Hi from a reader from down under. I log on from time to time, to get an idea of how the boating world there is through your eyes. Sadly, it has not been to good in our neck of the woods of late, and lives lost. Hera is a report of the latest, with reference to earlier ones. Harbour accident victim details emerge 8:46a.m. 2 May 2008 A sixth person has died following that horrific Sydney Harbour boat accident on Thursday as more details emerge about the victims. A 30-year-old man died in the Royal North Shore Hospital about 5pm yesterday following the early morning collision between a fishing trawler and a 23-foot runabout allegedly on an illegal joyride. You can read the balance of this lengthy comment posted by Anonymous, here .

San Juan Enterprise There are a number of barge operations here in the San Juans. Today I got the Cook's tour of San Juan Enterprise. Capt. Dan Cook and new Zenith Maritime graduate Brian VanderYacht are partners. Barges move a variety of fuel, propane, and building supplies around the islands. You are probably aware of other barge buddies that have been introduced here; Henry Island, Island Transporter, and Pintail. If you need something moved around the islands, chances are you will encounter this small fraternity of good guys.

( Ed. note: The towing season usually gets off to a slow start, and this season is no exception. I have a few tools that allow me to see where folks are logging on from. On occasion, read when bored, I check the places that are driving traffic. This evening I came across this: ) Been reading his blog for quite sometime now, I will be glad when the season gets busy for him, getting a little old reading all the harping about the Ferrys. Also, hope I never make it on his blog site :-) His blog really is quite informative and seeing the spot in action was really interesting to watch. You could track his movements with that 52 cat he towed. That comment was deep in the IBoatNW.com forum .

( Ed. note: Capt. Bill Bailey was featured at The Island Guardian . BTW, I'll be conducting another Licensing Course here in Friday Harbor in September and October. Contact me here for more information. ) Heritage Vessel: Pacific Catalyst The historic Pacific Catalyst is a restored 1932 wooden vessel. Her maiden voyage was up the Inside Passage and across the Gulf of Alaska, beginning her oceanographic research for the University of Washington’s, Friday Harbor Labs, and the marine sciences community. The Catalyst has been thoroughly and richly restored, and now takes visitors on marine adventures in the Salish Sea and north into Alaska and Canada. Friday Harbor is her home base, and is currently moored in the Friday Harbor Marina. For more information call 360.378.7123 or visit her here .

Wow - after a few days there have been 414 folks follow me on spot - Thanks. SPOT update, noon 5/6/05 Just got off the phone with the SPOT folks in Canada. Their views are limited to 500 per shared page, which was exceeded today. I've set up a new one for new calls. They have escalated my case. Will report back.

Boats on Parade in Friday Harbor Yesterday was the Opening Day Parade, sponsored by the San Juan Island Yacht Club . There were 26 boats in the parade. Remedy won the prize for most unique vessel. Thanks SJIYC

52' Atlantis Power Cat Under Tow On the Hip Last night's tow to Point Roberts was unique in that there was no visibility once I got him on the hip. This vessel was as wide as Remedy is long. You can see the route on SPOT. He was suffering from a fuel delivery problem.

San Juan Island Yacht Club - Docktails Here in Friday Harbor, we don't just have an opening day, we have an open weekend of boating activities. Yesterday was a potluck and socializing (no drinking for me as I was on duty) in the late afternoon. Great folks and a great time. It had rained most of the the day but the sun was shining by 17:00. Several folks mentioned this page. The Boat Parade is this afternoon at 14:00. You can follow the activities vicariously via SPOT, here . More pics tomorrow. I have to go to the internet cafe, as I don't have a signal in my slip.

It seems that the TSA's deadline was a tad hasty. Excellent info on the links below: Red Right Retuning MaritimeLicensing.com 12:30 Update. LMAO - just received an automated call from the TSA. "Congtraulations, your TWIC is ready to be pick up.". HELLO, I picked it up on 3/27/08. It's good to know that this type of technology is going to keep us safe.

Out with the Old In with the New Many locals recognized Vessel Assist Remedy from her unique yellow paint job. Truth of the matter, is that the former owner of Vessel Assist here in Friday Harbor purchased her from a Sea Tow operator. There are a number of folks that use 26' Shamrocks for assistance towing. There are difficult to come by. In fact we have four Shamrocks in the Vessel Assist Friday Harbor fleet. Now all four are the Vessel Assist trademark RED. If you're here during the season, you can reach me be hailing; Vessel Assist Remedy (or 360-472-0655, my work phone) – just don't expect to see Old Yeller.

