HARBORS Spring 2012

HARBORS Connecting People, Places, Adventure and Lifestyle.

The

Ranger Tugs Adventure Ready

Bald Eagle Discovery Islands, BC

Kayaking Johnstone Strait, BC

Five Star Salmon Fishing the Bute Inlet, BC

Fresh Start Retreat

A Journey to Health

A Car-less Getaway Vancouver - Victoria - Seattle

Spot Prawns

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with Grant Goodeve

HOME

ALASKA

BRITISH COLUMBIA

IDAHO

MONTANA

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WASHINGTON

Multi-Media Destination Marketing INTERNET - TELEVISION - PRINT REach ThE MOST SOuGhT afTER DESTINaTION MaRkET IN NORTh aMERIca In the Pacific Northwest is a multi-media company designed to promote tourism and highlight life in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on natural beauty, recreation, outdoor adventure, and cultural opportunities. In the Pacific Northwest encompasses three areas of production: an interactive global website, a regional video production for web and broadcast television, hosted by well-known television personality Grant Goodeve, and a high gloss “coffee table” magazine with engaging content and exceptional photography.

N aT u R E

Nature • resort & spa • recreatioN • cuLINaRy TOuRISM outdoor adveNture • art & culture • BoatiNg & FishiNg • real estate

D E S T I N aT I O N S

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www.inthepacificnorthwest.com The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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EXPERIENCE

Hands-On HISTORY

The Center for Wooden Boats is a hands-on maritime museum located on Seattle’s Lake Union, a stone’s throw away from Kenmore Air. Rent a boat, learn to sail or just marvel at the forces that make planes fly and sailboats sail.

Both adults and youth can learn to sail in historic wooden sailboats.

Non-sailors can rent a rowboat and enjoy a floating picnic in the middle of the city.

Do-it-yourselfers can build a wooden boat, cast a bronze oarlock or learn classical navigation.

A short walk through Lake Union Park will take you from Kenmore Air’s Lake Union Terminal to Wooden Boat Paradise. ...And Admission is FREE!

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51’ NAVIGATOR PILOTHOUSE 2006 Custom ordered, orig owner, fresh water boat. Contact Dale Partna.

Local owners acquire Crow’s Nest Yachts Seattle Crow’s Nest Yachts Seattle, featuring premier new yachts for sale and a robust brokerage business, is now under the ownership of three local yacht brokers with more than 80 years combined experience in the industry. Dan Wood, Vic Parcells, and Dale Partna are the new principals, acquiring the Seattle location of Crow’s Nest Yachts.

••• Crow’s Nest Yachts Seattle would like to welcome our newest member, Wyatt Hyora, to the Crow’s Nest Yachts family!

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by Crow’s Nest Yachts Newport Beach and Crow’s Nest Yachts Seattle.

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LET THE REAL YACHT RACE BEGIN. 65’ to 150’ marina slips are selling fast.

The Victoria International Marina in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada is one of the most exciting new marina projects on the international scene. 29 marina slips available, accommodating vessels 65’ to 150’ in length are now on sale. Don’t let this opportunity slip away. Call 604.687.2206 or visit us at victoriainternationalmarina.ca to learn more.

Friday Harbor House is just steps away from the marina and one mile from the Friday Harbor Airport. A cozy room awaits, complete with gas fireplace and oversized, jetted tub-for-two.

Enjoy authentic island cuisine while taking in panoramic views of the San Juan Channel, ferry landing and marina at The Bluff Restaurant • Bar • Terrace.

130 West Street Friday Harbor, WA 98250 360.378.8455 866.722.7356 fridayharborhouse.com Reservations may also be booked online. Please enter HARBORS when making your reservation.

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Stay overnight and receive a complimentary appetizer at The Bluff! Call and mention Harbors.

SPRING 2012

Features

10

The Magnificent Bald Eagle

15

Five-Star Salmon Fishing

20

Fresh Start Retreat

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Kayaking Johnstone Strait, BC

28

Plug Love

30

Kenmore Air Destination Maps

34

A Car-less Getaway

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South Lake Union - Seattle

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A Microbrew Cruise

44

Spot Prawns

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Adventure Ready: The Ranger Tug 27

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Northwest Author Spotlight

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Reflections on Northwest Boating

An Unmistakable Icon of the Pacific Northwest

Fishing the Bute Inlet, BC

Striving for a Healthy Global Community

Finding Inspiration

Cover Photograph The Ranger Tug 27 cruising the Discovery Islands, British Columbia —Ranger Tugs

These Plugs Work!

South Zone / North Zone

Train, Helicopter and Floatplane

The Center for Wooden Boats

On the Historic Schooner Zodiac

The King of Shrimp

The Amenities You Want For Comfortable Coastal Cruising

Craig Romano

Photographer Richard Duval The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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volume 3 issue 2 HA R B OR S The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine CONTACT P.O. Box 1393 Port Townsend, WA 98368

E: info@harborsmagazine.com W: www.harborsmagazine.com

PUBLISHER / EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Katherine S. McKelvey GRAPHIC DESIGN Danny McEnerney EDITOR Allen Cox query@harborsmagazine.com CONTRIBUTORS Lucy Blue Allen Cox Richard Duval Doug Emory Sue Frause Colleen Friesen

Karin Leperi Bart Rulon Terry W. Sheely Roger Ward John Wooldridge

ADVERTISING SALES ads@harborsmagazine.com WEB DESIGN workin’ man creative PHOTO CREDITS Courtesy of:

Bart Rulon, pgs. 10-14 Terry Sheely & Sonora Resort, pgs. 15-19 Fresh Start Retreat, pgs. 20-23 Colleen Friesen, pgs. 20-27 Terry Sheely, pgs. 28-29 Heath Moffatt, pg. 35 (bottom) Sue Frause, pg. 35 (top)

Center for Wooden Boats, pgs. 38-39 Schooner Zodiac, pgs. 40-43 Ranger Tugs, pgs. 46-51 Peninsula Daily News, pg. 52 (bottom) Craig Romano, pg. 54 Roger Ward, pgs. 56-57 Beach Haven Resort, pgs. 58-59

HARBORS magazine is printed by Journal Graphics, Portland, OR.

HARBORS magazine is printed on recycled paper.

DISTRIBUTED BY

PUBLISHED BY

SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE www.harborsmagazine.com © 2012 by All Ports Media Group All rights reserved. Partial or whole reproduction is prohibited. The publisher will not be held responsible for errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space of the ad. No changes may be made or cancellation accepted after the publication deadline date. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this magazine or Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc.

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HAR B O R S

Welcome to our spring issue of HARBORS magazine.

Harbor Lights A Note from the Publisher

Spring in Washington and British Columbia is a welcomed season. After a long winter of cold and wet, residents and visitors embrace the warm sunshine and budding vegetation with open arms. Everything is fresh and new, even the human element appears happier and ready for a season filled with activity.

As temperatures rise, more of us crawl out of our winter hibernation and dust off our bikes, kayaks, fishing poles and hiking boots, preparing for the summer months ahead.

This is the season for spring cleaning and rekindling our relationship with the outdoors. In this spring issue of HARBORS magazine we have some wonderful articles and stories that reflect the real beauty of our region.

I hope this issue inspires you to get out and enjoy the waters of British Columbia and Washington. This spring issue features some great destinations from eagle watching and fishing in Desolation Sound to a micro-brew cruise through Puget Sound. Don’t miss our perfect flyaway destinations on the Olympic Peninsula and the San Juan islands.

I highly recommend a flightseeing excursion on Kenmore Air on a clear spring day. It is a spectacular way to show a visiting friend or relative the beauty of our region.

Whatever you do, enjoy the magazine, the journey and your destination!

Katherine S. McKelvey Publisher

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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ON THE HARBORS WEBSITE...

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Connect with us, other travelers, and exciting destination deals!

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Participating Businesses & Organizations HARBORS Travel Club Members receive a 10% or greater rewards discount at the following participating businesses. The rewards vary by business and are restricted to regular priced merchandise and services. Contact the individual businesses for restrictions and details or go to: www.harborsmagazine.com/travel-club Victoria/Vancouver Island, BC

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*$26.95 Canadian membership, see website for details.

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Abigail’s Hotel Bear Mountain Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort Brentwood Bay Lodge Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa Hotel Grand Pacific Fairholme Manor Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa Prestige Oceanfront Resort Prime Steakhouse & Lounge Royal BC Museum Sauce Restaurant & Lounge Sooke Harbour House Victoria Regent Waterfront Hotel Waters Edge Resort at Pacific Rim

San Juan Islands

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Northern BC Islands Dent Island Lodge Poet’s Cove Resort & Spa Rendezvous Lodge

Seattle

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See www.harborsmagazine.com for additional listings and restrictions.

Welcome to Kenmore Air In February, I was privileged to attend the annual fundraiser for the Center for Wooden Boats. This wonderful institution plays a critical role in preserving the maritime heritage of our region through its collections and educational programs. The Center has long been our good neighbor on Lake Union, and we have been proud to support its work.

The Center exemplifies how a rich history, an exciting present and a vibrant future come together on Lake Union. And if this is true for boats, it’s most definitely true for seaplanes as well.

The first seaplane flights from Lake Union were made in 1914 — only 11 years after Orville and Wilbur proved it could be done. Two years later, a young Seattle businessman took to the lake for the maiden flight of a floatplane he had designed and built. His name was William Boeing, and you have perhaps heard of the little company he went on to found.

In 1918, Mr. Boeing again made history on Lake Union when he and pilot Eddie Hubbard arrived from Vancouver carrying North America’s first international airmail. Two years after that, Hubbard won the first U.S. Mail international contract, flying the same route between Lake Union and Victoria that Kenmore Air flies today.

Hubbard’s Boeing B-1 flying boat is today the crown jewel in the collection of Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry, which in November will have a grand re-opening in its new digs, the former Naval Reserve Building in Lake Union Park, right between Kenmore Air and the Center for Wooden Boats.

