Sailing in Seattle on the Schooner Adventuress

Posted on May 28, 2013 by captnmike
The Schooner Adventuress waiting at the dock for us to board

The Schooner Adventuress waiting at the dock for us to board

Last fall I had a chance to sail on the Schooner Adventuress when the Mountaineers Sailing Group chartered it for an evening sail and potluck in Elliot Bay. Here are some of my observations and a few pictures from that trip.

2013 marks the 100 birthday of the grand old lady, she was designed by B. B. Crowninshield and built by the Rice Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Main.

Sailing on the Adventuress is a bit different than a regular recreational sail boat. First there is the size and weight. The Adventuress Length on the deck is 101 feet and 133 feet overall with a 21 foot beam with a rig height of 110 feet (this means the main Halyard is something over 460 feet long as it uses a 4:1 block and tackle system on the main halyard, making coiling the halyards a real chore).

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Posted in History, Mountaineers Sailing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Avoiding the Seattle Harbor Patrol’s Attention

Posted on May 14, 2013 by captnmike
Seattle Water, Boating Regulations & Information

Seattle Water, Boating Regulations & Information

Being stopped by the Harbor Patrol is one of those things very few people look forward to. To help avoid unwanted attention from the Seattle Harbor Patrol, they have produced a booklet covering Seattle area Regulations & Information for local boaters.

The FREE 19 page booklet covers things like marine speed limits in the Seattle area, anchoring (where and for how long), Bridges, Marine Ordinances (very important what not to do), Diving, Water skiing and more.

The booklet is being given out by the Seattle Harbor Patrol as well as Coast Guard Auxiliary members at some public events.

 

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Posted in Boating Safety, Safety Thoughts, Sailing and Boating Skills | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Don’t Drop the Cell-Phone

Posted on May 9, 2013 by captnmike
New Slippery Cell-Phone

New Slippery Cell-Phone

When I got my new smarter than I am Cell-Phone I was worried about dropping it overboard. The new phone did not have any attachment points like my previous Cell-Phone and was quite slick.

Talking to the salesman he pointed out a carrier that clipped on the cell-Phone and had a clip for a pocket or belt. When I looked at the two piece carrier, the part that clips onto the cell-Phone itself had an area that I thought I could drill a pair of holes in and attach a piece of waxed whipping twine that could be used to attach to a neck lanyard.

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Beating the Pumpout Station Blues

Posted on April 22, 2013 by captnmike
Pumping out the holding tank Photo: courtesy of Three Sheets Northwest

Pumping out the holding tank
photo courtesy of Three Sheets Northwest

Going to the Pumpout station is one of those tasks that no boater seems to look forward to doing.

The Washington Sea Grant Program has developed a new Free Pumpout Adapter Kit to help boaters avoid the dreaded “Brown Shower.” The free pumpout Adapter Kit has a plastic adapter that screws into the existing waste discharge deck fitting on a boat, the adapter fitting has a cam lock that will lock onto the pumpout hose to help prevent spills, the kit also has instructions, protective gloves and a web link that will help you find where pumpout stations are located in Washington State. The Pumpout Adapter Kits will fit about 90% of the boats in use, if your boat uses the smaller sized pumpout fittings there is contact information in the Pumpout Adapter Kit to request a smaller fitting for your boat.

The Pumpout Kits are funded funded by the Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Program.  The Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Program contracts with Washington Sea Grant to provide educational outreach for the Washington State Clean Vessel Program

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The U.S. Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, Washington

Posted on March 13, 2013 by captnmike

Alki Point Light - US Coast Guard Museum - SeattleThe original Alki Point Aid to Navigation Lantern from 1877,  on display at the U.S. Coast Guard Museum, located on the Coast Guard Base at Pier 36, just south of downtown Seattle near Safeco Field.

The Lantern was lit and hung from a Post to help keep vessels safe. The Lantern’s fuel tank holds enough fuel to burn for 8 days, this meant that it only needed to be serviced once a week. The Lantern was used from 1877 until 1913 when the present Alki Point Lighthouse was put into service. This was one of 33 similar lanterns in Puget Sound. The Post Lantern was purchased in 1877 for $ 12.37.  The lantern is about 27 inches tall overall (including hanger) and 15 inches in diameter.

Sometime after the Lantern was taken out of service it disappeared, it was recovered some years later and is now in the U.S. Coast Guard Museum in Seattle.

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Posted in History, seattle | 5 Comments

Visiting Canada With Your Boat

Posted on February 10, 2013 by captnmike

Visiting Canada With A BoatFinding information about visiting Canada with a boat can be difficult even with the internet.  Here is information for Boaters and others visiting Canada.  This information is geared to boating because boaters have very specific safety and operator requirements when bringing a boat into or operating a boat in Canada.

Ministry of Transport – Safe Boating Guide

What you need to know about  operating a boat in Canada, including educational requirements and Canada’s Pleasure Craft Operator Card (Operators “License”)  requirements and equivalency requirements for foreign visitors.

Office of Boating Safety
(604)-666-2681
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/debs-obs-menu-1362.htm

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Free NOAA Charts!

Posted on February 2, 2013 by captnmike
Chart-18440-Puget-Sound-Booklet-Chart

BookletChart 18440 – Puget Sound – Cover
Image Credit – NOAA

NOAA  now has over 1,000 Free BookletCharts™ available for free  download in PDF format for printing  yourself.  BookletCharts™ are 8.5 by 11 inch reduced scale nautical  charts designed for recreational and small boats.  NOAA has been developing these charts that are tiled and printed in 8.5 x 11 inch format for several years.  The  BookletCharts™ contain most of the information of their full sized charts but other information has  been added from the Coast Pilot and other resources that recreational boaters might not have.  The BookletCharts™ have been reduced in scale slightly from the original charts and  formatted for printing in a size that is easier to use on a small boat.

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Posted in Boating Safety, Navigation | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Posted on January 7, 2013 by captnmike

A very complete article on not only cell phones and VHF Radios, but what to do if you find yourself in trouble on the water and different options.

Remember you don’t need to declare a May Day emergency to call the Coast Guard, you can call them to say that you are having problems but are not in trouble yet. That will let them keep track of you and get the required information if they do need to send help.

Please note: if you do call the Coast Guard with an advisory of a potential problem and you do resolve the problem, please call the Coast Guard and cancel your advisory with them, that will keep them from looking for you while you are safe at home or in the bar telling tall tales.

VHF Marine Radio Tips – includes a two page ready to print PDF file with sample scripts and the phonetic alphabet with Pro Words

captboatsafe's avatarBoatSafe Blog

New technology, better range and reliability can mean the difference between life and death.
Story by USCG Petty Officer 1st Class John D. Miller

_D05-logoGreg Arlotta’s voice turned grim as the boat beneath him slipped below the 37-degree waters of the Delaware Bay in the early morning darkness of Dec. 23, 2010.

“When this [cell] phone gets wet, I’m dead,” Arlotta told a 911 operator in the Sussex County, Del., Emergency Operations Center.

Arlotta’s foreboding was prophetic. He drowned some time that morning before rescuers could reach him. Unfortunately, Coast Guard boats and helicopters were delayed precious minutes because Arlotta and the mate aboard the doomed Sea Wolf called the wrong people with the wrong technology. Instead of hailing the Coast Guard on a VHF-FM radio at the first sign of distress, they waited until that was no longer an option and dialed 911 on their cellular phones.

“911 operators…

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