SeaFair 2009

Every year here in Seattle they have an event called SeaFair which is a multi-day affair culminating with the Blue Angels airshow and hydroplane races on Lake Washington.  The big thing is to experience this on a boat, any boat, in the middle of the lake in what turns out to be a day-long party.  I was lucky enough to included in my friend Joe’s uncle’s 70′ boat on Sunday and it was a day to remember!

My biggest fear was being “stuck” on a boat all day without any chance of escaping, but after around 8 hours out there, it all turned worthwhile.  There were about 60 people or so on the yacht (my first real yacht experience) and people were expected to bring food, even though there was a bunch of catered stuff.  I made this 7-layer mexican-style dip which was a good hit – all of the food is designed to provide some sort of base for all the drinking that takes place.

Highlight: Having much needed pure fun.

Lowlight: Losing my phone (first time ever) and probably on the bottom of the lake.

My gameplan was to pace myself for the long day.  I think I mostly accomplished this.  With so much to drink available and so much food, a lot of people, er, did not really pace themselves.  They had a water balloon launcher to hit nearby boats, there were literally hundreds of boats and balloons.  We did have someone in our group who flashed the guys very early on – all in the name of good clean fun.  When fuel was splashed around in the back of the boat, there was some tension to put out all the cigarettes and cigars that were lit in that part.

When we had positioned the boat in the right part of the lake, we anchored while we waited for the Blue Angels.  They have a C-130 that makes a pre-flight, a massive cargo plane that banks at around 45 degrees and is an amazing sight.

The Blue Angels started flying around 1:30 and if you have never seen them, it is a spectacle.  Just pure adrenaline and these rocket ships flying at high-speed, loud, roaring, just like Harleys in flight – and right overhead.  Gosh, it’s something that you will never forget.

After that, with the Coast Guard leading the way, all of the ships follow a path to the hydroplane place where these fuel-powered boats going over 200mph just zoom by with tremendous amounts of water spewing behind.

We took a number of swims in the lake and it was so hot with the sun beating down and fairly tepid water, that by the end of the day, everyone was literally and figuratively burnt.  If you had to work the next day, like some of us, it was pretty rough and took a day or two to recover.  But what a good time.

And the learning was, do not place your phone near a place where a wave can take it overboard!