Maritime news and resources in and around Puget Sound
From the monthly archives:
Fishers, whale watch operators, recreational boaters and conservationists turned out in force Wednesday night to oppose a federal plan to protect killer whales by closing off 6.2 square miles of water off San Juan Island each year.
A standing room-only crowd of more than 200 packed a room at the Seattle Aquarium to discuss a proposal [...]
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[This is a bit further afield than we normally cover here at Puget Sound Maritime, but the video is pretty dang cool! —Tim]
ASTORIA, Ore. – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a crewmember from a U.S. Navy submarine off the coast of Washington state Tuesday.
The Navy contacted the Coast Guard at 5:50 p.m. to [...]
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Ed Friedrich has the story in the Kitsap Sun:
KINGSTON — Two Puget Sound shipyards are vying to build a passenger-only ferry for the Port of Kingston.
Representatives from All American Marine of Bellingham and Kvichak Marine Industries of Seattle attended a mandatory pre-proposal conference Tuesday morning at the port’s office.
The port requested bids on Sept. 4 [...]
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From Ear to the Ground:
Figure 1. NOAA tsunami propagation map
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck 125 miles south of Samoa and American Samoa on Tuesday, September 29, at 10:48:11 am. The earthquake probably occurred as a normal fault rupture, resulting in multiple tsunami waves, four of them about 15 to 20 feet high (Fig. 1). The [...]
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Summer might be over, but the fishing definitely isn’t.
Anglers are flocking to the upper Columbia River and its tributaries to catch hatchery-reared steelhead, and will soon be able to fish for blackmouth, chum and sturgeon in various areas. And five ocean beaches are tentatively scheduled to open in mid-October for the first razor-clam dig of the [...]
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SEATTLE – The nation’s largest ice breaker, Coast Guard Cutter Healy, is scheduled to return to Seattle Thursday, after completing its Arctic West Summer 2009 (AWS09) mission.
For the past three months, Healy has been underway in the Arctic Ocean. The AWS09 mission included studying Arctic Ocean hydrography, in addition to continuing work on the [...]
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KOMO News is reporting:
The National Transportation Safety Board said the 35-year-old boat did not have internal controls that would have prevented flooding in the so-called rudder room from spreading into other areas of the 189-foot vessel. In a report, the board said uncontrolled flooding was the probable cause of the tragedy, but conceded that much [...]
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Rob Carson has the story in the Tacoma News Tribune:
Dirty water from residential washing machines is a significant source of a toxin polluting Puget Sound, according to a study released Tuesday.
Dust that sloughs off hundreds of every day household products – including cosmetics, vinyl flooring, shower curtains and furniture – accumulates on people’s clothing and [...]
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Puget Sound whales may get big buffer zone
United Press International Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound, says the proposed rules are too tough on whale-watchers and not hard enough on fishermen, … Feds may expand restrictions to keep humans from whalesScripps News all 11 news articles » |
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Hatchery steelhead fisheries are now open on the upper Columbia, Wenatchee, Icicle, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan rivers.
In addition, the Similkameen River will open to hatchery steelhead fishing Nov. 1.
The daily limit for anglers on all the rivers is four adipose fin-clipped hatchery steelhead measuring at least 20 inches in length. Steelhead with an intact adipose fin [...]
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Construction was recently completed on a new wheelchair-accessible fishing site at Hoodsport Hatchery, on the southern end of Hood Canal.
The site, engineered and developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, includes a ramp, grated walkways and a new fishing platform with a gate, fencing, handrails and fishing slots.
Only people with disabilities who permanently [...]
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This column by Seattle Times staff columnist Danny Westneat contains no maritime content. But I found it so compelling that I wanted to share it with my Puget Sound Maritime friends. THANK YOU, Mr. Westneat, for expressing this so well:
It’s unfathomable, radical, outrageous.
Catastrophic, devastating, unprecedented.
It’s the end of (fill in blank) as we know it.
These [...]
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Certain plastic compounds, commonly found in household products, break down over time, releasing chemicals that wind up in house dust, according to a new study conducted for the Washington Toxics Coalition and People for Puget Sound.
The study examined one class of chemicals, called phthalates, which are believed to cause reproductive problems — though at higher [...]
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Gnarly afternoon. You may be able to spot the transient Orca in the distance.
Passengers prepared to abandon if necessary
Three pumps at work
Crack Remedy deck hand Andrew D diagnoses the problem
Naturalist and current Zenith Maritime student
Lauren S. was aboard the other wildlife vessel.
Off loading passengers to another vessel.
This time of year, my primary job is instruction [...]
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SEATTLE – The Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) reminds customers of two fare changes that will go into effect on Sunday, October 11. On that date, the peak season surcharge ends and a systemwide 2.5 percent fare increase goes into effect.
Per state tariff law, WSF implements a 25 percent peak season surcharge [...]
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Jeff Chew has the story in the Peninsula Daily News:
PORT TOWNSEND — Legislation to limit state Department of Health authority to shut down commercial shellfish operations in Mystery Bay off Marrowstone Island based on boat moorage buoy concentrations will be high on Rep. Kevin Van De Wege’s agenda in the coming legislative session.
"In my mind, [...]
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It’s rare for me to even consider skipping off work on a weekday.
Running Three Sheets is a very busy full-time job, and there’s invariably something that needs to get done. The level of guilt triggered by playing hooky on a weekday is extreme.
But passing up an opportunity to get out on the water Friday would [...]
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Jeff Chew has the story in the Peninsula Daily News:. The photo is from Todd Pacific Shipyards:
The 64-car ferry’s superstructure and hull has been under construction full-wing since April at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in the Whidbey Island community of Freeland, the Everett Shipyard and [...]
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Thanks to BitterEnd for the tip on this story by Scott Gutierrez over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Question:
"Why are drivers throughout the day forced to wait for sailboats passing under the Fremont, Ballard, and other bridges?" asks David Tagliani, sharing a sentiment felt by many drivers who get caught in bridge traffic.
"Every time it happens I [...]
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The Brashear gets supplies to sailors more efficiently
Debra Smith has the story in the Everett Herald:
EVERETT — Ice cream used to be a problem for Capt. Michael Grogan.
His supply ship had plenty of it to deliver to U.S. naval ships at sea.
The problem, he said, was getting it on board aircraft carriers and destroyers in [...]
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