The Star Legend passenger ship went through the Ballard Locks today to get to Lake Union from Puget Sound. News reports said it was the biggest vessel yet – but that must be by tonnage*. The Star Legend’s beam is 67.5 ft (20.6 m), and the lock is 80 ft wide (24.4 m), so there was room to work with.
*In 1975, on-lookers beheld the extraordinary sight of a wide floating dry-dock vessel 81 ft wide (24.7 m), that was manoeuvred through by listing the vessel on her side, here.
These are stills from drone footage recorded by King5 TV. 1. The big draw bridge with the railway line is lifted, the ship approaches the locks. 2. Entering the locks. 3. The lock behind the ship is closed, and water is pumped in to lift the vessel by about 20 ft (6.1m). 4. The lock has been filled and the front lock is opened. The ship can go on to Lake Union.The Star Legend in the lock, with the rising water lifting the vessel. The vessel belongs to Seattle-based Windstar Cruises, a small ship cruise line with a fleet of six ships.Not everyone was interested in the activity in the lock.The lock is full. The mooring lines are being removed. After this the ship started moving – slo-o-owly, carefully.This is a smaller lock, next to the big one. Four smaller vessels are cramming into it. In the distance, a flotilla of kayakers is patiently waiting. They came into the lock as well, so that they could go back to Lake Union where they came from.
