Arrival to Portland afforded a nearly 360 degree view of the surrounding Cascade mountains with the high weather front moving away the customary cloud cover normally shrouding the lush western side of the state of Oregon. The Sea Lion was docked in front of the River Place Hotel at the public dock. At 4:30 PM we were guided by our historian, Tom McAllister, down the short walk to the waiting vessel, where she lay quietly tied up dockside on the Willamette river.
As Larry Prussin began our shipboard announcements and boarding procedures, we watched through the windows as the famous Dragon Boats were paddled into the same public docks that held our new floating home. The fleet of high-prowed fierce Dragon Boats is sponsored by local businesses and is manned by volunteers who train for months in advance of the Portland Rose Festival in mid-June, when they race on the Willamette River. Pointed paddles are driven quickly in unison, the crew tempo is called by the coxswain and throngs line the seawall to cheer their company crew to the finish line.