This event will cap the redevelopment of recent years that has made historic South Lake Union into an exciting leisure and cultural district. Away from the lakeshore, the former neighborhood of decrepit warehouses and dingy storefronts is being transformed with new high-tech businesses, restaurants and shops — some of which you can read about in every issue of HARBORS Magazine.

We like to think that our presence has long made South Lake Union a desirable destination.

If you haven’t been down to South Lake Union lately, come and check out our “new” neighborSchedules and fares hood sometime soon!

Todd Banks President

for Kenmore Air’s 2012 summer season destinations are available now at KenmoreAir.com

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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The Magnificent Bald Eagle An unmistakable icon of the Pacific Northwest

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Descending in a Kenmore Air floatplane toward Stuart Island, one of the Discovery Islands in BC, I could see the distinctive white heads of bald eagles scattered in the trees along the water. Photographing bald eagles was one of my goals for this trip and the anticipation was already building. Little did I know that a few days later I would have the most exciting eagle experience of my life.

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By Bart Rulon

Late in the afternoon the water was raging like river rapids in front of Jimmy Judd Island. At least forty eagles circled above the whirlpool-churned waters known as the Yuculta Rapids.

Larry Anderson, owner of Nanook Lodge, maneuvered us through the turbulence in his fishing boat and positioned us at a spot near the island where the seas weren’t so violent.

At least once every minute an eagle would take on an intense stare, angle its wings forward and dive like a missile. With perfect timing, the legs would drop down like landing gear

and the talons would open to snatch a fish floating at the surface. The small fish on the menu that July afternoon were Pacific hake. Larry explained that a strong incoming tide flows through the middle of the channel at depths of 200 feet and hits an uneven sea floor with rocky pinnacles, boulders and shallow edges at depths of 60 to 120 feet, creating turbulence, whirlpools and vertical upwells. The hake, which swim in deep water, get trapped in the vertical upwells and develop a bad case of the bends, causing them to float to the surface. Eagles were snatching fish

in every direction and sometimes one would whoosh right by us and grab a fish within twenty feet of the boat.

When an eagle caught a fish, it became the target of several other eagles attacking from all directions attempting to steal the meal. The midair tangles would usually result in the prize dropping back down to the water and the whole process would start again. At the high point of this feeding frenzy about 70 eagles circled or perched in nearby trees watching for the next opportunity. In 20 years of photographing eagles all over the

Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, I’d never experienced anything like this.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we are spoiled by an abundance of bald eagles.

It’s hard to believe they were once in big trouble in the United States. In 1963, there were only 417 documented nesting pairs across the Lower 48.

As a consequence, in 1973 the bald eagle was one of the original species protected under the Endangered Species Act in the Lower 48. In 2007, with the population rebuilt to 9,789 nesting pairs, the bald eagle was de-listed.

A bald eagle captures a Pacific hake from Yukulta Rapids during a feeding frenzy that included 70 eagles.

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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Bald eagles are most abundant near water, be it salt, fresh, moving or still, where they make their living in a number of ways. They are best known for swooping down and snatching fish right out of the water. These sharpeyed hunters have favorite perches for different times of the day from which they survey the water for quarry with the sun at their backs for maximum visibility. Eagles can see four to eight times more detail than a human with perfect vision; I have seen them spot prey from a distance of one to two miles away.

And bald eagles don’t just eat fish; they are opportunistic feeders that chase just about anything that’s smaller than they are. Small mammals and waterfowl are on the menu, and ornithologists inspecting their nests sometimes find pet collars from small

dogs and cats. Bald eagles also scavenge much more than the average bird of prey; they will wait for other birds, such as hawks and gulls, to do the hard work, and then simply launch their attack like a school-yard bully until a meal is surrendered. Benjamin Franklin thought the bald eagle was a poor choice as a national symbol, saying it was “a bird of bad moral character.”

Size matters when your livelihood depends on bullying, and female bald eagles grow larger than males. They can have a wingspan of more than seven feet and weigh up to 14 pounds.

When a mated pair is perched side-byside the size difference can be obvious.

Bald eagles build nests the size of a bathtub or larger, usually on the tops of trees, cliffs, or in rare cases even on the ground. They often build one or more alternative nest within their

territory. Young eagles look down from their nest in nervous anticipation of that first flight. Immature eagles usually fly within three months of hatching and are completely on their own a month after fledging.

For the next four years an immature eagle will go through plumage changes featuring patterns of brown, tan and white, until the pristine white head and tail of adulthood finally arrives. A trained eye can age an immature bald eagle by its plumage. Every Kenmore Air floatplane destination is not far from an excellent opportunity to observe bald eagles in the wild. I often spot eagles before the plane’s pontoons start to skitter across the water for a landing. I just look for the places where the trees meet the water, raise my binoculars and watch the show.

A male bald eagle comes in for a landing on a favorite lookout perch near his nest.

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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Immature bald eagles, like this one, usually return to breed within 100 miles of where they were born after they reach adulthood.

Biography: Bart Rulon is a professional wildlife artist, photographer, and naturalist living on Whidbey Island, Washington.

He is the author of five books, and his work has appeared in numerous museums, books, and magazines. Travels have taken him all over the world to research wildlife subjects including places like Africa, India, South America, and Alaska. You can view Bart’s award winning art and photography at www.bartrulon.com.

To join Bart on his next wildlife photography workshop this year at Nanook Lodge visit www.bartrulon.com or call (360) 678-3882.

The Secret Lives of Bald Eagles • Eagles mate for life.

• The largest nest ever recorded was nine feet wide, 20 feet deep and weighed more than two thousand pounds.

• Bald eagles typically lay one to three eggs and incubate them for 31 to 46 days.

• Eagles typically live 15 to 25 years in the wild.

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Five-Star Salmon Fishing

By Terry W. Sheely

A vibrant, breath-taking sunset on Desolation Sound in northern BC.

An Angler’s Inside on the Outside of the Inside Passage A flurry of sea birds erupts over the spooky swirls and gaping whirlpools in Arran Rapids, white feathered confetti rising in formation from the mirror of Sonora Channel. The twilight, lit by the spotlight of a hot orange sunset, glows against the black-green mountains of the Toba Wilderness.

A fat sea lion rolls through the mirror, three bald eagles argue over a

silvery sliver of fish, and across the bay behind Stuart Island the icy mountains plunge like cliffs into the waterline and continue another 2,100 frigid feet to the bottom of Bute Inlet.

It’s a mesmerizing view of raw wilderness; a panorama incredulously viewed through a wall of windows in the upscale pampering of a Relais & Châteaux-approved resort surrounded by the wilds of British Columbia’s Desolation Sound. It’s a juxtaposition of urban pampering and wild reality that confuses my rather earthy-primal conception of northern wilderness. I am dining on white linen on the inside of a calendar photo, enjoying the distinguished flavors of a superbly prepared

five-course dinner, just a thin pane of glass away from the teeth and talons of wildlife, truly dangerous and uncaring currents, and some of the most primitive country in North America.

And salmon.

This is a fishing trip for the bucket list, a very special place to tease up a king salmon where luxury meets wilderness at the end of a spectacular 2-hour-and-20-minute low-level floatplane flight on Kenmore Air from Seattle’s Lake Washington, with a brief stop to clear customs in Nanaimo on eastern Vancouver Island.

Tomorrow I fish.

Tonight I finish a dozen sweet oysters, sliding the last succulent one off

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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A fleet of fast Grady White cruisers await fishing guests at the Sonora Resort.

the shell in a slush of oyster liquor and lemon juice letting it dissolve on my tongue like sweet confection. At the dock below the window eight Grady Whites are precisely moored stern to bow; beyond, the seabirds have vaporized into clear sky. I finish a 4-year-old Burrowing Owl chardonnay and follow the path past the mineral pools, rock statuary and through the Zen garden to the private trout pond to relax with some evening fly casting.

To say that I am feeling good with life right now is akin to describing the apocalypse as mildly interesting.

The pond trout are chunky rainbows up to three pounds that eat well on the offered black Wooly Bugger wet fly, and are a proper tease for tomorrow when long-time saltwater guide Don Martin will run across the bay in his venerable Grady White from his home on Stuart Island and pick me up at the 16

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dock of Sonora Resort.

I’m looking forward to a couple of days of fishing with Don for spring chinook salmon in Bute Inlet, a fjord 128 miles long from its head at the Homathko and Southgate rivers to its mouth pinched tightly by Stuart Island and fronted by Sonora Resort, all 25 acres, 5 guest lodges, pools, spas, gardens and classical conservatory of it.

The winding water canyon is about six miles wide in most spots, and known for its spring chinook, wildlife and scenery. The towering mountainsides leak with ice-field water and plunging falls and the summits are encrusted in permanent snow pack.

Spotted Dolly Varden char and iridescent cutthroat trout can be caught on light tackle by casting spoons and flies from gravel beaches in the inlet. Black and grizzly bears follow the spawning

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salmon and fishermen up the tributaries and mountain goats look down on chinook trollers. And off the stony points, in the indentations and coves and along the kelp lines, there are feeder spring chinook to be caught, Don assures, 10- to 30-pounders and always the possibility of bigger.

I’ve read the fish calendar for this area: chinook year round, coho from mid-June through September, pinks in July and August, chum in September and October, and sockeye from July through August.

Bute Inlet is primarily a chinook fishery and I’m here for the spring chinook, but keep wondering about those summer coho, and that 72-pound September chinook that Tommy Thompson caught a year earlier in Denham Bay where we’ll fish tomorrow. In June, Don explains, the salmon fishery relocates from Bute

down to the islands cloistered in the Inside Passage where anglers target migrating swarms of salmon from hundreds of different runs of fish that are sorting through the Discovery Islands searching for distant spawning streams and rivers.

