Your Shilshole Liveaboard Assoc. wishes you a fun and safe holiday with family and friends!
Happy 250th Birthday, America!
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Summer Events!
Sat/Sun Free Concerts at the Locks-weekends, 2pm
6/14 Race to AK
6/30 WA State Boat Registration Tabs Due
TBD Crab season opens, usually @7/1
7/4 Fireworks-Lake Union, Everett, Tacoma, Roche Harbor
TBD Shilshole BoatFest-Marina Plaza, 9am-5pm
7/10-12 Ballard Seafood Fest
7/31-8/2 Seafair Weekend- Lake Washington
8/4 National Night Out-Port of Seattle Police BBQ on marina plaza
9/11-13 Wood Boat Festival-Port Townsend
10/3 Fishermen’s Fall Festival-Fishermen’s Terminal
There are weekly sailboat races and monthly cruises-now through Aug-check out our local CYC and STYC clubs for details and/or crew positions (links to their websites can be found here).
Race to Alaska (R2AK): June 14th
R2AK is a 750-mile boat race from Washington to Alaska.
No ENGINES. no support. all guts.
First place gets $10,000, cash. Second place gets a set of steak knives. Everyone else gets to find out what they’re made of. Any vessel that’s human-or-wind-powered can enter. The only way to win is to cross open water, navigate through tidal rapids, hug a coastline carved by glaciers, and keep going until you reach Ketchikan. Teams have 36 hours to complete this without getting rescued.
Good luck Shilshole sailors!
World Ocean Day
June 8th is World Ocean Day, reminding us that we all need to do our part to reduce the plastic we use and to always practice good environmental stewardship! As boaters, the ocean is our backyard, and our playground and just like we wouldn’t want to see plastic bottles and trash while hiking in the woods, we don’t want to have it in our waters, either.
Free Concerts at the Locks
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WA State Boater Registration Renewal due June 30th!
All yearly registration Decals for boats in Washington State expire June 30th. Per the WA St. Reg. Requirements, all boats with a motor (including tenders) on Federal Waters (Puget Sound, Lake Union and Lake Washington) are required to register and, if not a Federal Documented vessel, must display registration numbers.
It’s easy to do online and the decals are ready the next day at the Ballard Licensing Office or they can be mailed to you. Tabs can be renewed up to 6 months before expiration so don’t wait for the last minute rush!
Sea Lions at Shilshole
There has a been a proliferation of sea lions at Shilshole, taking over and damaging docks, limiting access to slips and aggressive behavior towards people that get close. Be aware, stay back and hope they move on back to California next month. Here are some articles regarding why there are so many and their migration patterns….
Swiftsure Intl. Yacht Race
This coming Memorial Day weekend is the annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race from Victoria to Cape Flattery (and beyond). Many boats from Shilshole and the CYC/STYC clubs will be participating. Get details and follow their progress here…
Ballard “17th of May Parade”- 6-8pm
Norwegian Constitution Day is the official National Day of Norway, celebrated on the 17th of May. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as “Syttende Mai” (17th of May) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day).
The parade begins at the corner of NW 62nd and 24th Avenue NW. The route follows south to Market Street and eastward to Bergen Place park, then turns right onto 22nd and continues south down Ballard Avenue and ends at Lone St.
Viking Fest-Poulsbo May 15th-17th
Poulsbo does it up BIG for its Scandinavian history, and Viking Fest has a parade, dances, street fair and great food! A fun trip for the family…an easy boat trip over, easy anchorage and dinghy dock. https://vikingfest.org/
Ballard: Syttende Mai Parade-SATURDAY, MAY 17TH 2025 | 4-6pm PT
STARTS at NW 62nd St. & 24th Ave. NW | ENDS at Ballard Ave. & Ione St.
update:
Shilshole Blog 