Going Inland – Lake Union & Lake Washington

Something Old – Lake Union, Something New – Lake Washington – 

In our ongoing quest to explore new boating destinations, we scheduled a two-day stop at an anchorage in Lake Washington for our inland lakes diversion trip. We left Puget Sound for a few days before finally ending our Pacific Northwest cruising season with a stay in downtown Seattle.

With this in mind we left Puget Sound and entered the Ballard Locks – time to brush up on our locking skills. Then we transited through Fremont Cut for a quick lunch break in Lake Union. Making our way to the center of the lake, we cut the power to our Volvo Penta engine and free-floated for about an hour. With the backdrop of Seattle to the south of us, we enjoyed a colorful salad as we were entertained by float planes taking off and landing.

Lake Union is a busy waterway, we were surrounded by many kayakers, wakeboarders, and other boaters as they all seemed to be taking a tour, as we were, around Lake Union. This satisfied our need for “Something Old.” We stayed at a marina on Lake Union many years ago, right after we bought our Fathom 40 and were having her electronics installed.

After lunch we moseyed up to Lake Washington, passing by the University of Washington and Husky Stadium. Our “Something New” anchorage was Andrews Bay off Seward Park – the only official anchorage in Lake Washington. Located on the western shore, the 120-acre park is home to hiking/walking trails, picnicking, and beaching. It offers a well-protected cove for boats to anchor in a scenic, protected environment.

The anchorage was rather full when we arrived, it was the weekend and a very nice sunny day. We were able to find a good spot, far up into the cove as we could get. It was a little noisy with the day boaters enjoying music and water toys, but it all died down just before sunset as most of the boats had departed leaving the cove with only a half dozen boats to share the clear midnight sky and almost full moon.

We stayed two nights. Mostly caught up on some work and communications. Nice office space – right on the water.

After two nights, we pulled anchor and headed back to Fishermen’s Terminal for a rendezvous with friends.