The action can be fast, addictive and difficult to tear away from even for lunch. Which is why, I’m told, that during the peak of the Inside Passage salmon bite Sonora Resort will shuttle chefs, staff, stemware and portable kitchens to John’s Point on a primitive island in the center of the salmon action, set up tables and shade screens and provide lunch barbecues—all to minimize an angler’s time off the water.

My lunch and thermos of hot coffee have been delivered to Don’s boat before I get there.

Arrangements for my fishing trip with Don, a local legend, I discover, were put in play by Sean Ross, personable general manager of the five-star indulgences at Sonora Resort. The resort contracts with locally-savvy fishing guides for salt and fresh water angling that can range from waders in remote trout and salmon streams to helicopter fly-outs for picnics on glaciers and trout fishing in alpine tarns.

For saltwater salmon and bottom fishing the resort provides a fleet of fast Grady White cruisers, 28- to 36-footers, with good electronics, experienced guides, quality tackle and, most importantly, heads and heaters and covered cabins. Don’s been fishing the waters at the head of Desolation Sound for a quarter century and his experience shows.

We shake hands and I can feel his confidence.

It’s an amazing place; five star B.C. salmon fishing in a National Geographic setting where the wide Strait of Georgia comes up from the south to narrow into Desolation Sound, shatter around the Discovery Islands and push into wilderness inlets carved

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First catch of the day for author Terry Sheely.

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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through weak spots in the rugged Coast Mountains.

The first bite comes along a solid wall of gray rock where a black bear came down to stare at us, a light tap that jolts the downrigger arm, but fails to pop the release that is holding the helmeted anchovy bait on a trolling path 90 feet down. Two small shaker chinook are released, a gorgeous 25½-incher rips around the boat, dances across the surface and finally goes into the fish box.

Further down the wall and close to the rock, my rod pounds down, springs up and the line peels into the blue-green water following a chinook on a smoking hot run. This fish has shoulders and attitude and circles the boat at a speed that makes the line hiss as it cuts through water. Don clears the other gear, readies the net and grins.

But somewhere between then and now this heavy fish on a straightaway run simply comes unbuttoned. Gone. Slack line drapes on the water.

The marine radio crackles with news that a 20-pounder was just caught on the other side of the Inlet.

We’ve got a salmon for the eating and tomorrow Don and I will fish again.

He points the bow toward the late 20-pounder, jabs fingers at the hillsides explaining the commercial mining and fishing, gold, native lore, pioneer history, topography, geography and personality of the inlet. On the far side of a long kelp bed, he points out the hidden home of an American movie star, tells me about a gentleman hiker, who three times in

A scenic water view of the luxurious Sonora Resort.

his sixth decade hiked from Bute Inlet to Vancouver, alone, without a trail, without bear spray—120 miles on the straight line, four times that with the vertical rise and fall of the mountains.

“He exuded peace and self-confidence more than any man I’ve ever met,” Don remembers. “The wilderness, true wilderness, can have that effect.”

I can’t argue his point but that evening I pull away from Don’s story, and from my own wilderness roots and indulge the luxury side. I close the menu and order the Chef ’s sampler— Dungeness crab with sturgeon caviar and crème fraîche, braised rabbit cannelloni, vanilla poached chinook with saffron velouté and Salt Spring Island lamb belly with glazed pearl onions, and black garlic puree. The Black Hills Sauvignon Blanc was appreciated almost on par with the temple of a steam room and softening of the sauna. It would be rude, I reasoned, to pass up the sauna since Sonora went to the trouble of installing three dozen for me.

Or the breakfast of eggs Benedict and delicate pastries before Don and I head to Denman Island, where the 72-pounder was caught, past the log booms at Mermaid Bay, along the roaring abyss at Yukulta Rapid and Devil’s

Hole, to the turbulent intersection of Frederick Arm, Sonora, Cordero and Nodales channels. The four-way confluence “is what makes this place so special to fish for salmon,” Don says, “it funnels migrating runs from every direction right here.”

I’m properly armed for trolling with a 12-inch glow gold metallic Super Betsy Flasher, a 6-foot leader, knotted to a 2/0 treble hook, sweetened with a helmeted anchovy.

White wraiths of ribbon clouds drift through the mountains and lift off the water. A weak sun is trying hard to transform summit ice into sparkling diamonds. The white heads of eagles glow in dark green conifer hillsides, seals slide by, kingfishers twitter and I can feel the power of the saltwater rapids.

The port rod dips and quivers. Don tenses. I set down my steaming Arco Etrusco blend, and move to the rod. It quivers again...

Sean is right, this is where luxury meets the wilderness.

When you go: Sonora Resort Canada, www.sonoraresort.com Kenmore Air, www.KenmoreAir.com

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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Fresh Start Retreat

By Colleen Friesen

The Fresh Start Retreat in Comox on Vancouver Island, BC.

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Striving for a healthy global community On a recent trip to Comox, I crossed w-a-a-a-y out of my comfort zone.

It was a crazy idea. Especially considering I’ve never missed a meal. But I was determined to try something new.

So I signed up for the world of plantbased eating at the Fresh Start Health Retreat. I figured that drinking only juice for four days was definitely new.

I lived to tell about it, but don’t worry, I haven’t become one of those vegans with a vengeance. Instead, I learned that we really are what we eat and most of us eat too much meat.

The resulting fatty cholesterol builds inside our arteries, reducing blood and oxygen flow to the heart (resulting in heart attacks), the brain (resulting in strokes) and the tissues (contributing to cancer).

In order to counter all my previous debauchery, Fresh Start administered liver-cleansing juices throughout the first four-days. Juiced fresh before serving, we chugged down drinks made with beets, lemon and apple, juices from spinach, celery, apple and cucumbers, and then the real crowd pleaser; sauerkraut, cabbage and carrot.

Oh, and let’s not forget the shots of juiced wheatgrass. Imagine distilling the sludge off your lawn mower blades. Exactly…

I felt energized and alert throughout my stay, and surprisingly, was only hungry a few times. It was almost easy in the temptation-free oceanside environment.

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The resort is built with sun-bleached wood creating a beach-quiet sanctuary; no clutter or cuteness, just serenity and calm. Each day, there was time for mossy walks along forest trails or on the windswept beach. The morning yoga classes were a gentle start to the day and the afternoon discussions on health and the cookless-cooking classes were both informative and fun.

My favourite was the prescriptive nightly steam bath. Sitting in the hot fog was my kind of detox.

On the fifth day, we tucked into an amazing meal of all raw foods, including a to-die-for ‘cheesecake’. They say hunger is the best sauce, but hungry or not, that meal was truly delicious.

Green smoothies were the easiest takeaway lesson from my stay. Essentially, fresh fruit smoothies are blended with any dark greens; the fruit effectively disguising the Kermit-colour. It guarantees a body-blast of goodness.

This is a different trip, one that certainly demands a commitment, but remember how you felt after your last vacation of burgers-and-booze?

Try something new. Take an alternate journey; one that sends you home feeling great. www.healthretreat.ca Delicious meals consist of “live foods,” which comprise fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, sprouts, seeds and nuts. These foods are designed for supporting and restoring life and all meals have an emphasis on healthy nutrition. Programs at Fresh Start Retreat will show you how to get the highest quality produce, and offer several video and live presentations about how to set up a healthy kitchen and prepare healthy meals.

Fresh Start Retreat creates a calming and healing environment for guests.

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Finding Inspiration in Johnstone Strait…

One Breath at a Time

By Colleen Friesen

Not all trips start out inspired.

We meet the other guests of Sea Kayak Adventures in the cavernous neglect of a basement room in the Haida-Way Motor Inn Hotel in Port McNeill, British Columbia. Our guides, Cara Andre and Dan Pichette, are eager and enthusiastic. In fact, they seem just a tad too keen—and young.

Dan is like a bouncy pup. They’re both a bit too ardent, or perhaps my perimenopausal personality is to 24

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blame. Cara doesn’t stop smiling. Her hair is a huge halo of springy curls.

Like us, the five other guests are boomers and mostly novice paddlers. However, it’s soon apparent that though our guides are young, they’re both kayak veterans, and very serious about safety. Dry bags are distributed.

We are to meet in the morning to begin our kayak camping trip in the Johnstone Strait.

That night Kevin and I try out the

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hotel’s dining room. They deliver my halibut fresh from the dock, seared and graced with a creamy lemon-butter sauce, laid out with a savoury kebab of roasted peppers, potatoes, onions and mushrooms. Wow. This is the way to deliver Omega 3s. I eat it all, not sure what the fare will be like for the next four nights.

I soon learn I don’t need to worry about the food on the trip either. Cara and Dan can cook, and by the second

day, my stomach is in love with them both.

One night in North Bay, after a dinner of lasagne baked in the Dutch oven, served with piles of organic salad and crunchy garlic toast, I sit with one more glass of Merlot and watch the fog begin its blanketing of the little bay.

The gulls are doing that crazy frenzy thing…probably attacking another herring ball while the day’s light still holds. I feel a freshening of the air, a cool wetness that feels like I’m ingesting the purest bubbles of unadulterated oxygen;, a heady champagne of West Coast health. I know that I am going to sleep like the dead again tonight.

But something else happens instead.

We wake together as mammoth exhalations surround our tent…I zip out, drawn toward the heavy blowhole breathing. The full moon illuminates the fog enough for me to realize I can see nothing but the pale thickened air filling the bay. The proximity of giants breathing—orcas that can weigh up to eight tons—overwhelms my brain.

The next day, a close encounter of a different kind came in the form of an attack. This ambush on our beloved guide Cara came to be known as the Auklet Incident. An auklet is a member of the puffin family. It is a bobbing waterborne bird that has a unique beak that it sheds every year.

To the untrained eye, it could be mistaken for an awkward looking duck wearing a Groucho Marx false nose.

