Tag Archives: commercial

Commercial Vessels on Lake Union

Lake Union is a real mix of boat types.  We were crossing it on a pontoon rental that my friend Torger had access to.  We got to see a lot of different stuff out there.  There is plenty of cash in Seattle so there were a lot of the large boats that are owned by those with a touch more cash than me.  However, while the leisure market is a big deal these days, Seattle is still a commercial port.  Fishing boats abound in Salmon Bay and out towards Lake Union.  There are dry docks for the work that big vessels need including floating dry docks.

Towing operations are aplenty.  Tugs to pull barges up the coast to Alaska are there as are tugs for more local duties.  Fishing vessels also mean fish processing vessels.  These boats take the catch from the smaller boats and process and freeze it for transport back to the distribution facilities ashore.  These fishing vessels look pretty substantial when you see them alongside in Seattle.  However, I imagine when you are out in the Bearing Straits, they suddenly seem a lot smaller as the big swells of the northern Pacific are heading in their direction.  Not a job for the faint of heart.

Commercial Service Starts at Paine Field

SeaTac may be the main commercial airport for Seattle but there is now a second airport for mainline service.  Paine Field has opened its new terminal and commenced service.  I had a trip to make so decided to give it a go.  Not only is it closer to home but parking is cheaper and the prices for flights were pretty low.  Time to give it a go.

It took me a while to find the long stay parking.  The signage was useless.  When I returned to pick up my car, I noticed that they had added new signs and had people hanging around in the access roads asking if you needed help.  Could have done with them before.  Interestingly, when I returned to pick up the car, the long-term lot was marked as full.  Not sure how well that is going to work out.  They did have some additional parking under construction.

The terminal itself is very nice.  They were still debugging the check in systems at the Alaska desk when I got there.  The process of handing over my bag was a little confused but, since there were only two of us at the two desks, it wasn’t like there was a lengthy delay.  Similarly for the security line, while the website said there was TSA Pre, there wasn’t.  I had to remove all of my camera gear from the bags but, again not many people there so it was easy to get done quickly.

There are two gates in the terminal itself.  I never saw more than one plane on a gate at a time but, as other airlines start service, I imagine it will be a bit busier.  There were sections of the waiting area that were empty for now so it has the ability to cope with more people.  The gate area itself is very nice.  Comfortable chairs and nice decorations, combined with a bar make it feel more like a dining location than an airport.  Very cozy.  There was a Beecher’s Cheese location apparently under construction which might be good for a snack when it opens soon.

The services were being operated by Embraer E175-E1s.  There were plenty of ground staff to deal with the flights.  There seemed to be loads of them and, with plenty of time between the flights, they didn’t seem over taxed.  However, I suspect there was still a lot of training underway – hence the excess staff.  Loading didn’t take long and then it was off to the runway, past the Boeing flight line and then departure.  I found it a great way to get a flight and, with a surprising number of destinations available, I hope to use it more.  It is certainly more convenient for me than SeaTac.

The Commercial Craft Have Precedence

I learned something new about boat traffic while at the locks in Ballard.  There is a clear rule structure about which types of boats get precedence when traversing the locks.  Priority goes to government boats and emergency services.  Then scheduled commercial boats followed by unscheduled commercial boats before you start to get to the pleasure craft that make up a big chunk of the traffic.  One of the boats had tried to enter the lock and they got a loud verbal warning that they had jumped the traffic lights and that a commercial craft was going ahead of them.

After hearing this, I chatted with one of the lock staff and he explained the way in which things are prioritized.  The boat that first demonstrated this was a fishing vessel that went through the smaller lock and was a pretty snug fit (although the crew didn’t seem to even pause when running it in to the lock).  The other commercial vessel that came in was substantially larger.  It was directed to the main lock while the smaller traffic continued to use the smaller one.  Seeing such large vessels come through and the change in perspective from when they were below you as they entered to being so much higher when they left was quite impressive.