Plenty of room for lots of boats to anchor in Filucy Bay. Gently sailing along in Filucy Bay. This is the larger of the two Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks. You could find yourself tied up to a fishing boat. What is it?? The joy of cruising. Port of Friday Harbor docks. A beautiful sunset from Prevost Harbor, San Juan Islands.

UPDATES FOR PUGET SOUND & SAN JUAN ISLANDS Small Chamber at Ballard’s Chittenden Locks Closing for Two Weeks March 10, 2010. Seattle – The small lock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks will close its gates to marine traffic and be drained for 12 days starting at 7:00 a.m. March 8 through 4:00 p.m. March 19. The closure will allow crews to conduct annual maintenance. The large lock will continue to operate 24 hours a day/seven days a week. Lock wall staff will get the commercial traffic through as quickly as possible. All pleasure boats will be using the large lock during this time. Mariners may experience some delay, depending upon how heavy the demand for passage becomes. Boaters should be prepared to use the large lock with appropriate equipment and crew. Requirements in the large lock include long lines and fenders on board the boats. The small lock is capable of handling vessels up to 25 feet wide and 100 feet long. The large lock can be configured to handle vessels as large as 760 feet by 80 feet. Most of the equipment at the locks is 93 years old. The maintenance program gives staff the chance to dry out the chambers for a thorough inspection, make any necessary repairs and paint the walls. This annual routine maintenance ensures the chambers will continue to safely operate. The Chittenden Locks, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, safely transits well over 60,000 vessels each year between Lake Washington and Salmon Bay in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Current information about activities at the locks and instructions on "locking through", can be found at: http://www.nws.usace.army.mil, select "Dams and Locks" then "Lake Washington Ship Canal" from the leftmost column. New Fee Structure for Everett’s 10th Street Boat Launch March 8, 2010. PORT OF EVERETT MODIFIES NEW FEES AT 10TH STREET BOAT LAUNCH AND MARINE PARK Everett, Wash. - After a discussion at the Port Commission Retreat on February 10, the Port of Everett staff modified the new parking fee structure for the 10th Street Boat Launch and Marine Park, which will go into effect May 1, 2010. Starting May 1, 2010, the Port will expand the boat launch fee from $5 to $8 year-round, and implement a weekend-only (Friday to Sunday) $3 seasonal parking fee for park and Jetty Island visitors. This is the first boat launch fee increase since 1997. “We modified the fee structure to provide unrestricted access to our community members during the week, yet still be able to manage the parking demands on the facility during the summer months,” said Carl Wollebek, Chief of Operations for the Port of Everett. “This new fee structure better balances our commitment to public access to the waterfront and ensuring our facilities cover their respective costs.” As the boat launch and park usage continues to grow, so do its physical pressures and maintenance costs. Last year, the 10th Street Boat Launch and Park facility served approximately 27,000 launches, and accommodated more than 47,000 visitors to the Port-owned Jetty Island. These numbers don’t include the individuals who visiting only the park facility itself. The 10th Street Boat Launch and Marine Park facility operated at a $100,000 deficit in 2009. Additionally, the Port recently completed a $600,000 capital project at the boat launch, dredging nearly 25,000 cubic yards of sediment from the facility to enhance its functionality. Summary of New Parking Fee Program $8 boat launch fee year round including parking $3 parking fee on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (covers midnight to midnight) from May 1 to Sept. 30 of each year $150 annual boat launch pass for 2010 available. The pass includes parking. Senior and Disabled Boat Launch pass available at the South Marina office and are valid Monday through Friday. From May 1 to Sept. 30 of each year, seniors pass holders will be required to pay the $3 seasonal parking fee for launches on Friday. Free launch and parking for disabled veterans. Passes are available at the South Marina office. For additional information, please contact the Port’s Communications Administrator Lisa Lefeber at 425.388.0617 or by e-mail at lisam@portofeverett.com. Tide Rising in Lake Union, Lake Washington February 17, 2010. The Army Corps of Engineers has begun the annual raising of the water level in Lake Washington, Lake Union and the Lake Washington Ship Canal. By June the water level should be about two feet higher than on February 15. In the latter half of August the level will begin to drop the two feet to its wintertime low by late November. Two feet of difference doesn’t sound like much in a region where saltwater tides rise and fall by 10-20 feet daily, but for the thousands of boats moored in the Lake Washington/Lake Union waters the two-foot difference on dock lines is quite noticeable. Sunken Fish Boat in Friday Harbor February 11, 2010. Local Notices to Mariners reports Dangerous Wreck at 48°32'10"N / 123°00'31"W. Plotted on large scale Chart 18434, the wreck is right in the middle of the channel between Brown Island and Friday Harbor, approximately 100 yards or so south of the Washington State Ferry dock. The wreck is an old fish boat that had been anchored for quite some time and a few years ago it sank. This past summer several pleasure boats fouled their anchors on the wreck. Tami Hayes, the marina manager at the Port of Friday Harbor, contacted the Coast Guard, who established the exact location and published the warning in Notices to Mariners. Don’t anchor there. New Buoys at Port Gamble February 11, 2010. Local Notices to Mariners reports that lighted buoys 2 and 4 have been installed