SEQUIM BAY YACHT Club is sponsoring its 19th annual Reach for Hospice sailboat race on Saturday, Sept. 18.
During the past 18 years of the “Reach” campaign, $153,736 has been donated to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, including $22,011 last year.
The funds are earmarked specifically for respite care for family members, allowing family members the time to take care of personal business while a skilled nurse stays with the patient.
In 2009, because of the generous donations from the community, Hospice was able to provide more than 1,500 hours of respite care.
Platypus Marine Inc. is again one of the corporate sponsors for this year’s event and will be offering a haul-out valued at $1,000 for the lucky winner’s boat.
The work will include “a shave and a haircut” (scrape and bottom paint).
An incomplete list of additional sponsors includes First Federal, Alderwood Bistro, 7 Cedars Casino, Sequim Vision Clinic, dentist Gary D. Lange, Sound Community Bank and Allform Welding of Sequim.
For members of the community who do not have an interest in sailing, the yacht club is also holding a fundraising dinner at C’est Si Bon restaurant in Port Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 16.
The cost of the table d’hote will be $60 per person, and the function is limited to 120 people.
Tax-deductible tickets can be purchased at the Volunteer Hospice offices at 540 E. Eighth Street in Port Angeles.
Tax-deductible contributions can be made to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County at the above address.
About a dozen boats from the Sequim Bay Yacht Club and the Port Angeles Yacht Club are expected to participate in this year’s event.
Sailors who are not affiliated with a yacht club are also encouraged to partake in the race, which will be held in Sequim Bay and is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Bring a picnic lunch and watch the race from the shore at John Wayne Marina.
For further information, phone Ed English at 360-582-9916.
Out-of-water adjustment
Westport Shipyard hauled out Global Response Cutter 43 with its 550-ton TraveLift last Monday.
She hung in the slings at Westport’s plant on Marine Drive until Thursday, when she was put back in the water.
I spoke with Mike Catania, one of the yacht captains for Westport, who said the 142-foot maritime defense composite patrol vessel was on the hard to have rails installed in the boat-well to allow ingress and egress for a rigid inflatable boat.
Good advice
Labor Day weekend marks the traditional end of summer.
The Coast Guard, anticipating an increased number of mariners taking advantage of the recreational boating opportunities in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal and Puget Sound, is reminding boaters to “boat responsibly.”
The Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and local marine law enforcement boat crews will be on patrol this weekend to conduct safety checks on the water.
They will focus on boaters who are operating their vessels in an unsafe manner or are operating their vessels while intoxicated.
Boaters, personal watercraft operators, paddlers and surfers need to be aware of their surroundings and are reminded to monitor the weather forecast continuously.
Each person aboard a boat should always wear a life jacket.
The No. 1 cause of boating fatalities is drowning, most often by sudden and unexpected entry into the water.
The law states you must have a life jacket or personal flotation device for every person on board.
And do not operate a boat under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Boat motion, vibration, engine noise, sun, wind and spray can accelerate an operator’s impairment.
And if that isn’t enough persuasion, remember that intoxicated boaters can face both federal and state charges with penalties of up to one year in prison and fines up to $100,000.
Fishing boat hauled out
Platypus Marine stowed Catherine Kate in its 30,000-square-foot Commander Building on Marine Drive last week.
She is a 58-foot commercial fishing boat built by Delta Marine Industries in 1982 and hails from the town of Westport.
Capt. Charlie Crane, Platypus’ director of sales and marketing, said personnel are fabricating and installing rolling chocks, installing new pumps in the fish holds and performing maintenance on the running gear.
Capt. Charlie also mentioned that the vessel, which was formerly named Rosemary C, has a new owner who is contemplating having Verne Braghettia and his crew in the fiberglass department fabricate and attach a bulbous bow for greater fuel efficiency.
A bit of history
On Sept. 12, 1877, Ventus, an American-flagged ship traveling from New York via Rio de Janeiro, arrived in Port Townsend after a “long and tedious voyage” of 190 days.
According to the Puget Sound Weekly Argus of Sept. 14 that year, her cargo was 1,000 tons of railroad iron for the National Pacific Railroad that was to be discharged in Tacoma.
The article went on to note:
“This we believe is the first deepwater vessel that ever came to Puget Sound with a full load.”
Fueling up
Tesoro provided bunkers Thursday to British Laurel, a 789-foot crude oil tanker under contract to BP Shipping.
On Saturday, Tesoro refueled Overseas Los Angeles, a 600-foot petroleum products tank ship.
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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. E-mail dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-417-3736.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears every Sunday.