I purchased the boat before I had a mooring. This meant I docked Alize in some dicey berths before I found my permanent home in Shilshole Marina. Mostly I was stuffed awkwardly between large commercial vessels in the Ballard shipping canal. So, some of my first trips in the boat entailed sailing from the Ballard shipping canal into Lake Washington. This is great fun. Kirkland is not much of a destination, but that's the great thing about sailing, even a round trip to Kirkland can be a good time.

Another important point needs to be made. The music playing is Led Zeppelin. After I bought the boat, one of the first things I did was press eject on the CD player. Physical Graffiti popped out. Now it is ritual to play Physical Graffiti on my boat. Many other boaters do the same thing, except with Jimmy Buffet.