Thanks and a tip of the bosun’s cap to Bill Shannon of New Tripoli, Pa., a wind sailor who reads the column on the Internet at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
His follow-up question is in response to last week’s column describing the transportation of yachts from Victoria to Florida by ship.
Shannon asked:
Can more than one 145-foot yacht be placed onboard the deck of a ship?
Worldwide, there are a number of companies that are capable of transporting yachts by ship to almost any destination.
Depending on the size of the ship and the varying lengths of vessels that are to be shipped — which typically range from 30 feet to 180 feet long — as many as two dozen yachts can be transported at once.
There are two types of ships that are used to transport yachts that have distinctly different loading methodologies.
Most companies use the more traditional cargo ship with a topside deck tailored specifically for yacht transport and use the “lift on/lift off” method.
In this mode, straps that are up to 2 feet wide are placed under a yacht and attached to cranes that hoist the vessel out of the water and nestle it into cradles that are preset aboard the ship.
Personnel then securely lash the yacht to the ship’s deck.
Other companies use semi-submersible ships.
These vessels take on ballast water that floods the deck of the ship, thus allowing yachts to be driven aboard.
Once personnel aboard ship have secured each yacht in its cradle, the ship expels its ballast.
When the vessel’s deck is dry, the yachts are securely attached to the deck for the upcoming voyage.
In most instances, one or more member of a yacht’s crew remains with the yacht until it arrives at its destination.
The transport ships not only provide electrical and freshwater hookups to the yachts for the crew members’ convenience, but offer amenities that include food service, conference and media rooms, complimentary cabins and a swimming pool.
[To see what a fully loaded yacht transporter looks like, click on this link, which takes you to the company doing the yacht transportation from Victoria to Fort Lauderdale: http://www.yachtpath.com .]
In for repairs
At the beginning of last week, Jayden Ray, a 40-foot commercial fishing boat that hails from LaPush, was hauled out and put on the hard in the Port Angeles Boat Yard.
The 40-year-old steel boat owned by Dylan Shepherd washed up on the rocks about 3 miles north of the Quillayute River during the wee hours of Jan. 3.
A little more than an hour after the grounding, the Coast Guard’s motor lifeboat crew from Station Quillayute River, guided by a spotlight that honed in on the stranded boat from a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter that was dispatched from Air Station Port Angeles, was able to secure a towline to the fishing vessel.
Once free of the rocks, Jayden Ray, four crew members still aboard, was towed to LaPush.
I understand the cause of the mishap is under investigation.
At the boat show
The North Olympic Peninsula’s maritime community is again represented in this year’s Seattle Boat Show, which began Friday and runs through Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3.
The venues are the CenturyLink Field events center and South Lake Union.
Capt. Charlie Crane, director of sales and marketing for Platypus Marine, has a booth set up on the dry side of the event, and Westport Shipyard has a Pacific Mariner 85 on display at Lake Dock 16.
Also exhibiting from the North Olympic Peninsula at the boat show: Armstrong Marine of Port Angeles, Port Ludlow Marina, Port Townsend Rigging Inc., Hasse & Co. Port Townsend Sails, New Found Metals Inc., Pleasant Harbor Marina of Brinnon and Sea Marine/Salish Sea Yachts of Port Townsend.
I hope I didn’t omit any exhibitor from the North Olympic Peninsula.
If I did, please let me know via the contact points at the end of the column, and we’ll mention it in the next installment.
The boat show’s impressive list of exhibitors — and where their exhibits are located — can be seen via http://tinyurl.com/pdn-showlist.
For those wondering how to get between the events center across from Safeco Field and Lake Union, worry not.
A free shuttle runs every 30 minutes daily.
Tanker’s repairs
American Progress moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ docks Saturday.
According to Chandra “Hollywood” McGoff of Washington Marine Repair, the topside ship-repair company at the foot of Cedar Street, the 575-foot tanker owned by SeaRiver Maritime, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, is scheduled to be dockside until Monday to allow personnel to replace a drive shaft in a cargo pump and some cable sheaves.
Boat photographer
Wooden Boat Wednesday at Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation will host Jeff Eichen this Wednesday.
Jeff, who resides in Port Townsend, is a professional photographer and specializes in wooden-boat photography.
His presentation Wednesday is a primer on how to photograph maritime images.
Jeff will explain what equipment he uses and offer tips on composition, lighting, angles and exposure.
He will then progress to post-production in the digital darkroom, including the use of the computer software programs Photoshop and Lightroom.
There also will be a discussion on keeping images organized.
Jeff’s expertise is impressive.
While in his teens, he studied photography with the legendary Ansel Adams at a 10-day workshop in Yosemite, which inspired him to pursue a professional career in architectural photography.
He has worked for a large digital studio in Los Angeles making museum-quality Giclee prints for artists and currently teaches classes in digital photography.
Wooden Boat Wednesday is a free event that begins promptly at noon and typically lasts for 90 minutes.
Seating is limited and requires advance registration by phoning the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., Port Townsend, at 360-385-3628, ext. 101.
Or send an email to chandlery@nwmaritime.org.
Tall off the water
Sea Horse, a floating derrick owned by Neptune Marine Services of Anacortes, spent a couple of days in Port Angeles doing work for the Port of Port Angeles.
According to Jesse Waknitz, the port’s environmental specialist, the 107-foot derrick with a 60-ton lattice crane was used to replace a three-pile dolphin in the log boom grounds that was damaged in a storm in January 2012.
Jesse said upon the completion of that project, the derrick — which has a 42-foot-wide deck — moved over to the Oak Street terminal and replaced two fender piles that were damaged by use late last year.
Port Angeles Harbor fueling
Last Sunday, Tesoro provided bunkers to Shirakami, a 617-foot bulk cargo ship.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel is due in Mariveles, Philippines, on Feb. 10.
Then on Monday, Tesoro refueled the 606-foot-long articulated tug and barge duo Ocean Reliance and Barge 550-3.
Tesoro on Wednesday bunkered Alpine Mystery, a 600-foot petroleum-products carrier that is currently on its fifth name in the past 10 months.
Later in the day, Tesoro refueled Kokuka Courageous, a 577-foot-long petroleum-products carrier that is under way for Lumut, Brunei, on the South China Sea.
On Friday, Tesoro refueled Overseas Milos, a 600-foot petroleum-products carrier.
________
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.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears Sundays.