PHOTOS: Seattle sparkles on water
(Left) A sailboat passes by near the Aurora Bridge and Gas Works Park during the Duck Dodge race, September 7. (Right) A night's catch of coho salmon are offloaded at the Fisherman's Terminal, September 24, in Seattle.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Seattle is a city that lives on water. We forget that sometimes.
As a teenager in Seattle, I housesat for my English teacher, Ann Schuh, on her houseboat. Those were magical days of staring out at Portage Bay, dipping into her kayak and paddling about, and feeling as though I'd been dropped into a secret back channel unknown to people on land.
I asked photographer Genna Martin to capture the joys and essence of Seattle on water, and as you'll see below, she delivered. Her photo of the Muckleshoot tribal fisheries speaks to our history, her photos of boaters and rowers to our need to push through water; the photos of sunsets to our communal pride.
—Isolde Raftery, KUOW online managing editor
Coach Rachel Kehler, right, shouts to members of the Pocock Rowing Club women's competitive team during an early morning training session, September 16, 2021. The team is training for the upcoming Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston at the end of October.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Muckleshoot Fisheries workers Derek Hicks, left, and Mack Mahovlich, center, and Katheryn Young-Berg, of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, sort and scan a fresh catch of Lake Washington coho salmon for tracker tags, September 24, 2021 at Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Boats circle Lake Union at dusk during the final Duck Dodge sailing race of the season, September 7, 2021. Sailors have been gathering Tuesday summer nights at the lake to participate in the recreational regatta for the past 48 years.
Genna Martin for KUOW
A crab trap splashes down off a pier near Alki Beach as the sun sets, September 1, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Eddy Traver wears a sleeve of nautical-themed tattoos during a class at the Diver's Institute of Technology where he has been a student for the past few months, September, 15, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
The King County Water Taxi sets off across Elliott Bay from West Seattle, September 1, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Student Logan Musser begins his descent on a practice dive during a class at the Diver's Institute of Technology, September 15, 2021. DIT sits next to Gas Works Park at the top of Lake Union and has trained students in diving, underwater welding, construction and salvage operations for over 50 years.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Coxswain Alex O'Reilly prepares to go out on a morning row with her master's crew team at Pocock Rowing Club, September 16, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Carol Buchan brings chicken inside after grilling on the deck as her husband Carl cleans their sailboat, September 7, 2021. The couple are avid and awarded sailors and have lived in their Shelby dock floating home for the past ten years. "Floating home people don't quite fit the mold," said Buchan, "I spend more time out on the water than I do on dry land."
Genna Martin for KUOW
Stand up paddle boarders on Portage Bay are seen passing from the bedroom window of Carol and Carl Buchan's floating home on Shelby dock, September 7, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Floating homes hover above the water off Shelby dock on Portage Bay, September 7, 2021. There is currently a cap of 560 floating homes and 215 houseboats allowed in Seattle.
Genna Martin for KUOW
(Left) Barnacles grow on a piling at the West Seattle Water Taxi pier, August 25. (Right) Clark Weitkamp, livery manager at the Center for Wooden Boats, rows a peapod rowboat on Lake Union, September 9.
Genna Martin for KUOW
The Smith Tower rises above Liberian container ship Nyk Deneb, September 1, 2021. The Northwest Seaport Alliance is the fifth largest shipping port in the United States and handled $66 billion in trade in 2020.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Student William Holcomb does an underwater welding exercise in a diving tank at the Diver's Institute of Technology.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Rain pours down a window on a stormy day, September 18, 2021. Seattle averages just under 40 inches of rain a year on 152 rainy days according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Genna Martin for KUOW
An oar glides along the water as the Pocock Rowing Club women's competitive team trains in the pre-dawn light, September 16, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Erica Porter, second from left, her mother Lillian, left, and her two daughters take a peapod row boat out onto Lake Union from the Center for Wooden Boats, September 9, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Oromiya Robale holds her brother Yusuf, 2, on a unicorn float as they cool off in Lake Washington at Mount Baker Beach on the hottest day of the year, Monday, June 28.
Genna Martin for KUOW
Christian Zumbado and Monse Aguilar relax in a hammock off of Harbor Avenue SW in the Alki neighborhood of West Seattle, September 14, 2021.
Genna Martin for KUOW
The Seattle-Bremerton ferry passes through Elliott Bay under the outline of the Olympics at sunset, September 1, 2021. The Washington State Ferry system has been toting passengers across Seattle waters for the past 70 years. In a normal year, the WSF serves around 24 million riders, that number dropped precipitously to around 10 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Genna Martin for KUOW
(Left) A sailboat available for rent is docked at the Center for Wooden Boats, September 9. (Right) A woman is seen changing bedding in a houseboat docked in North Lake Union, September 15.
Genna Martin for KUOW
