Seattle's Grand Opening Day of Boating

From "Lindsay's Photographic Blog: The World As I See", a new and exciting photo blog by my stepdaughter, reprinted with her permission. 

Opening Day ? ? ? ?

That was often the response I would get when telling someone I was heading down to Montlake for the Opening Day festivities.  The Opening Day of Boating Season took place today, the first Saturday of May.  It is a long standing tradition in this city.  According to the Seattle Yacht Club, the first Opening Day took place in May of 1913.  If you are a part of the boating or rowing community in Seattle, Opening Day is a big deal.

My family has been very much a part of the recreational (and commercial) boating world.  I moved on to a boat (a 47-foot classic wood vessel named the Lady Mick) with my mom and step-father beginning my freshman year of high school with our Siberian Husky, Annie, and our cat, Emil.  Opening Day was on the calendar every year.  So many boats would come to watch the festivites (often over a 1000), that my parents would bring the boat out a couple days early to get a good spot along the shoreline leading to Foster Island.  It became a tradition- I would spend the night with a high school friend, go to school the next day, and then take a Metro bus to the Montlake neighborhood.  The fun part was always wading through the extremely muddy trail leading to Foster Island, while looking for the familiar bow of the Lady Mick.  Once I found them I had to start yelling to get their attention.  They would then hop in the dinghy (small boat) with the dog and would make their way over to the shoreline to pick me up.

I have so many fond memories of those days- dancing on the back of our friend's boat, my friend and I climbing up to the top of the Lady Mick with a radio to listen to music and watch the crew races and boat parade, and socializing with family and friends who always joined in on the party.

Unfortunately, it is has been several years since we brought the Lady Mick to watch the spectacle that is Opening Day.  My parents have since moved off the boat and she has been moved from Lake Union to the Kitsap Penninsula.

While nothing beats hanging out on a boat for Opening Day, this year I thought I would head down to Montlake and watch the festivites from the shore.  It was a fun day....and the weather even decided to cooperate.

You can see more pictures of Opening Day at her blog, The World As I See It.


Lindsay is a nurse in the hematology/oncology unit of Seattle Children's Hospital. You can follow her blog, listed to the left of this post. And speaking of Children's, don't miss their amazing video which has just gone viral, "Stronger."