Thanksgiving Day

Good morning fellow boaters and happy Thanksgiving.

There is much to be thankful for at the Davis household the neighbors old boat that uses up a parking stall in front of the house. The newly painted house across the street that our windows face garnished with a truck canopy against the fence. 

But now after all there really are many things I am thankful for.  Like a country that lets you pursue your dreams and a wonderful family that will fill this house later on and my wife who loves me each day.

Have a great Thanksgiving and I will see you on the South Sound.

Ed Davis

Road Trip to the Chinook

With "Friendship" in dry dock under the carport it's time for another road trip.
This time to Ilwaco at the mouth of the Columbia river and one of the roughest river bars in the world.
As we stopped off in Portland for a quick look at some Chriscrafts we heard that most of the bars in Washington and Oregon were closed. No. This is not a reenactment of prohibition but rather nasty conditions on a river where it meets the ocean.
So we hopped in the SUV raced our way to Ilwaco. Well may be raced is not the right word. With lakes forming on the I-5 freeway it was more like plowing our way. We saw some beautiful bow sprays from japanese imports. Who unfortunately had to park soon afterward.
After reaching Astoria I suggested to Linda we had time to stop at the Maritime museum http://www.crmm.org/ and catch up on some more Coast Guard history but she reminded me that if we want to spend time on the jetty better keep moving. Alas so many fun things to do and so little time.
Finally on the jetty at Ilwaco it was a glorius day. The surf was breaking in huge waves on the jetty and we carefully walked out as far as I dared (Linda is the real adventurer).
This is a good time for a disclaimer because many a fisherman has been swept off the jetty by a rouge wave. The waves sweep over the jetty and pluck bystanders off to Davey Jones Locker. A place hope not to see soon.
After a wonderful walk on the jetty it's up to the interpretive center and a gorgeous evening look over the mouth of the Columbia.
To finish the day we had two stops left. The Chinook salmon dinner and finally a warm bed and breakfast at the George Johnson house in Ocean Park. http://www.georgejohnsonhouse.com/
What a great place to stay. Indian history and live deer in the garden.
What a great country we live in.
See you on the South Sound (Salish Sea)

International Ship Breaking Dangerous Buisiness

While reading my shipping online magazine this morning I was struck by the dangers of ship breaking. A ship breaker is an organization that buys ships then cuts them up and resells the parts for scrap. Here are some pictures from Andrew Bells website of the ship breakers. http://www.andrewbell.net.au/shipBreaking.html
What caught my attention was that according to Maritime Updates http://www.maritimeupdates.com/ships-shipping/ship-breakers-inhale-death.html
in the ship breaking industry there were 14 deaths this year, 15 deaths in 2008 and 18 in 2006 and 2007.
This business gives a whole new meaning to Labor and Industry. I'm not sure what we can do for those people working in ship breaking but it sure makes my thankful for the standards being set in our own country.
Here in the South Puget Sound we not only live in one of the most beautiful areas in the world but also one of the safer areas.
Hope to see you on the sound soon and enjoy life today while helping others for their tomorrow.

Getting ready for winter.

Looking for a reason to stop procrastinating? Just look at the boats for sale on Craigs list with cracked blocks. Every year some poor soul doesn't quite get around to winterizing their boat before it freezes. I don't know what boat you have but my little Bayliner (which we love by the way) would be pretty expensive to repower-- probably not a lot more to buy another one new and transfer my electronics.

So with that in mind I lowered the outdrive to let the water drain and put my drain hoses in the bilge to drain the engine. This took me all of five minutes. Mercruiser really makes it easy now.

Another trick is boat repair shops get really busy in the summer. This may not be rocket science but it's pretty easy to get the boat in for preventative maintenance each year during their slow time. Each year I tell Greg my theory about what's wrong with my boat. He listens politely then makes a suggestion which miraculously turns out to be right. I don't know how he does it but after about 800 hours in six years on the little Bayliner he's been real consistent.

One last item to not forget. Top off those tanks and put in the fuel stabilizer.
See you on the water or maybe at the shop. I'll be there with the little Bayliner!

Quartermaster Harbor and the Coast Guard Aux.

Another great day on the Sound. This time in the outer part of Quartermaster Harbor. Quartermaster is formed around the Burton peninsula between Vashon Island and Maury Island. I grew up on Vashon and being there brought back many memories. This is where my dad and I learned to sail our National One. She was fast and could point well into the wind. At other times during the summer we would ride our horses down to Burton and take them swimming. It cooled them off and was great fun. My Arab horse named Sheik would love to push off the bottom and it was very tricky staying on this slippery horse as he swam that way. Those were the days. I was certainly blessed to grow up in such a beautiful place.
Back to 2009. It was a common day with the wind blowing out of the north. It blows down the Sound across a little strip of land between Maury and Vashon island then dumps into Quartermaster.
On the water our two 30 foot power boats struggled to keep parallel for the side tow as the wind would push them about at differing rates. This made for some great practice.
After a few hours it was off to Dockton for a potluck on the dock. Dockton has a nice dock with a sheltered park that provide restrooms and showers.
After a well earned break and fellowship it was off to practice search patterns. We worked our way out of Quartemaster diligently searching for a would be distressed person in the water. It looked as though the two boats were in a ballet dancing there way back home.
So ended another wonderful day on Puget Sound.

Traveling the Oregon coast.

The South Sound is great but sometimes you just have to get in the SUV and do a road trip. We needed to head to Portland for some post-wedding business so decided to drive the Oregon coast.
Linda found a great deal at Pelican Shores Inn at Lincoln City. The Inn is fairly small and older but well maintained and clean. Our goal was ocean view, a few stairs to the sand, internet, pool and all for under $100 a night. Well Linda did it again and here we are looking at the sunset.
That's all for today.
See you on the South Sound

Fun Fact about Coast Guard Academy

I was reading up on the Coast Guard Academy the other day and found that for 50 years they had a live bear for a mascot. "Objee" (and successors) was often brought to the cadet barracks where he was free to roam. That would get you up in the morning.
See you on the water.
Ed

Ship Wrecks to See

If you are looking for ship wrecks. There are two close by Anderson Island in south Puget Sound. The best wreck looks to be an old tug located between Nisqually and Tolmie park. The other is a barge on the north end of Nisqually and is in shallow water.
Good luck Wreck hunting. Watch you depth sounder and don't wait to long. The ship wrecks decompose a little each year.