Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Shilshole Shuffle

It is sad. But it is a happy thing too.

We are about to lose our neighbors, Curtis and Cynthia on Wind Dancer. They will be moving their boat inside the Locks to somewhere on the Ship Canal because it will be closer to Curtis' work. We are sad, because they have been great neighbors, and we will be sorry to see them go.

But we will be happy because Brent and Jill on Ambition will be taking their slip, and become our new neighbors. Ambition is even the same boat as Wind Dancer - an Irwin 53! Amazingly, we had 4 of these Florida-manufactured boats on our dock at one point two summers ago - we are down to 3 right now, and with Wind Dancer leaving that will make two.

Shilshole rents slips from the first of the month, so at the beginning of every month there is a shuffling going on - people moving in, people moving out, people trading slips with others, working their way toward what they consider to be their ideal slip:
  • Port tie
  • Starboard tie
  • North facing
  • South facing
  • Close to shore
  • Out at the end of the dock
  • Next to a liveaboard
  • Not next to a liveaboard
  • Straight-in shot (for those few slips where this is possible (I'm talkin' to you, Ghost)
  • Next to a sailboat
  • Next to a power boat
Fortunately, we think we are there, and feel very fortunate to have this slip.

There is another collection of folks who are in motion too - those who are sub-leasing slips. As one sub-lease expires, another opens up (or at least, they hope so), and so these folks move every month or three.

We who live on boats are, almost by definition, a transient community. In fact, tho we were dock newbies in 1999, we are now some of the oldest residents (well, yeah, that way too I guess) of G Dock. It falls to us to keep the memories of past residents like Art on Phoenix Rising (now at Fox Island), Brian and Martha on Nawura (now in New Zealand), Billy and Trish on Kwinhagak (now in Mexico), Tom & Dawn on Warm Rain (now in the South Pacific) alive for the newer folks.

There are, after all, plenty of memories.
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1 comment:

Lynda said...

Bob, you need to do this EVERY month - then we know what's what and who's who!

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