The Leschi

Last summer my husband and I spent a day touring around Seattle, on layover from our Hawaiian wedding back to our home in Montana. We did it all, along with our daughters, from the heights of the Space Needle to the flying fish at Pike's. We ate buckets of seafood, stuck our gum on the gum wall, and took a spin on the ferris wheel overlooking the harbor.

A walk along the piers is an eclectic experience of food, maritime nostalgia, and colorful industrial sights. One of Seattle's fireboats was docked at the waterfront, tucked in between Pier 50 and Ivar's. Montana is pretty landlocked and low on fireboats, so we spent some time taking pictures and in awe of all the gadgetry on the marine firefighting vessel. This fireboat left such a memorable impression I decided to paint it.

Some fun facts about this boat:
• It's named Leschi, in honor of Native American leader Chief Leschi, and is Seattle's largest, most powerful fireboat at 108 feet in length.
• Leschi is operated by the Seattle Fire Department, docked at Fire Station 5 along the waterfront, between the Seattle Ferry Terminal and legendary Ivar's Restaurant.
• The ship weighs 300 tons and can swamp fires with 20,000 gallons of water per minute.
• It features a 55' crane, telescoping ladder, biohazard technology, and is capable of 14 knots while underway.
• Leschi is one of four fireboats docked around Seattle.