Right around the time you are reading this, you might notice that the days are getting, incrementally, just a little bit shorter.
Our shortest day of the year: Dec. 20, when sunrise happens four minutes before 8 a.m. and sunset occurs at 4:19 p.m. That’s not much daylight to get things done.
One of the things I really enjoy about living in the Northwest is that we get these experiences of dramatic changes in weather and atmosphere. We may be a little soggy right now, but those last two months of summer 2012 were the best.
I hope you’ve had a chance to get down to the port and look at all the holiday lights. The staff and more than 20 volunteers have created this for you and they are very proud of it. On the night of the Kingston Country Christmas party, it was great to see so many of our neighbors coming out to enjoy the celebration. Kingston High School’s Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. Whitson, did a great job of putting us all in the mood. When Santa arrived, after counting down the beginning of the light show he pulled up a chair and visited with dozens of our young people, a few dogs and an adult or two.
The first day of December brought a little excitement to the water side of our operations as well. You might recall that it was a blustery day. When staff arrived in the morning, there was one sailboat drifting aground in the cove after parting an anchor rode. The port work boat brought that boat off the beach.
Then a powerboat, about 45 feet in length, parted an anchor line and found herself securely stuck on the breakwater as the tide began to ebb. While beginning to deal with that little issue, the staff had to divert and rush back into the cove to retrieve a second sailboat adrift and running aground.
It turned out to be a busy couple of days to sort out and deal with the Coast Guard, EPA, Kitsap Countty Sheriff’s Office and several other agencies, all with something to do when things like this happen. Fortunately, there were no hazardous materials spilled into our cove.
The sailboats were secured in the marina and the powerboat was re-floated on the high tide Sunday morning and brought into the marina where pumps were running constantly to keep up with the flooding while she was made ready to tow down to Ballard for final disposition.
Jan. 25 to Feb. 3 is the time for the Big Seattle Boat Show. I know a lot of you go for any number of reasons. This year, the Port of Kingston will have a booth there. The purpose is to attract more boaters to stop by and spend a few days in our marina and enjoy our town and parks. If you are planning to go to this event, please stop by and say hi to our staff and commissioners who will be manning the booth.
By the way, one of the best ways to attend the boat show is to walk on the ferry in Kingston and catch either Amtrak or the Sounder Train down to King Street Station, where the stadium is just a short walk away. There is always a free shuttle to take you to the show at Lake Union. Check the Amtrak and Metro websites for train schedules.
NAUTICAL TERM
So with all that stuff, what would be a good Nautical Term of the Month? How about “Gale.”
Wind speeds of 28-33 knots are a near gale, 34-40 knots a full gale, and 41-47 knots a strong gale. This would be a Beaufort Scale 9 in the North Sea. The Beaufort system is a great guide for maritime weather and an interesting thing to study online on a windy day.
On behalf of my fellow commissioners and the entire staff at the Port of Kingston, I would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas season and a happy beginning to 2013. As always, thanks for taking a few minutes to read this stuff. I hope you found something interesting.
— Pete DeBoer is a Kingston port commissioner. Email pete@petedeboer.com.
