Margo Myers Communications

Posts Tagged Seafair

Joining Seattle Tradition

Sep 21

Posted by admin in Events

I’m very excited to become one of the newest members of the Seafair Board — working to keep one of our most-prized Seattle-area traditions great! The people I’ve met on the board are impressive, and I am looking forward to working with them.

Even though I didn’t grow up in Seattle, (I grew up in Ephrata in Eastern Washington) our family had a connection to the hydroplane races through marriage. My cousin, John Karelsen, was Ed Karelsen’s son. Ed of course, was the builder of the great hydros back in the day, like Miss Bardahl and Miss Budweiser in the late ’60′s. John lived for hydro racing. And his neighbor, Dan Walters, has worked as crew chief for a number of teams over the years. They were passionate about boats, racing, and engines! So much so that my dad bought a ‘kit’ to build a small hydroplane from Ed, put a 10 hp outboard on it, and it would scream across the water at 40 mph! Sadly, John was killed while testing a boat in 1980. But our family’s interest in hydroplanes would live on. My dad, brother and nephew race the small boats now, boats built by my dad.

So that is where my love for speed and noise began. In my first reporting job in Redding, California, they hold a huge air show every year. The Blue Angels were taking only two reporters up for the media rides, and I wasn’t one of them. They Navy guy in charge tried hard to get an extra fuel allotment so I could go, but no luck. Flash forward 20 years later when I was at KIRO, and asked to go up. I jumped at the chance. (I mean, after all, I’d only been waiting for 20 years!) It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and something I’ll never forget. We took off from Boeing Field straight up to 9,000 feet, and out to the coast near Long Beach in 9 minutes. We didn’t break the sound barrier, but came close. We did loops, rolls, flew upside down and did simulated carrier landings.  We also pulled 7.3 G’s.  I didn’t throw up, but I did pass out briefly while our pilot was doing those vertical rolls where you fly straight and roll. There was no way I could keep the oxygen to my brain. This means I have amazing respect for the Blue Angel pilots.

And then there’s the Torchlight Parade. I had a blast announcing the parade during my time at KIRO, watching all the beautiful floats, the precision drill teams, and incredible entries from all around. There’s nothing like a grand parade on a warm summer night, and the Torchlight fits the bill.

As I learn more about all the Seafair events (and I’m sure, meet more pirates), I’ll be looking for your input and feedback! What do you like best? What might change to make it better? Here’s a link to the other board members who pull off one of the best traditions of the Seattle summer! http://www.seafair.com/news.aspx?ID=166&Mon=9&Yr=2011.

Margo Myers, Principal, Margo Myers Communications

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Sailing Fun

Aug 6

Posted by admin in Events

A Good Night for Sailing. Not only was it still warm, but a breeze kicked up just in time for the Thursday night races on Elliott Bay. When I mentioned to my friend Scott Anderson of CSR Marine that I’d only been on a sailboat once in my life, (and that was in Oklahoma — an entirely different story) he invited me out for the races. I’m a powerboater, not a sailor, but I love being out on the water so I said yes!

At left, I’m watching the sails next to the skipper, Lou, as Chris, (in the tan hat) calls out orders.

Artemis is a 53 foot sailboat owned by Scott’s friend Lou. They raced it to Maui last summer during the Transpac 2009, so they know what they’re doing. I’m the first to admit, I know very little about sailing, so I asked Lou what I needed to know to stay out of the way. The safest place was back by the helm where I wouldn’t get into any trouble, get hit by the boom, get lines wrapped around my ankles, or somehow end up overboard. And it was a great place to be. Chris was the tactician, calling out orders to the 8-10 people who were actually manning the sails. They timed the start of the race perfectly, jumping out to a quick lead on the way to the first ‘mark’ (a giant yellow buoy) over by the grain terminal on Seattle’s waterfront. 

Scrambling around turns out to be a big part of sailing. Depending on whether you’re tacking or jibing, we had about 25 people scrambling from one side of the boat to the other. We got inside and around the first mark, headed for the next mark near the big freighter anchored in Elliott Bay, turned around it with Lou doing a skillful job at the helm. We rounded that mark and headed for the finish line — finishing the race in about 33 minutes.

Tied up at the dock and time for hot dogs. Once tied up at the dock, it was time to stow the sails and head to shore for hot dogs and beer. The rest of the boats came in, and it was fun to see all the people dressed as pirates! Since this is Seafair, most years the Navy sailors come over to the marina to be taken out on the boats for a night of sailing. But this year, it appears a couple of the ships didn’t make it in, so we didn’t have the Navy guests. That didn’t stop a number of the ‘regualars’ who are out there on Thursdays from donning costumes. What fun to visit with the other sailors (including John and Lisa from my dock), the others on our boat, and all the rest of the Thursday night sailors, who enjoyed a beautiful early evening race!

 

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Hear the Roar!

Aug 4

Posted by admin in Events

The Sound of Freedom. I love hearing the roar of the Blue Angels! Just the thought of all that speed and power gets my adrenaline going. When I worked in my very first reporting job in Redding, California — they have a huge airshow every summer. They would take only 2 reporters up that year, and the guy I worked with pulled rank and decided he would go. So he did. If only I could describe the many shades of green as he shakily climbed down out of that jet. The Navy Lt. in charge of public relations tried everything he could to get me into a jet for a media ride, but the Navy only had so much fuel to use, and wouldn’t allocate any more. I was out of luck.

Until 20 years later. When I moved to KIRO, I was asked if I would like to go up with the Blues during Seafair! Give me a tenth of a second to say yes! You have to have a ‘physical’ to get clearance. All along, I’m thinking, first, that these guys are about 15 years younger than me and in much better shape, and secondly, that I get carsick riding in the backseat of a car. Hmmm… how would I do in an F-18 fighter jet doing aerobatics?

Day of the Flight. I went to Boeing Field ready for my big day. Bill Wixey, of Q-13, and Kaci Aitchison, then from the Bob Rivers radio show, were the other two media picks that year. We went through the talk of what to do if the plane goes down (you’re basically on your own), put on our jumpsuits (canvas coveralls is all — no G-suits here), and I got ready to go first. You’re strapped in within an inch of your life. The pilot asks if you’re ready. I said, “As ready as I’ll ever be,” and he flipped the switch to fire up the engines. Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. They finally figured out, the jet wasn’t going to start until they got the mechanic in, and that would take about 2 hours. I went to work at the station instead and said I’d come back tomorrow.

Next day. The next day, Bill had already gone up and become very familiar with his barf bag. Kaci went up and said she didn’t throw up, but did pass out. I didn’t even know that could happen. Then it was my turn. We took off from Boeing Field (launched is what it felt like) on a crystal clear day, shot 9,000 feet up into the sky and we were on our way out by Long Beach. What the pilot didn’t tell me is that the G’s would force my head down — giving me whiplash right off the bat. Ouch. It took 9 minutes to fly out to the Pacific, where all of a sudden we were doing loops, rolls, inverting (flying upside down), and generally having a blast. Then we did the vertical roll. That’s where they fly straight up and spin around. I was ‘hooking’ as hard as I could to keep the oxygen to my brain, but that’s when I passed out! Just for a few seconds. Then I ‘came to’ realizing, oh yeah, I was flying in a fighter jet, and I was right back in the game. We pulled 7.3 G’s, which seemed like a lot at the time. My pilot wanted to keep flying, but I told him I had to go to work (I still had at least 3 newscasts to anchor that day in addition to putting together a story on my flight!) So we did one last simulated carrier landing (another 7.3 G’s), then touched down at Boeing Field, and I made it through without using my barf bag! Was it worth waiting 20 years? You bet.

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