I'd been on station for three hours when the first call came in. A 25' Glassply with water in the fuel off Roche Harbor. They needed to be towed about two miles. They didn't belong, 2.25 hrs at $220 an hour. The cost was higher as I had to come from Friday Harbor. Many thanks to those who followed me on SPOT yesterday. The broadband connection here is poor. I can connect by tethering to my cell, but the connection is like dial up. Stay tuned.

MV Hiyu (Washington State's smallest ferry) Here is MV Hiyu about to land at Friday Harbor, Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 13:50. I found it curious that both of her RADARs appeared to be inoperable (neither array was turning.)

Customs Agents meeting the 08:05 sailing from Friday Harbor, WA in Anacortes WA at 09:35 on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 If you followed my Twitter yesterday, you know that I witnessed Customs and Border Protection conducting checks on a domestic Washington State Ferry route. A related post from April 4, 2008 is here . Capt. John Konrad, over at gCaptain , follows my Twitter and forwarded this related post from NPR. Citizenship Checks on Wash. Ferries Stir Controversy by Martin Kaste Listen Now [4 min 59 sec] add to playlist by Elaine Thompson The Washington state ferry Kitsap crosses picturesque Puget Sound en route from Seattle to Bremerton, Wash., on March 4, 2008. Passengers on some other state ferries, farther north in the San Juan Islands, are being subjected to citizenship checks. AP Morning Edition , April 30, 2008 · The U.S. Border Patrol has started regularly checking the citizenship of passengers on certain ferries inside Washington state. Such nationality checks are common in the Southwest, but along the Canadian border, they're still relatively new — and to many people, the checkpoints have come as a shock. A ferry from Friday Harbor on San Juan Island to Anacortes, a town on the coast, follows a domestic route — it never leaves U.S. waters. Yet, when it arrives in Anacortes, there's a chance that passengers will be greeted by the Border Patrol . The balance of the post is here . See Congressman Rep. Rick Larsen's 4/29/08 letter to Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar regarding citizenship spot checks in Anacortes. It was published in the Journal of the San Juans, here .

Tomorrow, Thursday, May 1, 2008 begins my summer Vessel Assist season. I will be using a Spot GPS Tracker this year. TRACK PROGRESS: Also known as SPOTcasting SM , this feature allows friends and family to follow my progress in real time. I'll actually use it for the first time on my trip from Anacortes to Friday Harbor aboard Diligence . I'll be underway between 08:00 and 09:00 local. The trip will take about 3.5 hours. Here's how it works: Once activated, SPOT acquires and sends GPS coordinates to my SPOT account every 10 minutes. Anyone can log on and view my route, complete with virtual views provided by Google Maps™. To continue tracking on longer journeys, the SPOTcastingSM function must be re-activated every 24 hours. Beginning tomorrow you can follow me on SPOT here. You can find out more about SPOT here .

Office of Governor Chris Gregoire FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 28, 2008 Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136 Gov. Gregoire announces solution for long-term Port Townsend/Keystone ferry service OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will move forward with construction of two 64-car Island Home style vessels and will not build a smaller 50-car vessel. The balance of the release is here .

Desert First ORIGIN OF SECURITE Spoken three times by the USCG on Channel 16 Marine VHF it precedes a message about safety, hazardous navigation, or marine danger to mariners. It's spoken as the French securite and is from the French for "safety". ORIGIN OF PAN PAN (URGENCY DISTRESS CALL) From the French word 'panne' --which roughly translates to breakdown. In radio telephony, the word PAN is repeated three times pronouncing it as the French word 'panne'. ORIGIN OF MAYDAY Mayday' is the internationally recognized voice radio signal for ships and people in eminent danger at sea. Made official in 1948, it is an anglicizing of the French m'aidez, 'help me'. ( Ed. note: Thanks to my colleague Capt. Jack Richards for passing this one along. )

(Ed. note: Go on over to Navagear and read Tim Flangans excellent post and comments on Homeland Security's new drive.) Homeland Security Calls On Boaters April 28th, 2008 · by Tim Flanagan, Managing Editor<!-- 1 Comment --> Normally, Navagear avoids political issues, except when they have a direct impact on cruising gear-n-gadgets, as with FCC certification of Class B AIS devices . But I’m going to make an exception for this story. I have no doubt this new effort by the Department of Homeland Security will evoke strong feelings among recreational mariners, one way or the other. Read the rest of the post here .