We were in a lovely kayak-crossing formation when it happened; the auklet was coming from the right, flapping just above the water. It was skipping and dipping and almost touching the water like a plane that couldn’t quite get airborne. It was on a direct route toward Cara.

Later, Cara will debrief about The Incident. “Oh, how cute, I thought, it’s going to fly right in front of me.”

But then she saw it coming close, closer, still struggling to gain lift-off, and she didn’t know whether to lean

Paddling through the mist on Johnstone Strait.

Ever enthusiastic guide, Dan Pichette.

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back or forward or duck or what on earth she should do.

“The whole thing felt like slow motion…I thought, oh no, it’s going to hit me.” Which is when she bent her head forward and felt something like a beanie bag hit her in her spring-loaded ponytail. A soft thud and it was gone.

The poor pudgy puffin-like critter continued on, with a surely-by-now erratic heartbeat from its encounter with a curly nest of a different kind.

Leaving the rest of us…hysterical.

Who knew a kayak tour could include potential dangers from airborne auklets?

They say the shortest distance between friends is through shared laughter. What we discovered about throwing ourselves together with total strangers was it was easy to make new friends after shared belly laughs. Further bonds followed watching eagles wheel overhead or salmon flopping in front of our boats. We held each others’ bows as we rafted offshore to watch an otter mom carry her pups up the rocky shore. And seeing the sun throw its last flames on the shore while staring into a crackling beach fire touches something instinctual and perfect.

Witnessing the miracle of whales breaching while we sat suspended in the watery belly of the ocean is another memory I hold dear, as real to me as the heart-shaped rocks we found on the beach, rocks that now sit beside me on my desk as I type and smile.

This, then, is the way to inspired health; living among nature, eating deliciously healthy food, making new friends, creating watercolor memories, all while getting enough exercise to justify eating warm cake out of the fire’s Dutch oven.

Good stuff happens on trips like these…especially when you don’t have to do the dishes.

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These Plugs Work!

Plug Love

By Terry W. Sheely

I’m in love with dish-faced, pointy tailed plugs—again.

Big, fat wobbling salmon plugs may be the hottest saltwater lure ever forgotten.

Once the bread-and-butter lures for commercial trollers and highline salmon fishermen, conventional wooden and plastic salmon plugs have slipped into the shadows behind the techie fascination of hoochies, jigs, spoons and flies, along with innovative new ways to rig herring.

Plugs clobber big salmon when other lures stall. They make my line tight and my heart go zing.

My love affair with plugs started a bunch of decades ago on a winter fishing trip with Skip Marshall who ran Martin Tackle of Seattle, until it folded in the 1980s. Martin produced, at that time, a host of hot West Coast salmon plugs, including the now coveted wooden Rosegards, Spar X, KS and Teasers—all wooden, all with glass eyes, thick paint and all now collector pieces.

Over my screaming objections, Skip clipped off the hoochie squid and flasher that had, over the course of the morning, produced two nice winter kings, and knotted on a Rose28

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gard plug with a white body and red gill streak. He added (this was in the pre-downrigger low-tech days) a roundish, eight-ounce Metzler Quick Change sliding weight and pegged it 20 feet up the line from the wobbling lure, then he grinned.

My first winter king on the plug was eight pounds, the second was six, the third was 14 and the fourth was 12. It was the fifth winter chinook, the 18 pounder that convinced me.

Plugs clobber big salmon when other lures stall.

Martin plugs, Lucky Louie, Hanson True Action, Spark X, Wallace Slenness’ Highliner—most are now gone to collectors, but replacements are in the sporting goods stores: Tomics, J-Plugs, Brad’s, Canadians and the shake, rattle and double glow of the spatterbacked Silver Horde among others.

These plugs all follow the same design pattern, a dish-faced fat head beveled at approximately 45 degrees and bodies that progressively taper to a pointed tail. Typically three to eight inches long, they come rigged with

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either treble or Siwash single hooks that hang under the belly and trail back to the tail point. I prefer single hooks that trail just beyond the tail and pick up short strikers.

I favor the strength and large hooking gap of single Siwash style hooks over the tight nest of trebles. The main line should pass completely through the plug before it’s tied into the hooks underneath the plug, allowing the lure to slide freely up and down the main line. The hook point should ride just behind the tail so that it doesn’t clang against the tail.

By passing the mainline completely through the plug the lure slides freely, action is uninhibited by a binding knot and when fish are hooked the buoyant plug slides up the line and away from the hooks so the fish can’t use the bulky lure for leverage to throw the hook.

Plugs wobble side-to-side, tail kicking like a wounded baitfish hunting for its destiny. The steeper the dishface cut the faster the wobble. And while most often considered a big king lure, I’ve found plugs just as productive on silvers. They work trolled 200 feet down or 20 feet down, and I’ve caught silvers flatlining plugs

in the boat wake—an unweighted J-plug skittering in the motor froth three strips (six feet) off the transom.

Salmon plugs have personalities and salmon plug fishermen have favorites. It’s rare when pluggers don’t have a separate box of “Fish Catchers” for plugs that predictably produce. Since all plugs are now massproduced, I’m at a loss to explain why this plug is dynamite and that plug a dud, but it happens. A nuance in paint color, a miniscule change in hook balance, a flaw in the facial bevel, a click in the swivel—who knows, but when you find a lure that’s hot, take care of it.

Saltwater plugs are designed to be trolled and produce best when trolled on a long leash. Plugs are like puppies—the longer the leash (leader) the more active the lure and the shorter the leader the less active the pup. Twenty feet of line between plug and weight is standard, 50 feet not out of line. Forget the flashers, dodgers, divers and the rest of the attractors—a proven plug at the right depth is sufficient to outthink a salmon.

If the bait is at 100 feet, so are the kings, and so you should wobble your plug. When I’m in doubt and prospecting blind I follow the rule of 20. For silvers troll the plug 20 feet under the surface and for spawner kings and blackmouth 20 feet off the bottom.

With the plug 100 to 200 feet behind the boat, troll in a sweeping S pattern that covers lots of water, varying speed and making cuts that cause the plug to dart, hesitate and jump. Most modern plugs can be trolled up to six knots, which helps cover water and is not too fast for a salmon that really wants to eat it.

Typically a three-to five-knot troll will produce both silvers and kings.

Some plugs are built for speed and hot aggressive salmon, others for slow trolling to antagonize and tease those non-feeders. Most spell it out

on the box or blister pack.

Match the length of plug to the length of the dominant baitfish and make it a rule to slather the lure with liquid scents: anise, herring, shrimp and krill are my favorites. Because balance is so critical to plug action I steer away from paste baits. A lump of scented paste in the wrong place may throw a plug out of balance, and a crazy plug may look fascinating but crazy is rarely eaten. If you must add paste, I suggest rubbing it on the line, swivel and hook, not the plug.

Picking the right plug color is always a headache, made even more so by the popularity of UV paint jobs. Here’s some options to keep in mind: Glow, phosphorescent and bright colors work best at depths of 150 feet or more; white, pearl and clown patterns are proven big king favorites at all depths; metallic colors are hot when fishing shallow or where baitfish are balled and flashing. Green, blue, silver and gold are all good metallics.

Every plug produces better with a streak of red around the gills or on the tail. A 5-inch pearlescent model

with a garish slashed throat is my go-to plug.

Salmon eat plugs that look like food, move like food and smell like food.

Big fat wobbling plugs, in hot paint jobs, slathered in seafood juice, rigged to slide and targeted at depth cover it all—that’s plug love.

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Topographical data by True North GIS. Map Š2009 Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc. All rights reserved.

Olympia to Nanaimo

South Zone Kenmore Air Destination Map

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For Reservations Call (866) 435-9524 • www.KenmoreAir.com

Topographical data by True North GIS. Map Š2009 Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nanaimo to Port Hardy

North Zone

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Kenmore Air Destination Map

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For Reservations Call (866) 435-9524 • www.KenmoreAir.com

A Car-less Getaway

By Sue Frause

Amtrak’s Cascade Route traveling from Seattle, WA, to Vancouver, BC, allows travelers to take in some of the most spectacular scenery in the Pacific Northwest.

Train, Helicopter and Floatplane My favorite road trip doesn’t include me behind the wheel…it’s me traveling on a train. Unlike driving, when you’re ridin’ the rails you can lap up the landscape, listen to music, catch up on your reading, have a cocktail in the dining car, or even take a snooze.

I’m a frequent rider aboard Amtrak Cascades, the 466-mile route that runs between Eugene, Oregon, and Vancouver, BC. Most often, I take the four-hour train ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. On my latest trip north, I added Victoria to the mix.

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But instead of taking Pacific Coach Lines from Vancouver to the BC provincial capital on Vancouver Island via BC Ferries, I decided to get there by helicopter. I rounded out my trio of transportation by flying Kenmore Air from Victoria back home to Seattle. My three-day carless getaway convinced me that getting there is just as important as the destination. The journey is everything.

Amtrak Cascades makes one roundtrip daily between Portland and Vancouver, BC and two between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. The Seattle-Vancouver leg travels through King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties before arriving at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station. Booking a Business Class seat means priority boarding and deboarding, an extra perk when going

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through Canada Customs & Immigration in Vancouver. The cars are also quieter with fewer passengers in Business Class, featuring wider seats, complimentary newspapers and a $3 coupon for any menu item. Both Business Class and Coach Class offer free Wi-Fi and feature reclining seats with seat back trays, reading lights and power outlets. Once in Vancouver, you can get downtown one of two ways: SkyTrain, located just across from the station ($2.50); or by taxi, which will cost around $8. It’s wise to use ATM machine at the station to get Canadian currency or use the money changing counter. And make sure to bring your passport.

Vancouver has a variety of hotel options: The Burrard, a recently renovated motor-inn-style hotel with a hip,

LA vibe; Century-Plaza Hotel & Spa, featuring reasonable rates and Absolute Spa at the Century; Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, with its cozy Bacchus Lounge; and the elegant Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, home to CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La. All of them are within walking distance of Spokes, a family-run bicycle rental shop located at the entrance to Stanley Park.

