Ahoy, The Cruise Ships

One of our delights last summer was a cruise on Holland America's ms Westerdam from Seattle to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and return. The cruise not only quickly popped my earlier bias against having to cruise with "1,800 of my closest friends" (we seldom experienced anything like crowds during the whole eight days), but opened up an experience of, and an appreciation for, the great glaciers. It also carried with it the awsome realization that these mighty glaciers are now on a short track, and I wonder if our grandkids will ever see them.

We sailed from Pier 30, down off Harbor Island. south of the tall container cranes.

Now Smith Cove's Pier 90 and 91, on the north side of Elliott Bay are the new Port of Seattle terminals, in addition to the original Pier 66 off the Alaskan Way. The new terminal looks impressive, and should certainly add to Seattle's whole cruise ship industry. From all reports it is a great move.

But I wonder about the folk who keep their boats at the Elliott Bay Marina, just to the west of Piers 90 and 91.

You see, the east-most dock of the marina, M Dock (where some of Seattle's elite with their extra large sailing vessels and cruisers moor) is roughly 300 yards from Pier 91, and the east end of the marina jetty just 284 yards from the pier (if my chart and dividers are accurate). Now if you moor a vessel like the ms Amsterdam, or the ms Westerdam, each with a 105.8 foot beam, you've reduced the open water from the jetty to 248 yards and the distance between the cruise ship and M Dock to just a shade under 265 yards. And that's if you keeping the ships right up snug against the pier, which you cannot.

Forgetting the loss of city view from that end of the marina (hey, that happens all the time on land with new buildings popping up just in front of your new condo), you now have a serious Homeland Security Issue.

US Coast Guard regulations say that "No vessel or person is allowed within 100 yards of a large passenger vessel that is moored." But even more, the regulations require that you must first obtain permission from the ship's captain if you dare come within 500 yards of the passenger vessel. Now apply this to the east jetty and M Dock distances, both of which are well within the 500 yard zone.

Yep, let your cynical imagination cruise rampant. You can almost hear it now.

"Hello, captain the Westerdam. This is Happy Bayliner 32 requesting permission to enter your security zone in order to exit Elliott Bay Marina. Over". And, in a yet deeper voice, "Hello, captain the Amsterdam. This is the prestigious sailing vessel Over the Hill, moored on M Dock, requesting  permission to launch my shore boat within your secure zone. Over".

Perhaps there is some answer to all this. It would be good to know if there is some common sense operative besides having to wait until non-cruise ship days to drop a dingy or putter out the east entrance.

And besides, now I have to look for another training area for new boaters. Argh!

The Poisoned Sea

As I cruise the waters of the Salish Sea, a name I'm growing to favor over the micro-names Puget Sound, various passages, straits, inlets and bays of the Northwest, British Columbia included, and one which recalls and honors the First Nations (and first cruisers), the waters seem beautiful and pristine. A warm sunny day, the sea close to being a millpond, nary a strong wind, and all is well, so very well. 

Yet, if I cut through this euphoria of sorts, I know that all is not well. What I experience on the surface, as in so much of life, is not what is below me. Of course I have a choice of either ignoring, or facing into what I really don't want to hear. It is easy to ignore or discount. It is harder, yet far more honestly liberating, to to look and listen.

This Tuesday, April 21st, at 9:00 PM, Public Broadcasting's local affiliate KCTS channel 9 will air "The Poisoned Sea", a startling documentary by Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, editor and Emmy award-winning producer/correspondent, and one of America's most distinguished journalists. Even after more than three decades since the Clean Water Act, Smith shows that two iconic waterways—the great coastal estuaries Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay—are in perilous condition. With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture, and massive suburban development, he points out that scientists fear contamination to the food chain and drinking water for millions of people, as well as the death of the Sea.

Check out Chris Dunagan's, of the  Kitsap Sun, excellent review of Hedrick Smith and this documentary on his blog.

These waters are our responsibility as well as out playfields. To not be concerned is to suggest a very cavalier notion of boating. Most recreational boaters I know are concerned. All of us need to be.

"The Poisoned Sea" comes on the eve of the April 22nd Earth Day.

Do take the time to watch it.

Earth Day, quoted by a colleague: "We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own -- indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty, and wonder. (Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, political activist, and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.)

That Wonderful Burgee!

Just the other day a former CruiseMasters client asked me about a certain marina "up North". Was it easy to get into, does it have ice (let alone fuel?), how far is it from town, and how do I contact the harbor master?

Well, we've all been there; Wondering, with just a bit of anxiety, as we get close to our overnight moorage. The last thing one wants after a great, but long day of cruising is the added concern of finding the assigned slip in which to hunker.

Ta da! Enter the "Burgee", a 350-or-so-page book that is devoted to nothing else but providing you with everything you ever wanted to know about guest moorage. It covers marinas from Olympia, Washington (as far South as you can get on inland waters and which can handle 165 boats in four marinas) to way up North to Port Hardy, British Columbia (which can handle 15+ boats in two marinas ), plus state and provincial marine parks between. Lots of other cruising books have marina information, but none to the extent, or as easy to find, as the "Burgee."

The marina schematic which actually lays out the marina, complete with dock and slip initials and numbers are my biggest help. No more "Well, skipper, as you come in take a right and putter down a couple of docks and you'll see an old tug with a faded nameboard 'Susie Q',  then hang a right. I think the odd numbers are on the right, yeah, on the right, I'm pretty sure."

