— from Joe Symons —
And with planned stops in Friday Harbor and Eastsound, the Norwegian Bliss and Ovation will bring millions of dollars of tourist business to the islands.
We are So Excited!
Over 20 Stories High! Speaking of which…
Unmentioned in the promotion is that because Washington State has passed a recreational marijuana law, in addition to Margaritaville at Sea and Q Smokehouse, there will be a California Dreamin’ High Times concession booth on each of those 20 floors.
The ships route goes right through the San Juans (SRKW were not interviewed for this report) so that residents can wave Norwegian and Bahamanian flags from the shore.
Kayakers note: the wave wash from these boats may cause distress.
Rest assured, tho, that the impact of visitors on the San Juans will be strictly controlled in conformance to the county’s Vision Statement, which calls for preservation of the “the rural, residential, quiet, agricultural, marine, and isolated nature of the islands” where residents see themselves “as careful stewards of these islands, (who) conserve resources, protect our shorelines and critical areas, preserve open space, and take appropriate action to assure healthy land and marine environments. The natural environment is central to the ecological health, quality of life, and the economy in the islands.”
We are assured through frequent and unambiguous public statements that the decision makers who influence if not control the impact of growth are united in their commitment to honor the wishes of the citizens.
(Sadly, those statements were considered seditious and deleted by the NSA)
To maximize tourist accessibility, ships will arrive in the islands on Saturdays so that visitors can take advantage of farmers markets and whale watching excursions.
Can’t wait!
Please join me in welcoming this wonderful new opportunity to bring fame and fortune to the isolated nature of our islands.
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Surely these monstrosities are not docking anywhere near here–aren’t they simply passing through? And if so, they’re no bigger than supertankers.
I checked the itineraries for these two ships for 2018 and 2019, and no stops in the San Juan Islands are listed.
For now, no docking in the San Juans, but we shall see. I agree, why cant these people just go to Vegas? Or better yet, stay home. Totally agree with you, Joe.
I was in Friday Harbor a few weeks ago with some friends when one of these behemoths pulled up and about closed off the mouth of the harbor to provide a view for the tourists, clearly restricting and interfering with he ability of a ferry to enter so they were forced to reroute themselves self and were delayed. We later saw a swarm of all black inflatables going out and back and realized that this much be to ferry tourists back and forth to the mothership, which we later confirmed when our ferry made it past the harbor mouth to see them disembarking from the ship which was now stationed outside view of the harbor mouth.
Tourism in the SJIs has escalated at an exponential rate. How much can we withstand before our wells go dry, roads are choked off, harbors are inaccessible, and working families are driven off? When will it be enough?
Heart breaking!!!!! Truly heart breaking if you loved these Islands….
I checked its itinerary–it is stopping at the usual Alaskan ports.
Only Joe can speak to this — but I think his piece is a wonderful bit of satire.
Mike–do you recall the line or name of the ship? All I can find is very small ships with any Friday Harbor stops–ones with only 50-80 passengers. The ships discussed above are 4000 passengers plus another 1500 staff or more and likely couldn’t even enter the San Juan Channel.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Oh, Janet Brownell, I so hope you’re right and this is a late April 1st news story. And they say the military is harming our whale population and then they bring one of these monsters into our environment. Who is lining their pockets now with our archipelago?
Actually, this vessel never gets near the County. It sails outside Vancouver Island en route to Alaska. It stops in Victoria on its return but never gets any closer to the San Juan islands.
As wonderfully tongue-in-cheek as the chuckles in Joe’s little essay are, the real humor is in all of the people who took him seriously.
Fun upon fun. Thanks, everyone.
Peg, I didn’t see the transom, just the starboard side and bow so I couldn’t ID it, but we saw it on May 12th, if that helps. I’ll ask the friends I was with if they know.
Folks – this is no joke.