Tooling around the 10K Stanley Park Seawall (6.2 miles) is a fresh way to see the city. With views of the North Shore mountains, Lions Gate Bridge, Boarding Helijet’s Bell 206 at the Vancouver Harbour Heliport.

Taking off over the magnificent Vancouver, BC waterfront with views of the Pan Pacific Hotel, World Trade Center, Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre and Cruise Ship dock.

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Flying over Seattle to Kenmore Air’s seaplane terminal at South Lake Union.

Siwash Rock and the Stanley Park Rose Garden, it’s tops on my list. Linger a bit longer at English Bay, also fun for people watching. Grab a burger at Vera’s Burger Shack on Denman or stop in The Sylvia Hotel’s lounge for a libation—it was the first cocktail lounge in Vancouver, opening in 1954, and the hotel is celebrating its centennial in 2012.

Since I’d flown on helicopters before, I wasn’t making my chopper de36

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but when I boarded Helijet’s Bell 206 at the Vancouver Harbour Heliport for my flight to Victoria. But I was still excited when the chopper slowly lifted off the ground and the city was splayed out below. The 35-minute ride offers passengers an eagle’s view, with Vancouver looming large on the landscape and the lush green of Stanley Park. Planes on the runways at Vancouver International Airport looked like little toys, and flying parallel with

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us was a floatplane. Water traffic below included BC Ferries and cargo ships.

It’s a fast, fun and scenic ride. Helijet and Fairmont Hotels have formed a partnership between The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver and The Fairmont Empress in Victoria. It means reduced Helijet rates of up to 15% off for members of The Fairmont President’s Club (membership is complimentary), along with best available hotel rates.

For a more hands-on sightseeing experience, go kayaking with Ocean River Adventures. Its Victoria Harbour Urban Exploration tour showcases Victoria’s Inner Harbour, and also includes a fish ‘n chips stop. The threehour tour is for kayakers of all levels, from beginner to advanced. Look for seals, eagles and other wildlife as you paddle along the shoreline—and learn more about the waters, locales and historic buildings that make Victoria special. They have twice daily departures, May 15 through Sept. 15, at 9:30 and 2. For rainy day activities, stop by the Royal BC Museum, which also is home to an IMAX Theatre.

Another carless way to see the city is with Discover the Past, offering walking tours (neighborhoods, ghosts and Chinatown).

As often as I’ve flown with Kenmore Air, I never tire of it. While trains are my favorite mode of ground transportation, floatplanes are my tops in the sky. Flying from Victoria to Seattle’s Lake Union is a 45-minute flight and the view out the window is spectacular. Surrounded by mountains, sky and water, it’s reaffirmation that I live in one of the most naturally beautiful places on the planet. And you don’t need a car to experience it. Taking a train, helicopter and floatplane makes for a memorable getaway you’ll want to repeat.

For More Information: Amtrak Cascades, www.amtrakcascades.com Helijet, www.helijet.com Kenmore Air, www.kenmoreair.com The Burrard, www.theburrard.com CenturyPlaza Hotel & Spa, www.century-plaza.com Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, www.wedgewoodhotel.com Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, www.shangri-la.com Fairmont Hotels, www.fairmont.com Spokes Bicycle Rentals, www.vancouverbikerental.com Ocean River Adventures, www.oceanriveradventures.com Discover The Past, www.discoverthepast.com

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SLU:

Neighborhood Happenings

Seattle’s South Lake Union Neighborhood, home of Kenmore Air’s Seaplane Terminal.

The Center for Wooden Boats

By Lucy Blue

Students work to tie the bent ribs into the umiaq style boat used by natives in arctic regions. Umiaqs are wood framed boats traditionally covered in walrus hide.

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This year, Seattle’s South Lake Union swarms with activity as a team of teenagers at The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) nears completion of a new boat to add to the museum’s collection of historic craft.

A boat under construction is hardly a new event at CWB, Seattle favorite hands-on maritime museum. What’s new is the Job Skills Training Program. With grant funding from the Russell Grinnell Family Foundation, CWB has started a new program to reach out and help kids who might be in danger of dropping out of school or have other difficult challenges in life.

The Job Skills Training Program provides 10 young people with the opportunity get paid while learning to build boats and run the livery (boat rental). They also learn how to write a resume, find a career and practice job interviewing.

The students have been working over the winter on a special kind of boat—an umiaq, a style of boat used by natives in arctic regions. Umiaqs are wood-framed boats traditionally covered in walrus hide. They contain no nails, but instead are lashed together with sinew. At CWB, the umiaq is built of cedar, covered in canvas and held together with seine twine and chopsticks made into pegs. The

boat is light, but still able to hold a Union. The Job Skills Training Prolarge amount of weight. gram will run through June and start CWB’s existing umiaq puts an up again in the fall. This program is astounding 2,500 kids on the wa- just one of the many youth programs ter each year as at CWB. Others they participate included toy boat in field trips. By building, school having the Job field trips, youth Skills Training sailing lessons, and Program stusummer sailing dents construct camps. a second vessel, CWB continthe museum can ues to bustle with let even more activity, all in kids experience preparation for a paddling on busy 2012. One of Lake Union. the highlights will Students measure along the If you walk be the 36th Lake gunwale to place the ribs. past the pavilUnion Wooden ion at the top of the south ramp, Boat Festival opening June 30th and you’ll see kids hard at work, yellow running through the fireworks on the shavings and laughter flying. They 4th of July. During the five-day fesstarted two months ago with a pile tival, anyone coming to South Lake of lumber, a large empty space and a Union will get to tour nearly 200 sketchy plan. Now they have a beau- restored wooden boats, build a toy tiful, functional boat frame waiting boat, take a free boat ride on the lake, for a canvas cover. eat delicious food and enjoy a beer The new umiaq will be launched in the beer garden, or just sit by the this spring at CWB at South Lake stage listening to live music.

Myron hammers pegs to hold the ribs to the keel as Alex makes sure the ribs are properly aligned.

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A Microbrew Cruise

By Doug Emory

When Zodiac first mate Chris Wallace kicked off our microbrewery cruise by saying, “It’s all about sailing and beer,” I have to admit to mixed reactions. I knew I could handle the beer part of the adventure—especially beer served, to my way of imagining, by mermaids as I glided over the mirror-smooth waters of Puget Sound.

However, the thought of four days at sea caused some trepidation. Given my strictly lubberly skill set, would I be sentenced to swabbing Captain Tim Mehrer’s deck? And what if I were stationed high in the crow’s nest while down below they were serving the beer?

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between those extremes. While mermaid service is a bit wanting, you’ll have plenty of opportunities for sampling excellent craft beer produced at some of the finest breweries in Washington State. And for those of you with a “Two Years Before the Mast” inclination, the Zodiac tour allows you to engage in the actual sailing of an historic schooner. (That word “historic” being no exaggeration: the Zodiac, launched in 1924, is on the National Register of Historic places.) You can assist the crew and passengers with raising the 4,000-square foot, 700-pound mainsail and, if you’re game, take on any of a variety of other nautical tasks involving lines, knots, and canvas. You will even be given the opportunity to

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On the Historic Schooner Zodiac

learn how ships are piloted, moving through four watch stations that begin with an introduction on how to plot a course and end with you taking the helm, all while Captain Tim watches over your shoulder, preventing your sailing the historic vessel to a desperate end on some rocky San Juan shoal.

After your time at sailing stations as a crew hand, you’ll want to retire to the ship’s galley where you’ll find an endless pot of coffee, frequent snacks, and three excellent meals per day. Hardtack and salt pork at no point appear on the menu. On this particular excursion, the schooner also came complete with its own brewer, Dave Eiffert from the Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company. Not only did Dave provide

samples of his brewery’s excellent ales (including such styles as Haystack Hefeweizen, Wildcat India Pale Ale and PGA Perfectly Great Amber), but he also, assisted by First Mate Chris, invented our voyage’s own unique brew, Marlinspike IPA, so named because we began the brewing process by grinding barley with a marlinspike.

The course? From our starting point on the Bellingham docks, our first sailing experience was a jaunt to Anacortes for a stop at the Anacortes Brewery and its Rockfish Grill. There, Head Brewer Kevin Pierce gave us a tour and then provided us with several sample pitchers of his product. Kevin and his crew produce about 30 styles of ale a year, with the highlights on the day of our visit being a heavily-hopped IPA with a grapefruit aftertaste and a red ale brewed in a bourbon barrel, a circumstance that gave just a hint you were drinking an 80-proof beer.

That first night, we anchored between Decatur and James islands, and

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Brewery Cruise passengers enjoy socializing on board the Schooner Zodiac.

An awesome spread of delicious food awaits passengers on deck.

in the morning the crew put any volunteers wanting a bit of hiking ashore for a quick tour of James Island State Park. After we were back aboard, tourists and crew all engaged in our first substantial bit of sailing, raising the mainsail and taking sailing stations for the voyage to Friday Harbor and the Cask and Schooner Public House and Restaurant. The Cask is a new business, housed in the same building as Friday Harbor’s original brew pub.

Inside, you’ll find an exact recreation of the wheelhouse of the historic tender Nereid, one of many vessels that helped develop the commercial life of the islands and Northwest Coast. Although the Cask wasn’t producing its own beer at the time of our tour, it does serve ale from other well-regarded local microbreweries, such as Ninkasi and its Total Domination IPA. The Zodiac anchored in Shaw Island’s Parks Bay that night, where our resident microbrewer Dave gave us an overview of the brewing process along with samples of his Snoqualmie ales.

