Dan Kauffman of Port Angeles recently asked me the following questions:
How many ships can safely anchor in Port Angeles Harbor?
Are all ships entering and exiting the harbor required to use a tug?
And are the anchorages controlled by the Coast Guard?
Ron Winterfeld, the captain of Brian S, the tug that maneuvers the refueling barge in the harbor for Tesoro Petroleum, was kind enough to carve out time from his busy schedule last week to explain the nuances of anchoring vessels in the harbor.
There are five anchorages between the west end of the harbor and Lees Creek on the east end.
The placement of vessels in the harbor is not controlled by the Coast Guard but rather by the Puget Sound pilot that brings the ship into the harbor.
The pilot’s positioning of each specific vessel is subject to some general guidelines, which take into account its size and cargo, that have been formulated by the pilots for ships that come into Port Angeles.
According to those guidelines, laden petroleum tankers and liquid petroleum gas/liquid natural gas (LPG/LNG) vessels that exceed 40,000 deadweight tons (DWT) are required to use an assist tug when arriving and departing from Port Angeles Harbor.
In the event that a laden petroleum tanker or LPG/LNG vessel is anchored in the harbor, then any vessel exceeding 40,000 DWT, regardless of its cargo, is required to use an assist tug upon arrival and departure from the harbor.
Additionally, vessels exceeding 800 feet in length and 40 feet in draft are also required to use an assist tug upon arrival and departure.
The guidelines also state that laden vessels exceeding 90,000 DWT are required to anchor in the central and eastern portion of the harbor.
As is the case with all guidelines, they are subject to the discretion of the individual to whom they are intended to aid.
When it comes to anchoring ships, each situation is unique with regard to the type and class of vessel, the existing weather and other variable conditions.
As such, the pilot’s placement of a vessel within the harbor will be based on his best judgment of these and other factors.
Mustang origins
In last Sunday’s column, Jerry Demetriff’s retirement from the Port of Port Angeles was mentioned, as was his ascendancy through the enlisted ranks of the Coast Guard to become an officer and his subsequent retirement as a lieutenant commander.
I also stated that an individual who exchanges his enlisted status for that of an officer is referred to as a “mustang.”
Neil Sadenwasser of Sequim contacted me and asked how the term mustang originated.
The term appears to have been coined around World War II and refers to the mustang horse, a wild animal and therefore not a thoroughbred.
A mustang, after being captured, can be tamed and saddle-broken.
But it retains a bit of a wild streak and can periodically and unexpectedly revert to its old ways.
However, since a mustang was formerly a wild and free animal, it may very well be smarter, more capable and possess a more finely honed survival instinct than thoroughbreds.
The mustang can take care of itself when the going gets tough, and it thrives on rough treatment, while the thoroughbred, having been pampered its whole life, cannot.
Mustang is thought to have originated as a sea service (U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) term, although other service officers are also described as mustangs.
In any event, to be referred to as a mustang is to receive a high compliment — from enlisted personnel and officers alike.
Slowed by weather
On Monday, Port Alice moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 3.
The 577-foot cargo ship came dockside for about 5 million board feet of logs that were harvested from private lands by Merrill & Ring.
The typical loading time for a full cargo of logs is roughly four days, but the weather has slowed down the process, and the ship was scheduled to be here through the weekend.
Merrill & Ring is a privately owned forestry and land management company that is headquartered in Port Angeles.
The company was formed in 1888 with the purchase of the Pysht Tree Farm, which is now the oldest tree farm in Washington state still operated by its original owners.
They own about 35,000 acres of sustainable timberland here in Western Washington and another 40,000 acres or so in British Columbia and New Zealand.
Detailed forecasts
In a recent edition of Straitlines, which is the official newsletter of the North Olympic Sail & Power Squadron, Terri Hertzberg, who is the chairman of the squadron’s Vessel Safety Check Program, apprised the membership of a Web-based program that is used to forecast wind.
The site, www.predictwind.com, has more than 20,000 locations worldwide with detailed wind and weather forecasts.
The information is segmented in six forecast formats, including tables in a text format detailing wind speed and direction, wave height and air temperature. There are also forecast maps that are overlaid on Google maps and contour maps that show rain, cloud cover and temperature of the sea’s surface.
There is also a host of tools available for boat tracking, trip planning and real-time wind observations.
All of the data can also be delivered to users in a mobile environment.
The site offers a free side and a subscription side to this program. There are attendant limitations and benefits to each, but all in all, it is a very interesting and useful website.
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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.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears every Sunday.
