We have experienced the last week of spring and have yet to string three or four really nice days together. I hope that by the time you are enjoying your July edition of the Kingston Community News that we will be feeling the warmth of some good, early summer weather.

Down at the port, the crew is working on getting the park ready for all the events of the Fourth of July. Did you know that the SoundRunner ferry will once again take people over to Liberty Bay to enjoy Poulsbo’s 3rd of July Fireworks display? There is also an opportunity to go out on the boat on the evening of the 4th to watch the display from out on the water. Visit www.soundrunnerferry.com for details.

The new South Kingston Road Bridge over the Carpenter Creek slough is truly a long sought-after improvement to the estuary. You can walk under the roadway quite easily and watch sea life use the newly widened marine boulevard.

The ebbing of the backwaters also changed course dynamically and where there used to be a little river taking the tidewaters out to the sound, now they are flowing differently and more to the north, making some of the built-up silt in the inner bay sluff off. This is filling in some of our waterways in the marina and the launch ramps.

If you are using the boat launch ramp or A, B or C docks, be cautious during low tides and pay attention to the red and green buoys we have placed there.  Observe the “Red Right Returning” practice and you should be OK. We are having a hydrology study done and are getting together with the Army Corps of Engineers, Fisheries and other organizations to explore what we can do about this problem.

It’s great to see all the plants in bloom and the trees with leaves back on them. Ray has been staging some of the blooming a little creatively and hopefully around the Fourth of July, you will see more red, white and blue. The staff works very hard to keep the parks beautiful and fun.  Please come on down and enjoy your port and the parks.

The Summer Concerts on the Cove series begins this month. The Events Committee of the Chamber has a great lineup this year.  Its time to dance.

Nautical term
Speaking of dancing, how long has it been since you thought about “The Sailor’s Hornpipe?”

I whistle the tune now and then and once played it on an accordion in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, but here is the story: The usual tune for this dance was first printed as the “College Hornpipe” in 1797 or 1798 by J. Dale of London. It is likely that the Sailor’s Hornpipe was originally performed on the wet deck of a ship, in bare feet.

Accompaniment may have been the music of a tin whistle, a six-holed woodwind or, from the 19th century, a squeezebox, such as an accordion.

Samuel Pepys, an English naval administrator and member of Parliament, referred to “The Sailor’s Hornpipe” in his diary as “The Jig of the Ship.” And Captain Cook, who took a piper on many voyages, is noted to have ordered his men to dance the hornpipe in order to keep them in good health.    Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this stuff.  I hope you found something interesting. I enjoy doing it for you. See you down at the port.

—Pete Deboer is one of three Port of Kingston commissioners. Contact him at pete@petedeboer.com.