area found two more of the kayaks, but one kayak remains missing. The missing kayak is reported as 12-foot fiberglass white kayak with black trim and a dolphin on the side. If anyone sees a kayak matching this description, please contact Sector Puget Sound personnel at 206-217-6001.
This response also highlights the importance that mariners properly secure and label their vessels, as well as file a float plan. Had the owner been unable to call, the search would have continued and they could still be stranded.
2:35 PM: Thanks for the messages and photos (the one above is from Carolyn Newman). That’s the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS Manchester, as identified the number 14 on its hull. It was commissioned less than a year ago.
3:31 PM: As for the question “why is it here?” SeaWaves Magazine tweets that the Manchester is at Vigor on Harbor Island for its “Post-Shakedown Availability,” explained here as “an industrial activity availability assigned to correct deficiencies found during the shakedown cruise or to accomplish other authorized improvements.”
Just got a text from Kersti Muul – orcas are passing West Seattle! Off Blake Island, midchannel, southbound right now.
We’ve received a few questions about why the Washington State Ferries vessel Puyallup is docked at Terminal 5 in West Seattle. No, it’s not waiting for space at nearby Vigor Industrial (where it was built). WSF spokesperson Ian Sterling explained when we inquired, “Puyallup is in for light maintenance for minor wear and tear on the car deck, as well as some work on the electrical systems.” He added that this is being done by Foss Maritime, which, you’ll recall, has had an interim lease for space at T-5 for the past few years: “We’re excited to have more options when it comes to maintenance and repair of the state fleet. Puyallup is expected to be at T-5 until the end of the month.” It’s usually on the Edmonds-Kingston run.
Thanks to Jim Borrow for the photo. That’s the Zhen Hua 31 headed north in Puget Sound on Saturday evening. You might not recognize it without the high-profile cargo – it was last seen passing West Seattle (twice!) a week and a half ago, carrying four huge cranes bound for the Port of Tacoma. They were unloaded this past week and now the heavy-lift ship is headed back to China – in the Strait of Juan de Fuca headed for the open Pacific as we get ready to publish this early Sunday.
First, from the “seen off West Seattle” file:
CANADIAN VISITORS: That photo by Jim Borrow shows the Renard (58), which along with Wolf (59) is visiting Seattle from Esquimalt, B.C. Both are Orca-class Royal Canadian Navy Training Tenders.
And from the “soon to be seen” file:
USCG HOMECOMING: Thanks for the tip that the U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star is due back in Elliott Bay this afternoon after three months away on a mission to Antarctica. Its official arrival has been announced by the USCG as midmorning tomorrow but, following up on the tip, we note via the MarineTraffic.com tracker that it’s off North Kitsap right now and headed this way.
(Texted photo)
7:42 AM: Thanks for the photos and texts! That was the double-take scene in Elliott Bay this morning – the heavy-lift ship Zhen Hua 31 carrying four huge cranes, which just yesterday afternoon – as chronicled here – was last seen headed for Tacoma. When we stopped watching, MarineTraffic.com showed it south of Burien. So why was it back off West Seattle this morning? We just checked with Northwest Seaport Alliance spokesperson Katie Whittier, who told us, “The crane vessel left Commencement Bay overnight because the anchors were not setting in the bay floor. … We expect them back in Tacoma at some point this morning.” She promises more details later. Meantime, the ship has indeed sailed south – again – and is shown as off Burien – again.
(Photo by Chris Frankovich, as ship passed southernmost West Seattle this morning)
10:15 AM: More from NWSA’s Whittier:
The cranes have been back in Commencement Bay for a bit over an hour now. We don’t know yet whether they’ve successfully anchored. Last evening when they anchored, they began to drift, so they pulled up the anchor and tried a second location. The same thing happened there, so the captain decided to return to Elliott Bay where he had successfully anchored earlier in the day during the pilot change. A different anchorage location in Commencement Bay will likely be available today but was occupied yesterday.
The engineers will board the vessel after it completes Customs. If all goes according to plan, that will happen late this morning. I should have more information by the end of the day, but as you can imagine, there are a lot of moving pieces and other decision-makers involved in the next steps. Our hope is to bring them to berth by the end of Friday, though that depends on when other ships arrive—unlike last year, Husky Terminal is now a fully-operational facility so we must schedule the cranes to move between other vessel calls.
(Updated photo, 1:59 pm)
1:27 PM: We’re at Alki, where the heavy-lift ship Zhen Hua 31 is in view in the distance, headed this way, carrying 4 huge “super-post-Panamax” cranes – lift height of 165 feet – to the Port of Tacoma. Backstory is in our Monday preview. The Northwest Seaport Allianc tells us that, as was the case when a similar delivery was made a year ago, the ship will be pausing to change pilots, so it’s likely to be in view a while.
1:53 PM: The ship is at the bay’s entrance now.
(This photo and next by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
2:22 PM: Back out of the bay now.
Should be visible a while longer from west-facing West Seattle.
(Photo by Lynn Hall)
3:04 PM: Now out of West Seattle waters, passing Burien. (More photos added)
(This photo and next by David Hutchinson)
And yes, we’ll see cranes like these headed for West Seattle’s Terminal 5 eventually – the NWSA says the modernization project to make T-5 big-ship-ready will include them.
ADDED 7:15 AM WEDNESDAY: For some reason the Zhen Hua 31, cranes and all, sailed back up here at some point and is now off West Seattle again. Trying to find out why.
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