In the morning we returned to sailing stations and headed south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Townsend. We docked and took another short hike, this time to the Port Townsend Brewing Company, a facility with its own history. The brewery originally opened in 1905 and ran as one of the state’s largest breweries until the advent of Prohibition, a distressing event which led the company to take a 70-year hiatus before successfully reopening in 1997. The current version of the brewery produces about 2,500 barrels per year, with nine standard and two seasonal styles and plans for expansion, a phenomenon prevalent across Washington State’s booming microbrewery industry.

Intern Carlos hauls in the ship’s crab pots.

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With a storm moving in, we spent our last night south of Port Townsend, at a less turbulent anchorage in Port Orchard. While the Zodiac and its crew generally run round-trip tours beginning and ending in Bellingham, our cruise ended with a scenic jaunt up the Ballard Locks to Lake Union so that the schooner could take a starring role in Seattle’s Wooden Boat Festival.

If Captain Tim and First Mate Chris had evaluated us as sailors, I

fear I wouldn’t have earned my midshipman’s rating, but I did come away with a refined skill in telling malts from hops and brown ales from porters. What I brought home in particular, however, is an appreciation for the crew and volunteers who pilot the magnificent Zodiac through the islands of our own Puget Sound.

Zodiac microbrewery tours will depart from Bellingham in July and again in September 2012. www.schoonerzodiac.com

Schooner

Adventures in the

SanJuan Islands

See the San Juan Islands from the deck of a beautiful traditional windjammer.

Day Sails, Extended Voyages, Special Events & Private Charters available.

360.378.2224 www.topsailnw.com

Cruising through the San Juan Islands at sunset.

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Spot Prawns This Northwest delicacy is the rage of seafood connoisseurs and, for that matter, anyone who likes a firm texture and buttery cross between shrimp and lobster.

Something Shrimpy About Spot Prawns Shrimp or prawn? The prawn label is commonly attached to larger shrimp, even though they may not be true prawns. And some prawns are biologically shrimp, such as the spot prawn, while some shrimp are technically prawns, such as the ridgeback shrimp. Confusing? You bet.

This we know: Shrimp and prawns are both crustaceans with ten legs and both live near the floor of waters they inhabit. From a culinary standpoint, the terms are interchangeable and what it boils down to is that you should choose your desired shrimp or prawn based on a combination of taste, size, and whether it is caught in 44

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By Karin Leperi

an environmentally responsible way.

Since all spot prawns harvested in the Pacific Northwest are caught with pots, a sustainable fishing method with a relatively low amount of bycatch and habitat damage, they are considered ocean-friendly seafood choices.

But because they are trap-caught and handpicked, they are expensive on the market. Current retail prices run as high as $20 a pound, averaging 8-12 head-on shrimp per pound.

All About Spot Prawns Spot prawns are the largest shrimp caught on the Pacific West Coast, measuring from 9-12 inches and considerably larger (and tastier) than your average cocktail shrimp. Ranging from Alaska to Baja California, they are easily recognized by size and their reddish-brown color along with two white spots on the tail.

Watery rocky habitats are natural havens for these giant shrimp: it is

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The King of Shrimp where they forage on other shrimp, plankton, small mollusks, worms, sponges, and dead organic material.

Scientifically, they belong to the Padalus platyceras family, but they are also known as Puget Sound Lobster, Hood Canal Spot Shrimp, BC Spot Prawn and Alaskan Spot Prawn.

When prepared as sushi and eaten raw, spot prawns are known by the Japanese name, amaebi.

As hermaphrodites, they spend the first part of their lives as male then undergo a sex change in mid life, transitioning to female for the duration of their life span. As females, they often have two or more broods before dying.

This actually helps preserve the species as females with eggs are thrown back from trap catches. Eggs are generally found on females from October through March.

Recreational Shrimp Fishing Due to their size and taste, spot

prawns lead in popularity among all types of shrimp and are part of robust commercial fisheries in Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia. And because they exist at reasonable depths with sufficient densities, recreational harvesting is a much anticipated season for casual shrimpers wanting to try their luck.

They are easy to catch if you understand their habitat. Shelter is the key.

They frequent crevices, hide under piers, or take refuge under algae during day. Undersea canyons are a favorite haunt. Before you harvest them, understand licensing requirements, regulations, where you can catch them and daily limits.

Shrimpers use pots of various sizes and designs to lure their catch into containers holding fishmeal. Canned fish-flavored cat food is one of the most popular baits used. The traps operate on the same principle as lobster pots where the catch enters the container for food and then can’t get out.

spot prawns. In British Columbia, robust restaurant buys in the month of May lead to great restaurants featuring some type of spot prawn specialty.

“British Columbia spot prawns have wonderful flavor and texture,” according to John Bishop, Owner of Bishop’s in Vancouver. Most seafood lovers agree that the sweet, delicate lobster-like flavor of spot prawns makes them a favorite for grilling, steaming, or serving whole. As an added bonus, they soak up flavors like a sponge.

And then there are the festivals.

Brinnon at Washington’s Hood Canal holds its popular Shrimpfest every Memorial Day weekend, celebrating with an abundance of Hood Canal spot prawns and other local seafood.

In Vancouver at False Creek Fisherman’s Wharf, the Spot Prawn Festival is a big draw in early May, where food and cooking demos from top chefs dominate the scene. Try a spot prawn boil with sides, sauces, and bread.

Both festivals can easily be reached via Kenmore Air charter flights.

Sustainable Indulgence If you want others doing the catching, many seafood retailers, markets and restaurants sell or serve seasonal

Bishop’s Whole Spot Prawns with Garlic Parsley Butter Sauce

Courtesy of John Bishop, Owner of Bishop’s of Vancouver, www.bishopsonline.com • • • • • •

1 lb (500 grams) whole spot prawns, head on 2 tbsp (30 ml) butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped parsley 1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add butter, garlic and parsley and lightly sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add whole prawns and white wine. Toss together and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Serve in warm bowls with lemon slices and a warm, crunchy baguette. Serves 4

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Adventure Ready: The Ranger Tug 27

By John Wooldridge

The Amenities You Want For Comfortable Coastal Cruising

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Looking down from the copilot’s seat of the Kenmore Air Turbo Otter, I watched in wonder as our plane’s silver floats broke loose from the waters of Departure Bay, fascinated as we climbed and banked out the entrance, where a large passenger ferry approached the harbor at the north end of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

I was on my way to Desolation Sound to meet Jeff Messmer, vice president of sales and marketing for Ranger Tugs, to spend a few days running the new Ranger Tug 27 among the mountainous islands of one of British Columbia’s more popular natural cruising destinations. We were flying

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northwest, the azure waters of the Strait of Georgia spread wide beneath us, and the precipitous evergreen-andgranite-clad peaks of Canada’s western range all around.

In less time than I thought, we began our descent toward Refuge Cove, on the southern tip of West Redonda Island. The Otter dropped down to skim the surface, transitioned from planing to displacement speeds, and, under the expert guidance of our pilot, glided smoothly alongside the float where the R-27 and an R-29 pulled gently at their lines.

On the docks, amid piles of luggage, waited Jeff Messmer and his

family, along with Todd Banks, president and general manager of Kenmore Air Harbor, and his family. For the last 10 days, the two families had cruised in concert and enjoyed the best that British Columbia has to offer in late August. With watermakers and solar panels aboard, they’d been living off the grid for several days at a time, enjoying the bounty of pristine salt waters. Now they were headed home, leaving Jeff and I to spend a few days cruising in the two tugs before heading across the Strait of Georgia to deliver the boats to Nanaimo.

Watching the distinctive yellow and white Otter take flight at the end of the passage leading to Refuge Cove, water dripping from the rudders on the float ends, I wondered how often this scene had been repeated in the years since 1946, when Bob Munro and two

high school friends—one a mechanic, one a pilot—founded Kenmore Air with a banged-up Aeronca Model K floatplane. From those humble beginnings, Kenmore Air has become “the world’s most successful seaplane airline,” as Harrison Ford wrote in his forward to Success on the Step, which tells the history of this airline that has flown countless crews to points north to meet or leave boats, among other fantastic missions.

By midafternoon, Jeff and I were under way, headed east to Prideaux Haven and a quiet anchorage at Laura Cove. We ran at 15 knots, Jeff in the R-29, I in the new R-27, and eventually dropped the hooks in Melanie Cove, since Laura Cove was well populated, even for late August. We lowered our anchors separately, then rafted the tugs together and ran a stern

line to a tree onshore, secure in three points against possible strong wind gusts overnight.

Comparisons Are Natural Seen tied alongside the R-29 in Melanie Cove, there’s no mistaking that the new R-27 is a member of the Ranger Tugs family. The R-27’s longer planing surface makes her a fine running boat, as I found out while crossing the Strait of Georgia a couple days later. Her hull form has an excellent running attitude, one that doesn’t squat under heavy acceleration. Power is provided by a 180hp Yanmar diesel, the only engine offered. Tankage is upgraded to 100 gallons from 75, with water and fuel tanks located low on the centerline so that changing levels won’t create list or change trim dramatically.

The R-29 and the R-27 anchored side by side show what a difference a few feet make though both models feature plenty of space to store kayaks, fishing and crabbing gear.

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The R-27 features an 8’6� beam for comfortable living accommodations. The helm seat folds down to expand galley counter space when not in use; the galley comes standard with a sink, refrigerator, inverter, microwave and combo propane stove/oven.

A large cockpit hatch provides access to batteries and other gear essentials.

The single 180hp Yanmar engine gives the R-27 a maximum speed of 20 knots and cruise speed of 8-15 knots; pick your comfort zone!

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The Build The major component in the construction of the boat is the hull mold, followed by a molded fiberglass stringer that includes the V-berth structure that forms storage compartments so that it runs from the bow to the stern. Lead ingots are molded into the stringer for attachment of the engine mounts to optimize vibration attenuation, and the whole structure is injected with high-density foam for noise deadening and some flotation.

