Hello world!

Posted on July 11, 2009 by captnmike

Please leave your general comments below.

Thanks for your interest in and support of boating safety!

I have moved the general Comments to a new Page, visit new page

Posted in Uncategorized | 35 Comments

Interesting and Useful Boating Books

Posted on June 23, 2009 by captnmike

Here are a few books from my library that I refer to on a regular basis or have found very interesting.  They are listed in no particular order.  This list is not intended to be all inclusive or safety only.  I assume everyone has Chapman’s, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship and the other “Major Reference Books.”  Some of the books are below the radar so to speak, but worth a second look.  Good books all and recommended.

Good luck and happy reading.

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Posted in Safety Thoughts, Sailing and Boating Skills | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Welcome to CaptnMike's World!

Posted on June 13, 2009 by captnmike

Welcome to Captain Mikes Web World!

Thanks for visiting My Modest Site!

I hope you find this corner of the web helpful.

Please leave your general comments below.

Posted in Guest Comments | 6 Comments

Useful Web Sites and Information for Boaters and USCG Auxiliary Members

Posted on June 8, 2009 by captnmike
Please see Post Index Page for More  Articles on Boating Safety.

Classes and Vessel Safety Checks

Notice to Mariners

  • Local Notice to Mariners
    Thirteenth District Local Notice to Mariners, Seattle, Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest
  • 2014 Special Local Notice to Mariners (pdf) (7.0mb):
    A collection of important information by the Coast Guard specific to District 13 (Pacific North West).  Includes emergency procedure guidelines, Coast Guard contact information, First Aid and many other useful but sometimes hard to find information.  115 pages.

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Posted in Safety Thoughts, Sailing and Boating Skills | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How to get to the Shilshole Marina

Posted on June 6, 2009 by captnmike

Shilshole Marina is on Puget Sound, west of Scenic Downtown Ballard and the Ballard Locks and south of Golden Gardens Park.

The address for your GPS is:

Shilshole Bay Marina
7001 Seaview Ave. N.W., Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98117

Mapquest Map of the Shilshole Marina Area. Golden Gardens Park is at the far north end of the marina, Ray’s Restaurant is about 400 yards south of the marina.   (Zoom out a bit to see the approaches using NW 85th & NW Market Street)  (See below for more detailed driving instructions and routing hints.)

Parking: There is plenty of parking in the marina lot. The marina is about 3/4 of a mile long so try and park close to the dock you are sailing from. You may Park in the main parking lot or along the street. Do not park in a spot that says “Parking Permits Required” – you will be towed.  “A” dock is at the south end of the marina “X” dock at the north end.  General parking starts at the north end of the boat yard and continues all the way to the north end by the dry boat storage and drive in.

Rest Rooms: There are unlocked rest rooms at the far north end of the marina behind the drive in, the main building in the center of the marina, and at the far south end by the boat yard (these are a bit hidden but are on the east side of the boat yard office building.

Printer Friendly Driving Instructions (pdf)





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Posted in Sailing Trip Notes, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mtn May 30, 2009

Posted on May 31, 2009 by captnmike

Mtn May 30, 2009 Has been moved to:

http://captnmikephotos.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/mountaineers-may-30-2009/

Posted in Sailing Trip Notes | Leave a comment

Where to dispose of old flares in Seattle

Posted on May 15, 2009 by captnmike

UPDATE: November 23, 2013.

Three sites in King County are now accepting expired flares for disposal.  The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program (LHWMP) of King County, working with other agencies in the area to allow boaters to turn in up to 10 expired flares per trip four trips per year (40 flares) at three Hazardous Waste  locations in King County, North Seattle, South Seattle, and Factoria transfer stations.

For locations, limits and hours see the LHWMP web site.

Addendum July 14, 2019: King County has a home pickup program if you are over 65 and physically handicapped, you can call them up and schedule a pickup day and time for all Hazardous Waste!  I think this is a great addition to the program.  A note also on the North Seattle location.  It is only one block east of N. Aurora Ave.  Please do not do as I did and confuse Stone Ave. N. with Stone Way.

While the 10 flares per trip 40 flare maximum might seem like a bad limit, I just finished clearing out flares going back to when I started boating just over 25 years ago and managed to stay under the 40 limit, yes I still have about 6 old flares on the boat, but I tend to keep some not quite so old flares onboard just in case.

– c/m –

NOTE: I just received a report that Shilshole Marina is no longer accepting flares so there may be changes in other locations below as the ones listed were all having the flares picked up by the same person.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Boaters in the Seattle area now have a safe and legal way to dispose of old safety flares. The what do I do with old flares is a recurring problem for boaters as safety flares expire 42 months from Date of Manufacture (check the expiration date when purchasing flares and every spring when you start your boating season).

Lighting flares for a non-distress reason on Federally Regulated waters is a Federal Crime. Offenders can and have gone to jail, been fined and required to pay for the cost of responding to the false mayday.

The flare collection sites are:

Elliott Bay Marina
Fisherman’s Terminal
Shilshole Bay Marina
West Marine, Shilshole Bay
Western Fire & Safety, Ballard
Seattle Police Harbor Base (North Lake Union, west of Gas Works Park)

The Seattle flare disposal program was started in 1999 by Mr. Al Jensen, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary member of Flotilla 12, Edmonds Washington. Al started the program after finding out that District 13 Coast Guard (Pacific North West) was spending about $ 1.3 million dollars a year responding to false flare sightings. Al collected and disposed of 2,740 flares the first year and in 2000 he received a Superior Professional Achievement Award from District 13 for saving the district almost $700,000 in reduced false flare sightings. As of spring 2009, Al had collected and safely disposed of about 20,000 flares.

Posted in Safety Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Skipper & Crew Pet Peeves On the Boat

Posted on May 6, 2009 by captnmike
  • Not being able to read the crew’s email address or it’s left blank with the excuse of “you already have my email and phone number”.
  • Leaving (sometimes expensive) personal gear behind with no name. I then feel obligated (yeah, I know but I was brought up that way) to return it so the un-answered emails and missed meetings ensue.
  • Bringing glass dishes of food.
  • Bringing hard coolers.
  • Canceling on the last day.
  • Calling from Victoria 1/2 hour before the trip to cancel ( yes we know you had a float plane standing by and suddenly had a change of plans).
  • Calling at the meeting time with “sorry I have to work late tonight” you were maybe planning on teleporting from work to the marina?
  • Expecting to “cook” their finger food on board.
  • Having long work-related or personal phone calls.
  • Jumping off the boat with their gear, ready to leave, when the chores aren’t done.
  • Asking on the day of the trip to be returned to the dock early because of another “appointment”.

What a skipper expects your mother to have taught you about proper boating manners.
Tips on proper Boating Etiquette when a guest on a boat.  Or hints on how to be invited back aboard again.

Boating Etiquette – Opens in New Window

Crew Tips from George:
Tips on how to be a good crew member from 35 years on boats.

Crew Tips from George: – Opens in New Window

Special thanks to the skippers that have contributed to this list and Mike Sinclair for inspiring me to start this list.

Posted in Sailing and Boating Skills | Tagged | 2 Comments