THIS WEEK ON the waterfront was all about making preparations for the visit of the Holland America cruise ship Zuiderdam on Friday afternoon.
Port of Port Angeles personnel diligently worked to make the port’s facilities visitor-friendly and also set up tents for vendors and the cadre of individuals who welcomed passengers and crew members to Port Angeles.
In addition, the tank barge Sasanoa, which has been at Terminal 1 for the last couple of weeks, had to be moved down to Terminal Seven to allow Zuiderdam the use of the dock.
Zuiderdam, which is flagged in the Netherlands, arrived with 1,952 passengers and 817 crew members.
It is on a repositioning cruise from winter cruising in the Caribbean to spend the summer cruising in Alaskan waters.
The cruise began in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 20, making stops in Costa Rica and a number of Mexican seaports.
Transiting the Panama Canal had to be the highlight of the trip for many of the passengers as the ship made her way to San Diego for the final leg of the trip to Vancouver, British Columbia SEmD with a much-anticipated stop in Port Angeles.
Bob and Patti Eads of Port Angeles booked passage aboard Zuiderdam and boarded the ship in Fort Lauderdale.
When the ship arrives in Vancouver and most of the passengers disembark Bob and Patti, will remain comfortably ensconced in their stateroom for the final leg of their spring vacation SEmD a seven-night cruise to Alaska.
They said the only reason they choose this specific cruise was “to sail into and out of Port Angeles harbor on a cruise ship” SEmD a claim to fame few locals can make.
Yacht club open house
This coming Saturday, the Port Angeles Yacht Club is holding an open house for the general public to celebrate its 73rd anniversary.
The festivities will be held at the yacht club’s building located on Marine Drive at the west end of the Port Angeles Boat Haven and behind Castaway’s Restaurant.
In addition to showcasing the facility, which is available for rental, there will also be information on membership.
Representatives from the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Power Squadron, YMCA and Waypoint Electronics will be available to answer questions regarding boating and safety issues in our Northwest waters.
Free vessel safety inspections will be offered in the marina and in the parking lot for trailered boats.
Several members will have their boats available for tours.
Refreshments and door prizes will be offered throughout the afternoon.
For more information on the club, please visit www.payc.org.
Harbor master back at work
Speaking of cruises, Chuck Faires is back at his post as the harbor master at the Port Angeles Boat Haven.
Chuck and his wife, Linda, spent 10 luxurious days aboard the Silver Wind cruise ship exploring the Adriatic Sea and visiting such exotic places as Venice, Croatia, Greece, Malta and Sicily.
Chuck said the trip almost did not come about because of the interruption in European air travel caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull. Chuck and Linda were a day late in meeting the cruise ship in Venice, but the cruise line held the ship for an extra day to allow travelers to embark the ship.
As it turned out, many booked passengers were unable to fly to the ship and there were little more than 100 guests aboard the vessel, which normally accommodates 300.
Orcas visit boat haven
Not only was the city of Port Angeles awash with visitors this week, the Port Angeles Boat Haven had a surprise visit on Tuesday morning from two killer whales, also known as orcas.
Chuck Faires and Todd Ritchie said the orcas came into the Boat Haven, made a slow journey down the waterway to Pete and Joan Hanson’s boat, Northern Legacy, turned around and then headed back out to sea.
Chuck said they looked to be 12 to 15 feet long, and it was suggested to him by a waterfront denizen that they may have been a couple of females or possibly recalcitrant teenagers.
(See photo, Page A12 today.)
One or possibly two other orcas were also spotted in the harbor.
No room to work
Chandra “Hollywood” McGoff of Washington Marine Repair, the topside ship repair company on the waterfront, said the personnel working the Sasanoa — mentioned earlier — were given Friday off when the barge was moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 7 to make room for the Zuiderdam (there are no facilities at that berth that would allow them to continue work).
Hollywood did say she did not hear one note of grumbling by anyone about the serendipitous day off.
Hollywood also said five workers were flown to Long Beach, Calif., to work on carbon dioxide piping aboard the Alaskan Explorer and that six of their crew were sent to Anacortes to install a Yokohama fendering system aboard a Crowley-owned ATB 650.
Unscheduled stop for RIBs
Two catamaran RIBs assigned to the Navy base at Kitsap-Bangor spent the week in the Port Angeles Boat Haven.
The rigid inflatable boats, painted deck gray, appear to be about 30 feet long.
I understand they are anti-submarine warfare patrol boats that were undergoing ordnance practice at the shooting range in the outer Strait.
One of the boats broke down.
A 90-foot Navy harbor tug was sent to Port Angeles to tow it back to Kitsap-Bangor.
Working on the Intruder
Capt. Charlie Crane, director of sales and marketing for Platypus Marine, walked me through the Commander Building last week.
Among their many projects is Intruder, a 58-foot fiberglass commercial fishing boat.
She hails from Friday Harbor and fishes in the waters off the San Juan Islands.
All of the through-hull fittings are being inspected and replaced as needed, her refrigeration system is being serviced and a new coat of bottom paint will complete her stay at Platypus.
Crescendo spruce-up
Crescendo, a Westport 112, is also in the building.
For the last three years, she has been cruising in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and there is much sprucing up that needs to be done to her.
Personnel are tuning the props and realigning the shafts, there is woodwork on the interior that needs to be touched up — and the teak on the aft deck and swim step need to be sanded down.
The davit for the yacht’s tender needs repair, and a water-tight hatch must be installed.
McCrorie Carpet One of Port Angeles will install new carpeting throughout.
Filling up
On Tuesday, Tesoro Petroleum provided bunkers to Marjatta P.
She is a 623-foot bulk cargo ship that is flagged in Malta.
On Wednesday, Tesoro bunkered Nordic Bulker, a 554-foot Panamanian flagged log ship that is underway to South Korea.
On Saturday, Tesoro refueled Sea Bulk Pride, a 604-foot double-hull tanker that is under contract to Tesoro Petroleum.
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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.