There’s no wood in the hull, which is made with vinyl ester resin and is a solid fiberglass structure from the keel to the hull-to-deck joint. Ranger Tugs also chemically bonds an interior liner from the front of the cabin to the transom for added stiffness and strength. Divinycell coring is used in the flat areas of the deck mold to minimize weight above the waterline. Deck hardware gets a backing plate of aluminum or lifetime-warranty plywood encased in fiberglass. The deck is set on the hull sides in a shoebox joint, sealed with 3M 5200, and joined with marine mechanical fasteners at regular intervals. This last step is repeated with more fasteners when the rubrail is attached.

A Pleasing Interior Teak paneling is new on the main

cabin sides, echoing the built-in teak lockers and helm consoles. Teak-andholly soles on the centerline, under the portside dinette, and in the forward cabin add a classy look. Beneath the hinged and gas-cylinder-supported midship cabin overhead door, there’s a desk with a 12-volt outlet and a foldaway chair. There’s also a hanging rod and a double berth extending under the raised dinette that is almost 7 feet in length, perfect for kids or adults.

Headroom in the main cabin is increased on the R-27 to 6 feet 6 inches, taller going forward. The large teak dinette table is mounted on a high-low gas-piston pedestal. Dropped down, it turns into a convertible berth. A quick flip of the forward dinette seat converts it to a forward-facing passenger seat opposite the helm. Forward of the seat, you’ll find a glove box and a Fusion stereo system as standard equipment. The stereo is made specifically for marine use, with AM/FM/CD and an iPod docking station.

To starboard, the hinges on the folding helm seat are custom-made to help eliminate possible pinching as you tilt the seat forward to create more countertop area for meal prep. The helm

Windows and hatches surround the interior letting in plenty of natural light and the raised saloon table lets you enjoy the view!

The master cabin is just down from the helm station with doors to provide privacy.

Even the head has plenty of natural light and ventilation.

seat not only tilts forward but also swivels to add seating at anchor, and it slides forward and back to accommodate both short- and long-legged skippers. The handsome teak helm has integral handholds that make sense.

There’s abundant room for the Garmin GHC10 autopilot and the Yanmar engine screen.

The overhead console is split into two storage spaces, with a standard 12-volt TV/DVD screen in the middle that folds down and swivels for

optimal viewing angles at the dining table for movie nights at anchor. I’d like to see the starboard console fitted with a solid front and used to mount the VHF radio, which is currently placed behind the left side of the steering wheel. Flush-mounted overhead fans help keep windows clear. Overhead hatches and large opening side windows promote excellent natural ventilation under way or at anchor.

In the galley, a Princess LPG gas stove and oven is standard, and it’s a

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no-charge swap if you prefer a Princess electric range and oven, the same size as the gas version. Good storage for pots and pans is found below, behind genuine louvered teak doors with strong magnetic latches. A propane solenoid control near the stove and a propane alarm underneath the stove add safety.

Under Way With a top speed of 20 knots, a high cruise of 15 knots, and an economical cruise of 8 knots, the R-27 is well suited to those who wish to cover distances when time is of the essence and fuel is readily available, yet still want the option of cruising for long periods at slower speeds. The boat answers the helm immediately but will track well over long distances with very little input from the helmsperson. Trim tabs are provided, and I found them useful for crosswind situations and for putting the nose down slightly when taking a 2- to 3-foot chop on the nose.

With options like the solar panel and watermaker—and with a well-stocked freezer—an R-27 owner can go off the grid and explore to his heart’s content, touching a marina every so often for a shoreside meal or a little fuel. Whether she’s trailered or kept in the water, this Ranger Tug is equipped with all the right stuff, and ready to tackle your next coastal adventure.

(Top) The R-27 under way cuts cleanly across open seas; the extended swim platform is visible which provides easy access in and out of the cockpit.

(Bottom left) Solar panels on the cabin-top help charge batteries but do not obstruct from using the hatches for light and ventilation.

(Bottom right) Anchor gear is easily accessed on the foredeck which is surrounded by stainless steel rails.

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For More Information Go To www.harborsmagazine.com/travel-club Connecting People, Places, Adventure and Lifestyle.

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Travel Tips

Packing Smarter

By Allen Cox When you are carrying your luggage or checking in for your flight, do you ever wonder where all that extra weight came from? Are you paying fees you wish you had avoided? When you are getting ready for the flight home, do you find yourself packing items you didn’t wear or use on your trip?

Smart packing requires good planning. With this easy mental checklist, you can lighten your load and still have everything you need to look and feel your best at your destination.

Think ahead. Smart planning is all about organizing. Think about the number of days you will be traveling.

Consider whether you’ll have access to and time for laundry. If you will be gone one week, how many of each type of clothing do you really need, for example, do you need five pairs of trousers, or will two suffice?

Be decisive. Make a list of the mini52

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mum number of each item you’ll require and stick to those numbers when packing. This is a test of discipline; don’t deviate.

Mix and match. Now that you know the number of blouses, trousers, skirts, sweaters, etc., select articles that go together in style and color for maximum versatility. Lightweight fabrics made for travel are available and occupy less space in your luggage than heavier fabrics. It helps to select a general look dictated by the type of trip, for example, business, sightseeing or conference, and stick to that theme with one or two exceptions for any special events.

Re-wear. With light to moderate activity, the average person can wear an article of outer clothing two or three times in a seven day trip. Learning to hand-wash clothing in the bathroom sink is a useful skill, but not always

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practical given your itinerary and activities. Don’t be afraid to re-wear, especially in a new top and bottom combo.

The right luggage. Lightweight or ultralight, well-made luggage is worth the investment. Think of convenience features, such as wheels and a handle.

You can bring everything you’ll need for a week’s trip in a basic carry-on with good planning and organizing.

Shoes. Finally, the shoe conundrum can tip the scales, and not in your favor—they take up a lot of space in your luggage. But what shoes to pack can be a paralyzing decision. Don’t assume everyone else is obsessed with your choice of footwear as you are.

Wear a pair of comfortable, versatile shoes during travel. Unless you have a definite occasion planned that requires a change of shoes, simply don’t pack another pair.

It takes discipline and a fair dose of self-talk to toss items aside in the packing process. But with a little practice you’ll be packing like a pro and find that you’re not lacking for anything on your trip.

Watch this column for more tips to make your travel experience on Kenmore Air as enjoyable as possible.

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Your Journey Begins

with King County International Airport

“13R” photo used by permission of Long Bach Nguyen

Proud Partner of Kenmore Air Express Since 2004 With flights to Port Angeles, Eastsound (Orcas Island), and Friday Harbor

Serving the Aviation Community Since 1928 206 -296 -7380 • www.kingcounty.gov/airport The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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Northwest Author Spotlight:

Craig Romano

By Allen Cox

Author Craig Romano hiking High Pass above Triad Lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness in the North Cascades.

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With eight guidebooks and more than 20,000 trail miles behind him, Craig Romano remains one of the Pacific Northwest’s most prolific (and no doubt exhausted) outdoors writers. And he’s one of the most widely read.

“I grew up hitting the trail in rural New Hampshire,” says Romano. “I lived in a small town and was a Scout— hiking was what we did.”

An avid hiker and backpacker who possesses a gift for good storytelling, guidebook writing became a natural pursuit.

Romano believes there are trails for every ability and interest. “I like my work to be inclusive,” he says. And it is, covering the spectrum from easy day hikes to rigorous backcountry adventures, hiking with dogs and wildflower-

watching. He has explored trails the world over and considers the Northwest, his home for more than 20 years, to be one of the most spectacular places on the planet, and himself fortunate for having the opportunity to capture so much of it on the page.

“I write my guidebooks to be not only useful but a good read,” Romano says. “I like to integrate history and the culture into my work.”

Romano has an academic background in history and once taught it. Outdoor guidebooks are about navigating an often rugged and hostile terrain and getting the most out of a place; stirring history into the mix adds authenticity and depth.

And Romano’s readers like his style.

His books move quickly off bookstore

shelves and are staples in backpacks across the Northwest. When he hikes or backpacks, he’s prepared. He packs lightweight, but not ultralight, and he always carries the 10 essentials (if you don’t know what they are, refer to one of his guidebooks). He also includes his own essentials 11 and 12: the universally handy duct tape and a Platypus collapsible wine bottle (for backpacking trips only—as the nights pass, the load gets lighter and lighter).

Romano admittedly can’t turn down a challenge. As if adding hundreds more trail miles to complete his next book weren’t demanding enough, he recently completed a 50-mile run, which took him nearly 13 hours to complete. “It was the one of the most challenging and proudest achievements of my life.”

Day Hiking, Olympic Peninsula & Backpacking Washington: Overnight and Multiday Routes With a few of Romano’s more recent books, you can hit one of the Olympic Peninsula’s many trails with confidence. Kenmore Air has daily flights from Seattle to Port Angeles and, from there, trailheads are within easy driving distance.

For a great day in the outdoors, refer to Day Hiking, Olympic Peninsula. This book is the consummate authority on the area’s shorter trails, with options for extending many of the hikes. The book is wellorganized geographically and beautifully enhanced with color images.

A Hikes-at-a-Glance table lists the hikes by geographic area, distance, difficulty, and a variety of features, taking the toil out of selecting the right trail for your day hike.

For more ambitious hikers, Romano’s Backpacking Washington: Overnight and Multiday Routes, includes 11 spectacular Olympic Peninsula backpacking trips, ranging from 15 miles (round-trip) to 44.5 miles (one-way). This book, too, makes trail selection easy with a Trips-at-a-Glance table.

Romano has hiked every mile of trail in these books, some solo, and has experienced nearly every challenge a hiker can face. He writes with the confident voice of a trusted authority. Read his words, follow his advice and you’ll have a safe and memorable experience on the trail.