Sleepless in Seattle? $2.5 million would make me sleepless too. The listing is here if you are interested.

Pic by Nick Wainwright The Vessel Assist season starts on Thursday, May 1, 2008. Woo Hoo. That's Les Soland, your's truly, and Bill West. There's still time to join. Remember don't leave the slip with out it. Non member rates start at $220 and hour this season. The Vessel Assist Gold Card for $135 is cheap by comparison.

State ferries may lease Port Townsend-Keystone ferries until 2010 By Tan Vinh , Seattle Times staff reporter Washington State Ferries Director David Moseley said this morning that a deal could be reached early next week to lease Island Home model ferries to run between Port Townsend to Keystone until April 2010. Pending the approval of Gov. Christine Gregoire, the deal would buy time for the state to get the first new ferry built for the route. Gregoire is on board with the idea, and "I am optimistic we can reach an agreement with Pierce County to lease their ferries," Moseley said. If the deal is completed, the state would abandon its plan to build a 50-car ferry, a plan objected to by local residents. The complete Seattle Times post is here .

The Bellingham Herald is reporting: Law enforcement and local paddlers are making water safety a priority after Whatcom County waters claimed the lives of six kayakers and canoeists last year. U.S. Coast Guard officials and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office marine patrol deputy Stu Smith discussed opportunities for boater education at a meeting Thursday. “We don’t want our guys picking up any more dead bodies,” said Jim Herzog, officer in charge at the Bellingham Coast Guard station. The full post is here . Here are some basic safety tips from the American Canoe Association: Always wear a properly fitted lifejacket. Dress in layers made of synthetic fabrics such as polypropylene, nylon and polyester fleece. Wear a wet or dry suit when the combined air and water temperatures total less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a water bottle and food in case your outing lasts longer than planned. Carry a sponge or bilge pump to remove water from your boat. Bring a tow rope, spare paddle, cell phone and whistle or horn to attract attention if you need help. Consider buying a VHF radio for use in emergencies, particularly for salt-water boating. Know the terrain. Consult guidebooks, paddling retailers and the Internet for information on potential hazards. WAKE’s Web site ( www.wakekayak.org) has information on many local waterways. Be aware of the weather. Water conditions can change quickly due to an approaching storm. Avoid paddling alone, and inform friends and family of your plans if you do. Know how to right and re-enter your craft if it capsizes.

The Everett Herald is reporting : By Jerry Cornfield Herald Writer OLYMPIA – The state won’t be seeking bids again to build a 50-car ferry for the Keystone-to-Port Townsend route after striking a deal Friday to continue leasing boats for the run from Pierce County. This agreement will enable Washington State Ferries to pursue construction of two larger Island Home class vessels considered much better suited for serving this route. The Island Home design would carry up to 80 vehicles. Though many details must still be worked out, it is expected the Steilacoom II now in use will be replaced this fall by a second similarly-sized boat owned by Pierce County called the Christine Anderson, officials said. (Ed. note: This is the full post as of 18:00)

Back on March 14, 2008 we did a piece on allegations that had been made of porn being found on a WSF computer: Porn in a WSF Pilot House: Say it ain't so One of the WSF captains challenged the accusation. I am happy to report that the allegations were false and had been made by a disgruntled employee. An article at The Herald confirming the story stated: Meanwhile, a separate state Department of Transportation investigation turned up no evidence anyone was using wireless onboard computers in the pilot houses of ferries used on the Mukilteo-to-Clinton run to view Internet porn, Coursey said. Hard drives removed in March from computers on the Kittitas and Cathlamet were examined. "They still found people using the system more than they want them to be," including engaging in online banking, searching for real estate and visiting entertainment Web sites, Coursey said. The full Herald post is here . Earlier today I spoke with Marta Coursey at the WSF for conformation as well. A special thanks to Capt. Al Davis for challenging me to follow up on this story. The link related to the exoneration was difficult to find until an Everett Herald employee emailed it to me today.

Here's the group of folks (three missing from the pic) that graduated from the Zenith Maritime 100 Ton Master's course last evening in Anacortes. The graduation party was a five hour affair.