The red-hulled Atlantic Superior — a ship not among the regular visitors to Port Angeles Harbor — left the Port of Port Angeles Terminal 1 for Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico, on Thursday night.
The 730-foot self-discharging bulk cargo ship had been in port for a week for structural steel repairs by the topside-repair company on the waterfront, Vigor Industrial.
Atlantic Superior is flagged in Nassau, Bahamas.
Interestingly, the vessel’s construction was a collaborative effort by two Canadian shipyards.
The stern portion was built by Collingwood Shipyards in Collingwood, Ontario. Once completed, it was then towed to Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
That’s where the forward section was built.
It was there that the two pieces became one, and she was launched June 11, 1982.
Atlantic Superior was built for Canada Steamship Lines specifically for ocean trading, and her name reflects the fact that she also has seen extensive service on Lake Superior.
I understand that the vessel now spends much of her time carrying gypsum from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest, then returns south laden with coal or fertilizer.
Adventure to be retold
The North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron will hold its monthly meeting Monday night at the Cedars at Dungeness Golf Club, 1965 Woodcock Road northwest of Sequim.
All those interested in boating are welcome to attend the entire meeting or join the group just in time to hear an interesting presentation by their guest speaker, Chris Duff.
Chris, of course, is the expedition sea kayaker who rowed his 19-foot craft from Scotland to the Orkney, Shetland and Faroe islands and Iceland in 2011 and 2014.
Buffet dinner ($19) reservations can be made by calling 360-670-2798.
Social hour — a great time for networking among local boaters — typically runs from 5 p.m. until the squadron’s business meeting at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the speaker at 7:30 p.m.
Nosing around
I stopped by Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, yacht-repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles, only to find that the powers-that-be were attending a boat show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where according to AccuWeather the daily high temperature for the week fluctuated between a high of 82 and a low of 79.
As a consequence, I let myself into the Commander Building to nose around a bit to see what I could see.
The 75-foot Puget Sound Pilots boat Juan de Fuca was inside sans her engines.
I understand that they were sent to a Caterpillar factory dealer in Seattle to be rebuilt.
The expectation was that the orange and white pilot boat will be back shuttling between Ediz Hook and passing ships Monday.
Primus, a 58-foot steel commercial fishing boat, is also in the Commander Building. She has had rolling chocks welded onto her hull and a bulbous bow attached, and soon will be ready for painting.
There is also a 25-foot center-console SAFE Boat that Platypus has been contracted to paint.
The vessel was custom-built for a civilian customer for use as a tender aboard his private yacht.
Harbor watch
Tesoro Corp. last Sunday provided bunker fuel to Kythnos, an 817-foot Grecian-flagged petroleum-products carrier that is currently underway for Port Allen, La.
On Thursday, Tesoro bunkered Eagle San Juan, an 899-foot crude-oil tanker that is flagged in Singapore.
Water-watchers today can view Tesoro’s scheduled bunkering of Silver Amanda, a new 600-foot petroleum-products tanker flagged in the Marshall Islands.
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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. Items and questions 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.
