IT’S FALL, AND the end of the recreational boating season looms on the horizon.
And that means boaters have more land time to bone up on seamanship skills through classes offered by the North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron.
Whether a prospective, fledgling or “old salt” boat owner, there’s a class that will help the mariner know and understand the strange and sudden contingencies of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.
The North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron, which goes by the abbreviation NOSPS, is a unit of the United States Power Squadron, a nonprofit educational organization that was founded in 1914 and has more than 45,000 members in 450 squadrons nationwide.
The squadron promotes seamanship, piloting, celestial navigation, plotting and position finding, engine maintenance and sailing — just to name a few.
In the October issue of Straitlines, the monthly newsletter of the NOSPS, the executive officer, Doug Swartz, touted a website for weather information called Boater Information System Portal.
The site, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a grant from the state, allows the user to obtain data on wind speed and direction as well as information on tides, currents and water temperature.
To access the site, go to www.calmseas.org (which is the website for the NOSPS). Click on “Boating Links” and then click on the “Weather” tab.
Scroll down to the BIS portal — note also the 19 additional weather-related websites under this tab.
The NOSPS meets on the second Monday of each month, and the Oct. 11 meeting will be held at Cedars at Dungeness, 1965 Woodcock Road, northwest of Sequim.
Capt. Bill Larson is the featured speaker and will share some of his sailing experiences as former master aboard the tall ships Lady Washington and Adventuress.
For more information, phone Torben Blichfeld at 360-477-4575 or visit the NOSPS website.
Big visitor
Just after low tide on Friday morning, Kodiak moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 1 North.
According to Chandra “Hollywood” McGoff of Washington Marine Repair, the topside repair company at the foot of Cedar Street, the 869-foot crude oil tanker will be pierside until the middle of next week.
“Hollywood” said personnel will make repairs to a boiler, swap out a steering motor and replace some of the piping.
Tanks for the memories
During a routine inspection earlier this year, Tesoro Petroleum identified a potential trouble spot in one of its storage tanks at Tesoro’s tank farm on Ediz Hook.
Since then, the tank has been taken out of service and cleaned.
Within the past two weeks, the outer protective skin and all of the insulation have been removed.
Additional areas of concern have been visually identified, and beginning on Monday contractors will be preparing those areas for testing to determine what repairs are necessary.
It is anticipated that some of the suspect areas can be welded and ground smooth while others will need to be cut out and new inserts welded in their place.
When the 3 million gallon oil tank was assembled in 1985, the pre-rolled sheets of steel used to form the tank arrived on site with a coat of primer — except along the edges where the sheets would be welded together.
It is those edges that now require repair.
Once all repairs are delineated, the tank will be encased in a tent-like shroud, sandblasted, repaired and painted.
The insulation and outer protective skin will be reattached, and the tank should be back in service around Thanksgiving.
Marine survey
Platypus Marine hauled out Northern Song, and she is sitting on the hard in Platypus’ yard on Marine Drive.
The 85-foot Metal Craft was out of the water to allow access for Reisner McEwen & Associates of Seattle to conduct a marine survey for the yacht’s new owners.
Platypus personnel also will install zincs and paint the bottom.
Northern Song will join Alaska Sea Adventures in the next few days in southeast Alaska and be available for charters.
During the winter months, she will be in Baja California, Mexico, for charters on the Sea of Cortez.
Meanwhile, Thunder, a 70-foot Delta, was out of the water for two days so that she, too, could be surveyed for her new owner.
Angela, a 58-foot West Bay SonShip built in Delta, British Columbia, hung in the slings of the 330-ton TraveLift for a few hours while new props were installed.
The props were custom-made by VEEM Engineering Group and built at its facility at Canning Vale, Western Australia.
Last week, Jerry Dow of Sequim had Island Belle hauled out by Platypus to have the bottom painted.
Personnel also increased the surface area of the rudder to counter a slow-responding helm.
Island Belle was built by Pelagic Boats in Victoria in 1973 as a commercial fishing vessel.
For years she trolled for salmon out of Ucluelet, B.C., and is now used as a pleasure boat.
Jerry bought her a couple of years ago.
She is a pretty 35-footer that looks like she should be featured on a postcard docked in front of a restaurant specializing in seafood.
The fish hold has been converted to a berthing space with a full-size head, and there is a chart table in the wheelhouse that pulls down from the overhead.
The charming lady is pushed through the water by a 471 Jimmy.
Harbor refueling
In Port Angeles Harbor on Wednesday, Tesoro Petroleum had its refueling barge alongside Port Phillip, a 591-foot bulk cargo ship.
The Port Phillip then left Port Angeles and headed for Coos Bay, Ore.
On Saturday Tesoro provided bunkers to Orient Saori, a 577-foot “bulker” that made her way to Port Angeles after picking up cargo in Grays Harbor.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the waterfront.
Items involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome.
E-mail dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-417-3736.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears every Sunday.