Popular marina is community's biggest draw

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Shilshole Bay Marina, of course, is the 1,500-pound gorilla living at the foot of this neighborhood of older brick and wood homes surrounded by flowers and well-kept lawns.

Darlene Robertson, the marina's general manager, says the facility tries hard to be a friendly gorilla.

"We want to be a good neighbor, so if we are going to be doing anything like having a picnic where we might have music or if we are going to be doing some pile-driving, we'll let the people on Sunset Hill know in advance and try to keep them informed," says Robertson.

But the marina is a hub of activity by anybody's definition.

Shilshole is the second-largest marina in the state; the only one bigger is in Everett. The Seattle facility has moorage for 1,500 boats ranging from 30- to 60-feet long.

There used to be a four- or five-year wait to get a moorage spot at one of the marina's 24 docks. But the waiting list got a bit shorter in 1997 when the port switched to what it calls "market rates," raising the monthly moorage fees. Now there's only a six- to eight-month wait for a 30-foot slip.

About 80 percent of the boats moored at the marina are sailboats; the rest are power boats. The tall masts of the fastidiously maintained sailboats are visible from miles away.

Robertson says the port doesn't discriminate against power boat owners but there are several other reasons for the predominance of sailboats.

"This is the sailing hub of the Northwest," she says. "We have national and international races here. There are races occurring a couple of nights a week with different clubs."

The north-south layout of the marina, which has entrances at both ends, also makes it ideal for sailboats from a wind standpoint.The marina -- already home to several sailing and yacht clubs, two yacht brokers, Sea Kayaker magazine, restaurants, an engine-repair yard, fuel dock and a club that caters to proms and weddings -- recently launched a redevelopment program.

The number of moorage spaces at the 35-year-old marina, however, won't increase.

"There isn't room to expand," says Robertson. "We'd love to because the demand for moorage is so great out there. But we don't have any more water area."

All of the old docks -- five miles worth of them -- are being replaced. Two already have been done, and the rest will be tackled over the next few years. The cost of replacement and making other improvements has been pegged at $35 million.

Also planned is the redevelopment of the 18 acres of land adjoining the nearly 75 acres of water inside the breakwater.

A commuter rail station linking the Shilshole/Sunset Hill area to downtown Seattle and Everett also might be in the cards.