Tag Archives: liveaboards

Documentary on Bainbridge liveaboards screening at film fest

A documentary film about Bainbridge Island’s anchored-out liveaboards is set to screen at the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m.

Island filmmaker Mark Davis worked on “Against the Tide” for years, filming numerous city meetings and interviewing people on both sides of the liveaboard debate.

Here’s what Davis has to say about the film:

“Set amidst the spectacular beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the urban backdrop of Seattle, Washington, this poignant and timely film reveals the unique lifestyles of the mariners and misfits who live illegally aboard their boats in Eagle Harbor, the scenic gem of Bainbridge Island. Long a refuge for liveaboards with limited means, or just those wishing for a simpler way of life, Eagle Harbor is a state-owned body of water surrounded by an affluent community, torn about whether to let them stay or drive them out.

When the state of Washington ruled that people anchoring in public waters could only live aboard their boats in the same location for 30 days, the members of this decades-old community became guilty of criminal trespass. Against the Tide follows the story of the liveaboards who refuse to move their homes… a behind-the-scenes look at the struggle of vulnerable persons defying homelessness with alternative shelters.”

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Profiling an island icon


I had the honor of visiting local legend Dave Ullin aboard his tugboat last week.

Ullin is revered by many on the island for his self-sufficiency, integrity and generosity.

Many more only know him as a strikingly uncommon sight: a big man with big hands wearing thick wool pants, suspenders and a bag full of archaic tools tromping through Winslow. You don’t see people like Ullin much anymore. He looks like a man who stepped out of the old Hall Brothers Shipyard, circa 1892, and into modern Winslow.

Going below deck on Ullin’s tug is like taking that step in reverse. The boat is a living museum of old logging, fishing, farming, blacksmithing and shipbuilding equipment. All fitting snugly in designated spots. And it’s full of innovative touches, like Ullin’s custom-built hinged bunk, his kale sauerkraut-making operation, his clothes-mending station and a compact little workshop, complete with a 100-year-old drill press and tools Ullin forged himself.

I could go on and on about Dave Ullin. And I did, in THIS profile.

Ullin’s future is uncertain. The state gave him and the other dozen or so liveaboards eviction notices last month. There is some late-breaking hope, city leaders say, for a compromise. I detail that development HERE.

Check in on Wednesday to see where that proposal goes. The City Council is set to vote on a new plan that may allow as many as 14 liveaboards to remain anchored in the harbor.

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Liveaboard plan sidelined by state

The city sidelined a plan for regulating Eagle Harbor’s liveaboards this week after the state reversed its position on a key, and possibly contradictory, maritime regulation.

“Suddenly, we had a new interpretation (of state law) brought to us” from the state Department of Natural Resources, said Councilwoman Hilary Franz, who has led efforts in recent months to develop three options for creating an open water marina, the first of its kind in the state and the last bastion for a anchored-out liveaboard community in Puget Sound.

DNR’s reversed position on marina regulations last week spurred the city to cancel a discussion of the options at Wednesday’s night’s City Council meeting, further delaying open water marina plans that have spent nearly a decade in development.

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