THIS SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, the 24th annual Sequim Bay Yacht Club Reach for Hospice Regatta will be held on Sequim Bay in support of Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
The initial Reach for Hospice boat race was held 24 years ago when a group of sailors and hospice supporters raced around Smith Island.
Since then, the event has evolved into a sailing regatta on Sequim Bay with multiple boat classes and staggered starts.
The hospice provides in-home end-of-life care without charge. It is entirely supported by community donations and grants, and does not bill Medicare or insurance companies for its services.
The hospice has nine professional nurses on staff who address symptom management and provide for family support and education. There are also 146 active volunteers who do everything from staffing the office to delivering equipment and providing much-needed respite care and support for exhausted family members who act as caregivers.
Those wishing to make a tax-deductible donation to the Reach for Hospice campaign can do so by mailing a contribution to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, 540 E. Eighth St., Port Angeles, WA 98362. Include the notation “Reach for Hospice Campaign” on your remittance.
This annual community service of the Sequim Bay Yacht Club has raised more than $282,500, all of which has gone to support this unique hospice program.
Harbor hauls
Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, yacht repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles, has Bella Nile in the Commander Building.
She is a 65-foot Mickelson. I understand personnel will be enlarging the vessel’s props pursuant to engineering drawings provided by Tim Nolan Designs.
Platypus also has the open lighter barge YC 1665 in the Commander Building.
On Friday, Monroe House Movers was scheduled to place the barge on dollies and move it to the North Building, where it will be sandblasted and painted.
Platypus was recently awarded a contract to build Logistic Escape Trunks and a collar handling stand for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va.
On Friday morning, Platypus Marine hauled out Salish Sea Dream, the 80-foot whale-watching boat Armstrong Marine built for Prince of Whales whale-watching tour company in Victoria.
Personnel will be touching up the outdrives and the bottom paint.
Westport Yachts hauled out Anastar, a 164-foot tri-level luxury Westport yacht built in Port Angeles. The vessel is out of the water for her five-year ABS certification.
Tesoro’s oil
I am frequently asked where Tesoro Petroleum acquires the fuel oil that is used to refuel the ships in the harbor.
The majority of the fuel product comes from the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, although on occasion, fuel is brought up the coast from California refineries and other refineries in the Puget Sound.
Virtually all the fuel is brought in by barge.
For example, last Monday, Dugan Pearsall, a tank barge operated by Olympic Tug and Barge, brought in approximately 1,680,000 gallons of fuel to resupply Tesoro Petroleum’s tank farm on Ediz Hook.
The scheduling of the resupply barges is done so their presence does not conflict with refueling operations. Consequently, much of the resupply operations take place during evening hours.
Harbor happenings
On Tuesday, Tesoro Petroleum in Port Angeles Harbor provided bunkers to Maratha Prudence, a 577-foot bulk carrier that is flagged in the Marshall Islands.
On Wednesday, Tesoro bunkered BBC Polonia, a 402-foot general cargo ship that is flagged in Antigua and Barbuda.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts 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.