Styled the "Premier Marina Guidebook" (and it is!) the author and mover behind the book is David Kutz, former president of the Recreational Boaters Association of Washington and now the RBAW's governmental affairs director, and Im delighted to say, fellow Kingston-ite. David first published "The Burgee" in 1994; it's now in its fifth edition, at least that's the last one I have.

The book also lists yacht club reciprocal moorage. Quite frankly, at one time I joined, the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club in Ballard, a delightful counter-culture (then) club, and later the Hidden Harbor Yacht Club, hoping to cash in on some reciprocal moorages. Pickings are slim, when you figure that the hundreds of members of the prestigious Seattle Yacht Club only have access to two slips at the Cap Sante Boat Haven, Anacortes. Forget it.

Pets? internet? repairs,? showers? amperage? pump out? laundry? even bar and pool? It's all listed there with every marina.

Perhaps my biggest rave (besides the marina schematic) is listing the marina's VHF channel and the manager's telephone number. Canadian marinas do monitor the VHF; US marinas are absolutely sloppy monitoring - - have your cell phone handy!

You can find the "Burgee" at most any boating store.  Amazon has the book, but evidently only up to the fourth edition (for shame, Jeff Bezos).

And when in your slip, comfortably relaxing, you can also check out the Burgees of the Northwest (inside front and back covers) to see from whence your neighbor hails.

Before your next cruise do pick up a copy. One of the best cruising resources you'll ever own!

Welcome!

Okay. He's a water dog (Portugese), He has webbed feet. His origins were, according to Wikipedia, "diving to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs worked from the cold Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland." Competitively, he's judged by long long he can stay under water.

But, most of all, he's a family's new pup!

My first introduction to the Portuguese Water Dog was some years ago in Friday Harbor. A neighboring boat had two aboard - - beautiful animals! The owners only problem was that the dogs loved to jump overboard and swim (and dive?) at the least provocation, so they had to keep them leashed even aboard.

Ted Kennedy, who gifted the Obamas, has three.

So, welcome, Bo, and enjoy your new mistresses! And don't jump in the National Mall pool, at least not for a while, Okay?

Good boy!

A Legislative Alert

The following came in today from the Recreational Boating Association of Washington.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm conflicted on our state's budget, realizing dollars are tight, valuing human services (which are in dire straits right now) and being a boater. So, I pass this on for you to make, obviously, your own action decisions. 

For myself, I'm calling to support RBAW's position. The Resource Account to my mind is a sort of "trust" fund . When I buy gas at a marina, I'm charged a "highway" tax, just as I'm charged when I gas my car. Since using my boat does not involve highways, I can either request (and get) reimbursement for this tax or leave it in the Resource Account to be used for various state boating facility needs. Leaving it in the account is a way of contributing my refund to a larger cause.

RBAW - ACTION ALERT

Help stop the proposed raid on the Boater's Recreation Resource Account!

Urge the Washington State House of Representatives to support the Senate budget for Boating and Outdoor Recreation.

The threat to recreational boating: Unless boaters act soon, the proposed House of Representatives budget will move $9.8 million from the Recreational Resource Account (these are funds from the boaters' unrefunded gas taxes) to the State General Fund.

These fund transfers proposed by the House will have a very negative impact on recreation, including recreational boating facilities, launch ramps, public marina improvements and

boating facilities. None of our own boating fuel tax dollars will be used to help State marine parks, ports, cities and counties support recreational and bating programs, but will be used for General Fund instead - - our Boating Facilities Fund will be stripped naked.

The State Senate budget has done a much better job of taking care of our state parks and boating programs and keeping our funding intact.

PLEASE CALL THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE AND GIVE THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR TWO HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES AND GOVERNOR GREGOIRE:

"PLEASE SUPPORT THE SENATE BUDGET CHAIR'S POSITION ON STATE PARKS, BOATING, AND OUTDOOR RECREATION."

THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE IS 1-800-562-6000. IT IS OPEN FROM 8AM TO 8PM, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, AND FROM 9AM TO 1PM ON SATURDAYS.

IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE HOTLINE CALLS START IMMEDIATELY. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

YOU MUST CALL BEFORE APRIL 25, 2009

For more information, contact:

DavidKutz@aol.com

Recreational Boating Association of Washington

Tel: 360-271-1105

The Cheslahud Lake Union Loop

This past year, as I've wandered around my old moorage digs on Seattle's Lake Union, I kept seeing new blue signposts encircling the shoreline's roads and trails with interesting yet strange names, wondering what they meant and whence they came.

Now my good friend, dock mate, and all-around boat buddy has come to my rescue. Mike Harlick points out that the main name on all the signage, "Cheslahud" (pronounced CHES-la-hud), is that of a Duwamish village chief in the late 1800s who befriended Seattle pioneer David Denny, and guided settlers in his canoe to Lake Union, Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. The chief and his wife were the last Duwamish family to live on Lake Union.

The six-mile Cheslahud loop which works well for cyclists, walkers and joggers going around the lake, was named by the city just one year ago; Somehow I missed that news.

For more on this see the Seattle Times, And for more about John Cheslahud see the Duwamish Tribe website.

If you're not from around this area, or region, or state, now you know a little bit more of our local history which will serve you well the next time you're a guest on "Jeopardy". Do you have any loops named after your forefathers?

Picture is of "Lake John" and his wife, Madaline, at Portage Bay, 1904.