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Where (and where not) to go on the water

Before you go anywhere, look at the maps available in the boathouse. These include a map of Union Bay with all major features and directions of traffic marked, and a great coloured map of the entire rowing area with basic rules and good markings of traffic patterns. This was designed by the rowing community, so is well worth looking at carefully.

Here are some major points to look out for - please read these carefully and make sure you understand where and what they are referring to. If in doubt, ask the coach.

In Union Bay (directly in front of the WAC, from the end of the cut up to the starting line)

• The channel is marked on each side by the green and red buoys. Bigger boats travel down the centre of the channel; you MUST stay outside of it. When going from the WAC out to Fox Point, stay as far over to the right as possible, to avoid getting in the way of other boats. When coming back down to the WAC, stay outside the channel, but not too far outside (always looking out for blind scullers behind you).
• The obvious addition to the above is that you should not stop in or very near the channel. If you are drifting into it, move your boat out of the way (even if it means interrupting the coach). When finishing the warm up loop, gather OUTSIDE the channel at least 25m BEFORE you reach the green buoy (preferably opposite the 1000m dock) - too near the buoy and you are in danger from Huskies zipping round the corner.
• When going out to the starting line, go around both buoys and gather on the far side of the green buoy, facing towards the WAC. Look out for other boats.
• When we do long pieces around Union Bay, from the starting line, stay to the outside of the Bay near the shoreline, at the very least outside the 7 knot buoys (white with orange stripes). This becomes particularly important in the summer when the waterskiers start competing with us.

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The Cut (where the coach always yells something about staying to the right)

• The only thing to say about the cut is STAY TO THE RIGHT AT ALL TIMES. Boats race down the cut 5 or 6 abreast, so there is plenty of room to manoeuver without hitting the bank. When you enter the cut and approach the bridge, look up at it and judge where you are in relation to the centermost (highest) point. If you are directly below it, you are too far over to the center, and need to move to your right. Don't be afraid of the wall - you can be a foot away and in no danger of hitting it. Experiment with how close you can steer (don't forget the wall juts out half way down though).

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Portage Bay (the other side of the cut)

• Once you enter the Bay, you will almost always gather together outside Fisheries, at the big white ship (Alaskan) almost immediately on the right (if the ship isn't there, like is the case now, there will be a big gap :-)). Stay together and watch you don't drift too far either side. The coaching launch has to stay at a very low speed through the cut, so will be slower than you.
• When rowing loops round Portage Bay, stick to the outside. HOWEVER, during the summer people like to swim in Portage Bay in front of their houseboats, so be very careful when passing in front of the houseboats. Stay at least 2 boat widths (oars and all) away from the houseboats.
• Look carefully down the cut before you cut across the entrance to it.
• When passing through Portage Bay to get to Lake Union, stay to the outside, but make sure you steer wide enough when approaching the bridge to be able to see what is coming through it. When passing under University Bridge and I5 bridge, however, stay as far to the right as possible.
• When returning through Portage Bay to the cut, you don't have to hug the outside, but steer wide enough to be on the right side of the cut by the time you are approaching it. This is wider than most people seem to steer at the moment - a good sight line is the gap in the row of Poplar trees that mark SYC.

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Lake Union (towards Downtown, Gasworks etc)

• Common gathering place is outside Ivar's (directly to right under I5 bridge). Go to the far end of Ivar's as it is very noisy under the bridge. Stay well to right to avoid traffic, and wait for slow moving coach.
• Lake Union is big, and you must look out for big ships and seaplanes. When going from Ivar's to Gasworks, keep a very careful eye on the big container ships you are passing on your right. Give them a wide berth, for it is difficult to spot when a tug boat is moving them - they move extremely slowly. We have been warned about this by a tug boat captain, so take special care here - a tug boat has a big prop and can drag a shell under.
• Another gathering place is by Gasworks - look for the green buoy (#13) on your left opposite Gasworks, and stop on the right before you reach it. Don't go too far towards the entrance to the Ship Canal, or you will be in the way of other traffic. Don't go too near the shore as the water gets very shallow.
• From Gasworks, you may be asked to loop back around that green buoy and cross the lake to the other side. Do this carefully. If you are going all the way round Lake Union, aim initially for the middle radio tower until you approach the shore, then steer left around the bottom (going south now) towards a red buoy (#2) in front of the Naval Reserve. Look out here as you are crossing the sea-plane landing strip (!). Pass on the outside of the red buoy and then head back north towards the bridges. Again, you will pass lots of houseboats and big container ships on your right, so take care.
• If you get too far ahead of the other boats in Lake Union, you may be asked to loop around to join the stragglers. Do this with care.
• As you leave Lake Union, under I5 bridge there is a red buoy (#16). ALWAYS go outside this (keep it on your right) to avoid submerged objects (very nasty huge wood pilings just under the surface).

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Lake Washington (beyond I520 bridge...)

• Big stretch of water, so we stick to the outside. If you are told to go to 'Bill's house', pass under the bridge carefully (you can fit through most of the gaps easily, but go for the main one if you are not comfortable), then steer along the south side of the bridge as far as the end of the Lake. Near the end, turn right and then follow the shore until you see the big ugly building site. This is Bill's house, so stop here.
• The other common route in Lake Washington is to pass under the bridge then keep going in that southern direction. Stay inside the 7 knot buoys. Look for the tall buildings on the right, which is where we often stop (around the Madison Park area).
• If in the middle of Lake Washington and hit by a big wake, you may want to stop rowing and try and turn the boat broadside to the waves to avoid getting soaked. If rowing through waves, turn the boat at a 45 degree angle to the waves.
• Sometimes instead of going under the bridge we row along its North side - stick relatively close to the bridge and stop 50m or so from the shore at the other end.

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