This morning’s sailing of the 342-foot-long vehicle-passenger ferry MV Coho from Port Angeles to Victoria’s Inner Harbour will be her last for about three weeks.
According to Ryan Malane, director of marketing for Black Ball Ferry Line, the company that operates the 54-year-old ferry, the Coho will get under way this afternoon for Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, which is a shipbuilding and repair facility where she will go into dry dock for her annual out-of-service period.
Ryan said the vessel’s hull will receive a fresh coat of paint and a new set of zincs. The shafts and rudders will be inspected, as will all of the ferry’s safety equipment.
The concession area will be receiving some upgrades, including the installation of new equipment, and the car deck will be painted.
The Coho, which otherwise operates year-round service across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, will be back in operation Thursday, Feb. 7, in time for the 8:20 a.m. sailing.
There will be no ferry service between Port Angeles and Victoria in the meantime.
Topside repair
Sierra moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal One North on Thursday morning.
According to Chandra “Hollywood” McGoff of Washington Marine Repair, the topside ship-repair company on the waterfront, the 831-foot crude-oil tanker will be in port until sometime today to have gaskets replaced on a steam generator.
Hollywood also said personnel will replace seals on a scrubber pump and make some miscellaneous piping repairs.
Comings and goings
Aghassi, a 145-foot Christensen yacht, moored to the breakwater float on the west side of the Port Angeles harbormaster’s office Wednesday.
She was built in 2002 in Vancouver, Wash., and launched as Primadonna.
For the past three years, she has been owned by an individual who has an ownership interest in Christensen shipyards, and I understand the boat is for sale for
$15 million, give or take.
Aghassi’s owner also owns First Draw, a 120-foot Christensen that has been moored in the Port Angeles Boat Haven for a couple of months.
First Draw was launched in 1995 as Cacique. She then was bought and sold a couple of times until her recent acquisition by her current owner, who has completely refurbished her.
David Sloate, Aghassi’s captain, went aboard First Draw on Thursday morning, fired up the engines and took the yacht to Victoria, where she will be loaded aboard a Yacht Path transport ship and taken to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and offered for sale.
Once First Draw was securely moored in Victoria, David returned to Port Angeles aboard the MV Coho and got under way with Aghassi for Victoria, where she, too, will be put aboard a Yacht Path ship bound for the Florida market.
I understand that the owner of Aghassi and First Draw is having a 168-foot Christensen built for himself that likely will be in our local waters during the upcoming summer season.
Passing through
Another vessel in the Port Angeles marina that is destined for Florida via the Yacht Path transport ship that is due in Victoria today or Monday is Wench.
She is a 70-foot Donzi that was recently put back into the water after spending 18 months on the hard while being refurbished at Platinum Marine’s facilities on Mitchell Island in Richmond, B.C.
Out of the water
Platypus Marine, of course, operates the full-service shipyard, yacht-repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles.
It hauled out Orient Express and placed her on the hard Thursday.
She is a 78-foot Grand Harbor that hails from Roche Harbor.
Capt. Charlie Crane, Platypus’ director of sales and marketing, said the yacht is in for a few days to have her electric stern thruster removed and replaced by a hydraulic version, which will of necessity also require the installation of hoses and a hydraulic oil tank.
Personnel also will inspect the zincs and replace a couple of fuel valves.
Accidental stopover
Shortly after leaving the Port of Seattle on Thursday night, the container ship Hanjin Monaco had an engine sensor activate to indicate a problem in the engine room.
As a result, the 856-foot ship anchored in the east end of Port Angeles Harbor to resolve the issue.
I understand there was no serious problem and the ship was awaiting clearance from the Coast Guard to resume her voyage to Tokyo.
Resource for mariners
BoatUS is a membership organization that offers an array of services to its more than 500,000-strong clientele.
In addition to the well-regarded Vessel Assist and trailering insurance programs that it offers, BoatUS is one of the nation’s most powerful advocates for advancing the interests of boaters.
A couple of days ago, I was navigating its website (www.
boatus.com) and ran across a resource it offers to members and nonmembers alike called BoatTECH, which is an online archive with hundreds of articles on boating, making repairs and performing maintenance, plus other how-to resources for boaters, anglers and sailors.
BoatTECH articles cover a wide range of subjects for the practical do-it-yourselfer, including everything from how to add an inverter and use downriggers to how to repair fiberglass and maintain boat trailers.
Many of the articles are accompanied with useful photographs.
There are also chat narratives and opportunities to learn from authoritative articles written by the BoatUS tech team that includes Don Casey, a best-selling author of “do-it-yourself” books, including the boaters’ bible This Old Boat.
Another member of the tech team is John Adey, president of the boatbuilding-standards organization American Boat and Yacht Council, who once owned a marine supply store and fully restored a classic 1976 Irwin ketch.
Out in PA Harbor
Tesoro Petroleum on Monday bunkered Eagle Matsuyama, a 597-foot petroleum-products carrier flagged in Panama that anchored in Port Angeles Harbor.
On Tuesday, Tesoro refueled BW Seine, which is also flagged in Panama. The 748-foot petroleum-products tanker is due in Puerto Armuelles, Panama, on Jan. 29.
Tesoro on Wednesday provided bunkers to Freja Pegasus, a 600-foot petroleum-products carrier that hails from the United Kingdom and will arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on Monday morning.
Tesoro today is scheduled to refuel BBC Vesuvius, a 410-foot cargo ship that is due in Victoria on Monday after a journey that originated in Shanghai.
________
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.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears Sundays.