on the west side of the entry channel to Port Gamble. Buoy 2 is Fl R 2.5s; Buoy 4 is Fl R 4s. Light 1, a short distance north of the entry channel, has been removed. The range boards for the entry channel no longer are lighted. Racon Added to Rosario Strait Buoy February 9, 2010. Traffic Lane Entrance Buoy R at the south entrance to Rosario Strait now transmits Racon Morse T (-) Puget Sound Marina Promotion January 26, 2010. For Immediate Release – January 25, 2010 PASSPORT TO PUGET SOUND: GUEST MOORAGE PROMOTION OFFERED AT LOCAL MARINAS In 2010, fifteen Puget Sound Marinas will partner with Northwest Marine Trade Association to offer a new program that will reward visiting boaters. The promotion, Passport to Puget Sound, will kick off at the 2010 Seattle Boat Show on January 29th. Puget Sound provides quick, easy access to a boater’s paradise. With fishing, diverse moorage options and events year round, the Sound has a lot to offer boaters that want to take advantage of the area’s unique features. Participating marinas include: Arabella’s Landing Bremerton Marina Bell Harbor Marina Cap Sante Boat Haven City of Des Moines Marina Dock Street Marina Elliott Bay Marina Foss Harbor Marina Port of Edmonds Port of Everett Port of Kingston Port Orchard Marina Poulsbo Marina Shilshole Marina Swantown Marina Boaters who visit any of the participating marinas between March 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 and pay for a minimum of one night of guest moorage will receive a stamp in a Passport to Puget Sound book. Once a row of four marinas is completed, vertical, horizontal or diagonal, visitors will receive a “Passport to Puget Sound” T-shirt. The first fifteen participants to achieve a ‘black out’, where all squares are filled with stamps from all participating marinas, will receive one of fifteen available grand prize packages valued up to $500. Prize packages include a variety of hotel accommodations, restaurant gift certificates, event tickets, boat services and more. Pick up your Passport to Puget Sound book at any of the participating marinas or at the Seattle Boat Show to start your summer adventures early! For more information on the program, visit the NMTA’s website at www.seattleboatshow.com or contact one of the participating marinas. New South Puget Sound Weather Stations January 20, 2010. The Pierce County Surface Water Management Department has installed weather stations at Longbranch (Filucy Bay), and Oro Bay on Anderson Island. Here are the URLs to each: https://www.hobolink.com/p/fd70ca9cc7c2b0be740286eda9d81ae7 Longbranch /Filucy Bay https://www.hobolink.com/p/bcdb15aa9a700d714831e82e9d9f0bbb TYC @ Oro Bay Our thanks to Jon Thompson for this information. New Parking Program: 10th Street Boat Launch and Marine Park January 12, 2010. For Immediate Release – Everett, Wash. - Starting in May 2010, the Port of Everett will be implementing a seasonal daytime parking fee for 10th Street Boat Launch and Marine Park visitors. The $3 fee, which runs from May 1 to Sept. 30 of each year, is being expanded to daytime facility users in an effort to help fund the ongoing maintenance and operation of the 10th Street Boat Launch & Marine Park facility. The facility is maintained by the Port of Everett, but jointly owned by the Port, City of Everett and Snohomish County. “This is not a decision we came to lightly,” said Carl Wollebek, chief of operations for the Port of Everett. “New parking fees are not popular by any means, but it is greatly needed to maintain this state-of-the-art community asset. The new parking program will allow us to maintain and upgrade the facility to best serve our community.” Currently, the Port invests approximately $216,000 per year in boat launch and park maintenance, of which, about $115,000 is recouped via launch and parking fees. Furthermore, the Port invested approximately $600,000 in capital improvements to the boat launch, Marine Park and Jetty Island facility over the last several years. In early 2010, the Port expects to invest an additional $600,000 to dredge the boat launch to enhance its functionality. To assist with the change, the Port has installed new parking machines that will take credit cards. This modest fee will help offset some of the maintenance costs to providing this public amenity. Parking Pass Available: Starting in April, a parking pass will be available at the Port’s Marina office for $75. This seasonal pass allows unlimited parking at the boat launch and park facility from May 1 to Sept. 30. Boat Launch: The $5 launch fee will remain in effect; however the $3 seasonal parking fee will apply to all boat launch vehicles and senior pass holders. The Port will still offer an annual boat launch pass for $150, however, it will not include parking. Those wishing to purchase both a boat launch pass and parking pass may do so for $225. Jetty Island & 10th Street Park: Visitors will pay $3 per day to park from May 1 to Sept. 30 of each year. Boat launch and parking passes are available at the Marina office at 1720 West Marine View Drive, Everett. More information can be found at the Port’s Web site www.portofeverett.com. For additional information, please contact Lisa Lefeber, the Port’s Communication Administrator at 425.388.0617 or via e-mail at lisam@portofeverett.com. No Dearth of Books Open Sundays, Too November 30, 2009. It didn’t get in the text or in the ad, but favorite bookseller Harry Dearth’s delightful used books bookstore in Gig Harbor is also open Sundays, noon to 2:30. Bring cash. No Dearth of Books is probably the only store in town that isn’t set up for credit cards. Now in his mid-eighties, Harry Dearth keeps to the old ways. In October we stopped by to see Harry, following the Recreational Boating Association of Washington (RBAW) meeting at Gig Harbor Yacht Club. We walked out with an interesting biography of George Washington. Our visit before that resulted in a biography of Alexander Hamilton. And before that, David McCullough’s magnificent John Adams. -- Bob Hale