I like the month of March. As February drifts into the history book, daylight lasts a bit longer each day and the temperatures are usually in the 40s or better.

Then halfway through the month, on March 13 this year, we shift into Daylight Savings Time. I really enjoy that extra hour of daylight and how it is such a positive factor in all of our outdoor activities. Then, winter is officially over and spring starts on the 21st. It is also my birthday month. In Australia, they spring ahead on Oct. 3 and fall back on April 4th. That seems kind of upside down to me.

Spring starts to bring boating visitors to our marina and it is fun to see new people visiting our own. When I was at the big Seattle Boat Show last month, I had many conversations with fellow cruisers and spent a lot of time invited them to come to Kingston for a visit.

Often, others would overhear what we were talking about and would join in the conversation with their own stories of experiences in our town while staying at the Port of Kingston. I was amazed at how many Canadian boaters make sure that Kingston is a stop on their summer trips to Puget Sound.

I still get asked about eight times daily questions concerning the SoundRunner passenger ferry service. By the time this column is printed, we will have had two more meetings with the citizen advisory team that is working on helping the commission decide how to proceed with this project.

I have been traveling at least once each week to Olympia to have conversations with our legislative delegation and representatives from other parts of the state to try to get some of our gas tax revenue returned to us in the form of a mobility grant. These grants are not earmarks or anything like that. The House and Senate Transportation committees disburse funds collected as gas tax each year to various transit agencies and improvement projects that result in a reduction of commuter trips.

We feel that when our service gets up and running and demonstrates a reliable track record that there will be a definite reduction in commuter trips for many of our residents.

Each week I am a little more encouraged as many of our lawmakers are starting to listen to me. Rep. Christine Rolfes, D–Bainbridge Island, from our 23rd Legislative District is a member of the House Transportation Committee and is working on helping us get some of these funds. A call, letter or e-mail to Rep. Rolfes from citizens in support of the passenger ferry could help with the cause.

Someone told me the other day that they really missed the Nautical Term of the Month that used to appear in this space. Truly, I did enjoy the research and still have half of a crossword puzzle using many of the terms ready, so I have decided to revive the tradition.

This month, I will start with a group of words that make a statement:

“Three Sheets to the Wind” — A sheet is a rope line which controls the tension on the downwind side of a square sail. If, on a three-masted fully rigged ship, the sheets of the three lower course sails are loose, the sails will flap and flutter and are said to be “in the wind.”

A ship in this condition would stagger and wander aimlessly downwind. Hence the term as it is applied as a description of human behavior.

Well, there you have it for this month. I hope you enjoy the start of spring and opportunities to enjoy the extended daylight of our Kingston evenings. We wouldn’t mind seeing you down at the port tossing a ball or

Frisbee around with your children and “Best Friends”. As always, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this stuff. Bring on the farmers market.

Pete DeBoer is a Port of Kingston commissioner. Reach him at pete@petedeboer.com