You can order a copy of Backpacing Washington and Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula at: www.harborsmagazine.com/books

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Spring Flyaways Lost Mountain Lodge, Sequim, Washington

“Sunshine on quiet water,” responds Dwight Hostvedt to the question of why one would choose Lost Mountain Lodge, where he is the owner and innkeeper. Like Thoreau, Hostvedt moved to these ponded woods to “live life deliberately.” He delights that his lodging wins numerous prestigious awards and accolades for luxury and romantic escapes, but he most cherishes the property’s remoteness and natural beauty.

Lost Mountain Lodge is located in the foothills above Sequim, Washington, 15 miles from the north entrance to the Olympic National Park. From

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By Roger Ward

this central location guests roam the diverse terrain of the area’s glacier-covered mountains, wildly rugged seashores and temperate rain forests. They can visit highlights of these in a day or two or remain at the lodge to marvel at the surrounding mountains and forests or savor the serenity of this certified wildlife habitat featuring ponds with waltzing waterfowl.

Guests experience the highest quality bedding and amenities, large luxurious suites and the detailed service of finest hotels in a small, quiet lodge. The lodge building itself features suites with an

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adults-only B&B experience. In lightfilled cottages with views of the secluded ponds, families or adult guests find extensive privacy and meal-preparation facilities.

The innkeeper has purposely perfected his concierge service to the area’s adventures and restaurants. “Guests who are new to this area are surprised at how extensive and varied are the dining, sights and recreational opportunities,” he says. “My staff and I help tailor a perfect experience so they will return to us and to the Olympic Peninsula.”

Grace Michaud, a Cordon Bleu-

Nine passenger wheeled Caravan

Ten passenger Turbo Otter seaplane

trained chef, provides organic, locallysourced ingredients for her bountiful breakfasts and treats in the B&B. In cool seasons, a Dungeness crab quiche might headline the plate, while in summer a Sicilian tomato and fresh basil frittata could entertain. Her extensive experience as a caterer in some of the East Coast’s finest hotels serves guests well who plan receptions, executive retreats or other events at the lodge.

Lodge guests from all over the world connect with Kenmore Air to fly its scheduled service into nearby Fairchild International Airport outside of Port Angeles. CEOs and executives, celebrities and honeymooners searching for quiet privacy, as well as family vacationers and casual travelers, find high comfort and luxury in this unique Pacific Northwest-style retreat. www.lostmountainlodge.com

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Beach Haven Resort, Orcas Island, Washington

Orcas Island is an emerald isle. When you drive from Eastsound on the country highway to the northwest side of the island, the moss-draped forest seems enchanted as though wee creatures are peering at the car from behind the weathered maples. You follow the little marker down a gravel road and under a gate that reads “Entering Beach Haven, Leaving the World.”

Some places are timeless. They draw generation after generation into their magic circle. They woo us and cradle us

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By Allen Cox

and give us a deep sense of well-being.

Beach Haven Resort on Orcas Island’s northwest shore is one such place. Those who have discovered it know what I mean.

Beach Haven has been hosting guests since 1939. Private log cabins line a pristine beach beneath ancient western red cedars and Douglas firs. The only sound is the cadence of the lapping waves on the pebble beach, perhaps a gull or a bald eagle calling overhead.

Cabins vary in size and the number

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of guests accommodated, but whether your stay is a romantic getaway for two or a family outing, there’s a cabin for you.

They are fully furnished and equipped with linens and well-appointed kitchens.

Wood stoves warm the air on chilly nights, but be ready to chop your own kindling at the woodshed. There is no maid service during your stay; you sweep and make the bed, if you choose. Shop and eat in or dine out at one of the many restaurants a few miles away in Eastsound. www.beach-haven.com

Orcas Suites

at ROSARIO

Enjoy a view of Cascade Bay from the balcony of your guestroom as you relax and soak in the easy pace of Orcas Island. Rosario’s seaplane dock and Marina are a short distance away.

Ideal for family adventures or a romantic getaway.

360-376-6262 www.OrcasSuites.com

It’s all right to look down on Seattle . We do it every day.

City Explorer seaplane flightseeing excursions.

Offered daily, $92.25 per person.

(Fare includes fuel surcharge, subject to change)

866.435.9524 KenmoreAir.com

950 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle

122_Harbors_Flightseeing_SixthVert.indd 1

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Flying with Kenmore Air

Things you need to know...

Baggage Allowances

At Kenmore Air we have big hearts but little airplanes!

Our baggage limits and penalties for overweight bags are dictated solely by safety of flight concerns, which are more acute on our size aircraft than on the big jets.

Seaplane passengers are permitted up to 24 pounds of baggage per person. All items are weighed and count toward the limit, including purses, laptops, backpacks, and so on. Additionally, no single baggage item can exceed 10 x 16 x 24 inches.

On Kenmore Air Express wheeled-plane flights, passengers may check baggage totaling up to 50 pounds and may hand-carry one personal item (purse, backpack, etc.) of up to 20 pounds. The checked item may not exceed 62 linear inches, and the personal item may not exceed 36 linear inches.

Overweight baggage will be carried on either service if capacity is available for $1 per pound, and oversized baggage will be accommodated, if possible, for a $10 per piece penalty. However, overweight/oversized baggage is always at risk of being bumped unless extra baggage space has been reserved and pre-paid in advance.

Sea-Tac Shuttles

Kenmore Air operates ground shuttles between SeattleTacoma International Airport and its three Seattlearea terminals. These shuttles are complimentary for connections to year-round routes and available at a nominal charge for connections to seasonal routes.

Shuttles must be reserved in advance. When booking flights online, select “Seattle-Tacoma International” as your origin or destination, and our system will automatically book the correct combination of shuttle and flight for you.

Shuttles pick up from Sea-Tac at Door 00 in the Scheduled Airporter waiting area at the far south end of Baggage Claim. Please be at Door 00 with your claimed baggage at least 10 minutes before the scheduled shuttle departure time. The shuttle driver will always make a departure announcement over the PA system, but passengers are ultimately responsible for getting on the shuttle by departure time.

When connecting to another airline from Sea-Tac, be sure to schedule your Kenmore Air flight and shuttle to arrive at Sea-Tac with sufficient time (per your major airline’s recommendation) to check in, check baggage and clear security. A minimum of 90 minutes is generally recommended.

Customs & Immigration

Charter Service

Kenmore Air offers a lot of scheduled flights to a lot of places, but sometimes, you really need to travel on your schedule, not ours. Or perhaps you need to go somewhere we don’t fly everyday. That’s what charters are for. With our large and diverse fleet of seaplanes and wheeled-aircraft, we’re able to offer customized flying throughout the Pacific Northwest. For a quote, call 866.435.9524 and ask for a charter specialist or send an e-mail to charters@KenmoreAir.com.

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With a handful of extremely limited exceptions, everyone flying internationally — regardless of citizenship or age — is required to have a current, valid passport book. Passport cards, NEXUS cards and so-called “enhanced driver licenses” are not valid for travel aboard Kenmore Air. Travelers should also be aware that some criminal offenses that are misdemeanors in the United States are considered felonies in Canada and can result in denial of entry. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a common example. Every traveler is responsible for making sure that they meet the requirements of international travel. Kenmore Air will accept no liability for cost or inconvenience arising from denial of entry into either the United States or Canada.

Check-in Times

Kenmore Air passengers enjoy a generally more relaxed traveling experience than the typical airline affords. Nevertheless, we do require check-in for all domestic flights 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Due to certain requirements of U.S. Customs & Border Protection, check-in for international flights is required 45 minutes prior to departure.

Flights close for boarding 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure, which means that seats for passengers who haven’t checked in at that time may be released to stand-by passengers. Also, the flight may depart anytime after closing, even if it’s prior to scheduled departure. We like arriving early!

For flights departing from unstaffed locations, like seaplane docks in the San Juan Islands or British Columbia, passengers should be ready to go at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure time to accommodate unforeseeable variations in flight time.

Reservations & Customer Service Reservations can be made online 24 hours a day, seven days a week at KenmoreAir.com, or call us tollfree seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Pacific Time at 866.435.9524.

For customer-service inquiries of an urgent nature, call our reservations line at 866.435.9524. For less timesensitive concerns, kudos or complaints, please e-mail us at feedback@KenmoreAir.com.

Alaska Airlines Partnership

Since April 2010, Kenmore Air has been a proud partner in the award-winning Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Passengers who are participants in the Alaska plan earn 250 miles each way on qualifying Kenmore Air flights, and miles can also be redeemed for free flights on either airline. For details on the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, visit AlaskaAir.com/MileagePlan.

In addition to the Mileage Plan partnership, Kenmore Air and Alaska Airlines (as well as Alaska’s regional affiliate, Horizon Air) have an interline ticketing agreement. This means that you can purchase singleticket itineraries between Kenmore Air destinations and more than 90 Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air cities across North America, including Hawaii. Besides the simplicity and convenience of making a single phone call or online booking, such joint itineraries also offer much more coordinated and accommodating customer service in the event of weather delays, misrouted baggage or other issues.

Terminal Locations Seattle Boeing Field 7277 Perimeter Road Seattle, WA 98108 Seattle Lake Union 950 Westlake Avenue N. Seattle, WA 98109 Kenmore Lake Washington 6321 NE 175th Street Kenmore, WA 98028 Port Angeles/Fairchild Airport 1404 West Airport Road Port Angeles, WA 98363 Local tel.: 360.452.6371

Friday Harbor Airport 800 Franklin Drive Friday Harbor, WA 98250 Local tel.: 360.378.1067 Eastsound/Orcas Island Airport 847 Schoen Lane Eastsound, WA 98245 Local tel.: 360.376.1407 Victoria Inner Harbour 1234 Wharf Street Victoria, BC V8W 3H9 Local tel.: 250.384.2411

Interline bookings can be made only through Alaska Airlines. If your travel plans include an Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air city, we strongly encourage you to book an interline ticket by visiting AlaskaAir.com or calling 800.ALASKAAIR.

The Kenmore Air Destination Magazine

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Reflections on Northwest Boating

By Richard Duval

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