Olympics Games XXII Are Over

The XXII Olympic Games are now over, but certainly not history to the many athletes who competed in Sochi. Memories will go on for years and years.

For this blogger, it was distressing that results were counted by national accomplishments, as though the athletes were somehow cyphers adding to a country's accomplishments . . . that an athlete was not honored just because they won a gold, or a silver, or a bronze, or even didn't win a think but still bravely competed . . . that NBC chose to politicalize the games almost constantly commenting on the host country and Russia's president (thank you. Bob Costas).

Speaking of NBC . . . Meredith Vieira's and Matt Lauer's commentary was weak, even banal . . . admitting to not knowing who the Woirld Wide Web (www.) inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee was . . . describing Madagascar as a country associated with a few animated movies . . . introducing Australia as a former penal colony . . . Costas' joking about a former despotic dictator, Idi Amin, to describe Uganda. Perhaps NBC's long-time sweetheart relationship with the US Olympic Committee needs revisiting?

But back to the games. Granted, some teams had to be identified as US, or Russian, or Dutch, or Swedish - - they were teams, but still made up of individual - team athletes. A disclaimer here, as one who has duel citizenship, it was nice to watch Canada win hockey! Athletes from more countries ever before won medals, broadning the games range.

But when a luge comes down the run as a medal winner, the announcer's cheer that "And the US wins another silver"; no, Matthew Antione won the silver! Let's get our values straight.

A week ago a friend emailed me, "We all would like to see Canada bring home gold, but that is not the main thing - it is the work that these athletes have put in to make it to this elite level and the way they conduct themselves, win or not win. There are no losers in the Olympic Games." 

Now the Sochi Olympics are history are history. They are in our memory. They were great. They were cool. They were hot.

And they belong to the athletes, those who won and those who did not win, alike!

Pollution ?

 

Come on now . . . .

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) being asked to make "Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Lake Washington Ship Canal 'no discharge zones', or areas where it is illegal to dump any sewage from boats of any size"? (Seattle Times, February 20, 2014)

Granted, there is a serious environmental issue with pollution of the waters in which many of us cruise, a lot of it from industrial and urban discharge. Yet a reading of this news item, as well as news coverage by KING-TV5 the day before, somehow suggests that pleasure boaters may be cavalierly dumping raw sewage a lot of the time.

Seem to me that the USCG already is pretty strict about marine toilets being set so as not to discharge overboard (that famous "Y - valve"). It's one of their "must see" items when doing a boarding inspection! Ditto the USCG Auxiliary free courtesy inspections. And what surveyor misses this with when crawling about our boats? Many marinas also check this - - I've had to explain my Lectrasan Type I MSD connected to an aft toilet. Plus, in many years of cruising the Salish Sea I've only encountered probably once or twice someone discharging raw sewage. In my own boating instruction program, I have a whole section devoted to Pollution Control, and I'm sure other instructors do, too.

I suppose that legally we're only restricted within two miles of the shoreline (remember, all the waters named in the Times article are "international", not "inland" waters). However, there are very few places  in Puget Sound where there is "open water", i.e more than two miles off any shoreline. OK, I could probably discharge midway between Edmonds and Kingston - - I've got a bit less than a nautical mile there.

I'm all in favor of the many agencies pushing for a a "no discharge zone". Pollution in the Sound is bad, And it gets more critical as development increases. As the stickers on the storm drains, some many miles from the Sound say, "Puget Sound starts here".

But please don't suggest that we boaters are the bad girls and guys, even if you're reporting on a critical concern that we, too, share.

The Annotated Two Years Before the Mast

Rod Scher has done it again, this time with his brilliant annotation of Richard Henry Dana's classic, Two Years Before the Mast. Scher earlier had annotated another classic, Captain Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World. Besides helping the reader make sense of many nautical terms - - some peculiar to the day and quite unknown even to today's sailor, both annotations include frequent "In the News" sidebars linking the story with news events of the day.

Reading TYBM reopened young Dana'a travel narrative for me and Scher follows his tale with critiques, compliments, tie-ins with today, and little known facts (at least to me) about the book and the milieu of Dana's time.

With the annotated version of Two Years Beafore the Mast, as well as the earlier Sailing Alone Around the World, Scher has done a remarkable job, making both stories come alive once again. As author Patricia Wood reviewed, these both are tales of "true adventure, humor and pathos that (have) given life once more by Scher's deft handling of the material."

So, get a your copy of TYBM from Amazon.com by simply clicking on the ad to the left of this posting, just above "My Blog Lists", or truck down to your closest Barnes and Noble. And why not get both classics while you're at it? There's a Slocum ad to the left, as well. Good reads as you ply the Salish Sea, or wish that you were.

In the interests of full disclosure, you'll find me listed in the acknowledgements as well as on the back cover reviews of both books, for which I don't get a single penny except for the author's undying gratitude and promises of a somewhat better life, at least I think that's what he said; cell connections from Lincoln NE being fuzzy at times.

And The Lakes Will Go Up 2 Feet

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials will begin Lake Washington's annual summer refill operations this February 15th.

Water managers are targeting a typical annual refill of the lake to 22 feet with an interim target of 21.90 feet by early May. Fill rates and target elevations vary through May based on conditions. Refill of the lake to 22 feet will help meet increased summer water use, providing water necessary for fish passage, navigation and salinity control.

Private and commercial maritime interests along Lake Washington Ship Canal and in Lakes Washington and Union should expect a gradual rise from the winter level of 20 feet until the final 22-foot target refill height is reached around June 1. Vessel owners should closely monitor lake elevations and adjust mooring lines as necessary.

The official lake level is measured at the Locks. Lake Washington levels may vary due to the natural gradient between the lake and the locks or wind that can push the lake levels up for short durations. Depending on conditions, the lake may remain at full pool through June and July.

Thanks to the Classic Yacht Association for this news.