EARLIER THIS WEEK, the tug John Blix towed the deck barge Z Big One into the west end of Port Angeles Harbor where she took on 579 bundles of softwood for transport to a Georgia Pacific mill in Coos Bay, Ore.
Thursday evening at about 10 p.m., the pusher tug Nancy Peterkin with the barge Dbl.185-01 moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal One for emergency repairs that were resolved by Vigor Industrial. The barge and tug duo resumed their journey to Vancouver, B.C. at 8 a.m. Friday.
Platypus Marine has Deeahks on the hard at their facility. She is a wooden commercial fishing vessel that hails from Neah Bay. She will be out of the water for about two weeks, which will allow personnel to attach zincs to the hull and apply a fresh coat of bottom paint.
Platypus also has a U.S. Navy barge on the hard. YC 1625 is an open lighter non-self-propelled steel barge designed to transport cargo in rivers, harbors and other protected waterways. The vessel is 110 feet long with a 32-foot beam with a load capacity of about 650 tons.
On Thursday, I spoke with the marine operations supervisor, Dan Shea, in the Marine Terminal building on the waterfront. Shea told me that the building was the original Port of Port Angeles administration building. I had no idea.
The municipal corporation that is the Port of Port Angeles was created in the election of 1922.
In 1925, a $400,000 bond issue was authorized by the voters and construction of Terminal One began.
The terminal was completed on August 1, 1926, and was 550 feet long.
Throughout the years, numerous modifications and additions have been made to the terminal. A 100-foot extension was added in 1962 and another 100 feet was added in 1971.
Catwalks, breasting dolphins and bollards have been built, as well. The terminal is now 1,116 feet long and the current enhancements are intended to ensure the port’s ability to support topside ship repair activity into the 21st century.
The first port commission meeting was held on January 8, 1923, at the offices of the Olympic Motor Company.
The first port commissioners started serving in 1923 and were H.J. Bugge, District 1; N.M. Hawkins, District 2; and George Lamb, District 3.
On February 3, 1923, Superior Court Judge John M. Ralston appointed Frank Lotzgesell to fill the District 1 seat vacated by H.J. Bugge’s untimely death.
Thanks and a tip of the bosun’s cap to Jesse Waknitz, who is the environmental manager at the Port of Port Angeles (and the in-house historian) for his help in getting the names and dates of the commissioners correct.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats andstrolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsulawaterfronts are always welcome. News announcements about boating groups, including yacht clubs and squadrons, are welcome as well.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.