Motley Moose – Archive

A Washington State Ferry plying between the San Juan Islands and Anacortes with Mt. Baker in Background

Working boats are those that haul our freight, catch our fish, transport us where bridges don’t go, and rescue us when we are either unlucky or foolhardy at sea. These are hard working craft with hard working captains and crews.

Pleasure boats are often elegant and great for sport. We’ve all seen the graceful sailboats with their colorful billowing spinnakers and sailors’ hair blowing in the breeze. And then there are the really big giant multimillion dollar yachts that for many of us elicit varying parts of envy and repugnance. I believe that far too little attention is paid to the real boating troopers who toil daily in all kinds of tides and weather. In this photo diary I highlight these intrepid mules of the waterways. No fair weather sailors here.  

I live on a bay at the edge of the Salish Sea. We have a wonderful harbor that moors both pleasure craft and working boats, including a sizeable fishing fleet that fishes both locally and in the waters of Alaska.

Most of these photos are taken on or around Bellingham Bay including Squalicum and Fairhaven Harbors. A few photos are from the nearby San Juan Islands and the Northern Puget Sound, all parts of the Salish Sea. Some boats are at dock while others are underway carrying out their various nautical occupations.

Hello Motley Moose,

 This is my introductory diary on the Moose and it is mostly a photo diary illustrating the part of the world in which I have lived for 43 years. I apologize for the sometimes awkward layout and structure as I have yet to master the finer points of editing on this site.

I posted something similar but not identical in the past on DKos but this one is a bit wider ranging and more local.  The present diary comprises some of my amateur photos depicting Bellingham Bay and its environs. Bellingham, a city of about 80,000 is bounded on the East by the Cascade Mountains that loom over our city as an extension of the Cascade Range that includes Mt. Baker, a 10K foot volcano. To the north is Canada and its extension of the Cascades. To the West and South lay the San Juan Islands, arguably the most popular cruising islands in the U.S. and perhaps the world. Of the 172 or so islands in this archipelago, only 4 are served by the State’s ferry service, hence they are largely cruising islands. These islands are set within the  Salish Sea which extends from Puget Sound north into Canada incorporating also, Georgia Strait and the Canadian Gulf Islands.