PSCC 2022 Cruise Planning Meeting – Live and on Zoom

This is your chance to help create a fun cruising calendar for the club for 2022. We are looking for new cruising ideas to mix in with our classic cruises. We hope to have members from the south sound and north sound chime in so we can be as inclusive as possible for all our members.

PSCC will have our 2022 Cruise Planning meeting at Razzi’s Pizza Greenwood location on Sunday, December 12 2021 at 5:30pm. Per Seattle/King County health requirements all bar and restaurant patrons must be vaccinated and show proof of vaccination. PSCC will provide pizza and beer for the in-person meeting. If you are planning to attend the live meeting, please RSVP by using the contact us form on the Puget Sound Cruising Club website.

For those who can’t attend the in-person meeting, please join via Zoom. We want to hear from cruising members all over Puget Sound. At the meeting we will actively engage with the zoom attendees to make sure we hear from everyone.

If you would like to join our live meeting via Zoom here is the link:

November Club Meeting: The Adventures of Second Wind – from the Salish Sea to the South Pacific, to Alaska and Back

Art and Nancie Shaw spent 25 years gunkholing in the Salish Sea before heading to the South Pacific. Six years, eight countries and 36,000 bluewater miles later they made landfall in Port Townsend, with plenty of stories to share. Their presentation will take you to the waters, islands and people of Oceania, and back home via Alaska.

PSCC annual pumpkin cruise to Port Madison Oct. 23/24

 

Our annual pumpkin cruise is on again this year. Cruise over Friday night or Saturday and drop your hook in the charming Port Madison harbor. On Saturday evening carve your pumpkin and show it off to the group. Best pumpkin by group vote wins a $25 West Marine gift card. Please fly your burgee and use VHF 69 for club communication on this cruise. We need a cruise leader for this cruise – if you are interested in being a cruise leader please e-mail Greg.

  • Dates: October 23-24, 2021
  • Where: Port Madison (Bainbridge), near the PMYC docks

 

2021 Annual PSCC Tequila Race and Raft-up in Blakely Harbor

PSCC presents the annual Tequila Race on Saturday September 25th . Have your chance to be immortalized on the beautiful club trophy.

The race starts between 9am and 11:30am-ish at West Point buoy. The course continues south for a circumnavigation of Blake Island. See attached race rules and check the PSCC email list for details and questions.

After the race, join the raft-up in Blakley Harbor. Fill out the absurd handicap sheet while sipping fine Jose Cuervo. Results will be tallied and trophy presented Saturday night at the raft-up. This gorgeous trophy can now adorn your mantle until next year’s Tequila Race.

Labor Day Weekend Cruise to Quartermaster Harbor

Our Labor day weekend cruise this September will be to Quartermaster Harbor – Dockton Park. The Dockton Forest is over 460 acres and has 12 miles of hiking trails. We can also take expeditions to Burton and explore the Burton acres and the village.

Please fly your burgee and monitor channel 69. Friday night option is to anchor on the west side of Blake island.

  • Dates: September 4-6, 2021
  • Where: Dockton Park, inside Quartermaster Harbor, Vashon Island.

June Cruise: Salmon Bake at Port Madison

 

Our June cruise with salmon bake is coming up and this year the club is covering the cost of the salmon thanks to donations from club members. You won’t want to miss this one! We need everyone to rsvp if attending (see below) so we can estimate how much salmon to buy. Here are the details:

  • Date: June 26 2021
  • Time: 3 to 6pm. 3 to 4 is set up time. 4 to 5 is happy hour and 5 to 6 we feast.
  • Where: Hidden Cove Park in Port Madison on Bainbridge Island.
  • Why: Because we can

This event is free to all members and immediate family or significant other. RSVP’s need to be sent to Sheztucker@sbcglobal.net by June 21st. Please include how many will be in your group, not just you. Please bring a side to contribute to the feast. The club will provide salmon. We are buying based off the RSVP. This event is rain or shine because we are sailors. If you don’t show and you RSVPed a $10 donation per person may be requested.

Volunteers for set up / clean up and cooking are needed. If you’re driving there please check in with Shez. We will need delivery of ice coolers, etc.

June Club Meeting: Apps and Tech for Cruisers

  • When: Friday June 18 @ 6pm Pacific
  • Where: Zoom (Virtual)
  • Join: Zoom Meeting
    • Meeting ID: 845 5858 2669    Passcode: 255064
      Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Shez will facilitate a discussion of apps for cruisers that are available for mobile devices. Come prepared to talk about your favorite tech tool for modern cruising. After the discussion we will have some club social time.

We will also talk about salmon bake logistics.

The popular “Windy” app.

PSCC Memorial Day Cruise to Mystery Bay

The PSCC Memorial Day cruise (May 28-31) will be at Mystery Bay state park (inside Marrowstone Island). Friday night boats may meet at Port Ludlow. Andy will be cruise leader.

Schedule:

  • Friday night May 28 in Port Ludlow – inner harbor
  • Saturday May 29 at Mystery Bay state park with a socially distanced floating happy hour. Vaccinated people get free Corona beer.
  • Sunday May 30 daytime – land excursions TBD
  • Sunday evening – 2nd Annual PSCC human powered craft race. Socially distanced happy hour on land.

Reminders:

  • Use VHF 72 (changed from our usual 69) for club communication.
  • Remember to fly your PSCC burgee for the cruise.
  • There are large king tides this weekend. Mind your timing on the entry to Mystery Bay and going through Port Townsend canal.
      • Please e-mail Andy at Contact Us if you plan on attending.

May club meeting on Zoom: Doug Miller presenting “Marine Communications for Safety, Work and Fun”

An update on latest solutions for AIS, VHF/DSC and mobile connectivity

Most PSCC boaters are familiar with Automatic Identification System (AIS), VHF radios with Digital Selective Calling and using phones and mobile hotspots to connect to the Internet. But a lot of new developments have happened in these three areas over the last year including some unique areas of convergence.

Doug Miller, from Milltech Marine, will talk about these three areas, what’s changed over the last year and what’s available for boaters now and in the near future. These topics will include:

  • New AIS solutions such as the Vesper Cortex system which also includes VHF and vessel monitoring,
  • The basics of using Digital Selective Calling on modern VHF radios and why a VHF radio with AIS capabilities makes a lot of sense,
  • The latest developments in high performance LTE and 5G routers and antennas for near shore mobile connectivity for both “work from boat” scenarios and keeping you connected to the Internet.

Doug Miller is president of Milltech Marine, a Port Orchard-based provider of Automatic Identification System (AIS) and marine communications solutions for the marine market. Doug founded Milltech Marine in 2005 in response to a keen interest in the emerging AIS standard and the need for solutions for recreational boaters. Over the last 15 years, Milltech Marine has sold thousands of AIS solutions to recreational, commercial and military customers. Doug is a NMEA certified Advanced Marine Electronics Installer, NMEA 2000 Installer and a Peplink Certified Sales Specialist. Doug and his wife Karin use “Naiad”, their Hunter Passage 420 sailboat, as a test bed for many of the products that are featured on Milltech Marine’s website www.milltechmarine.com.

  • When: Friday May 21 at 6pm PST
  • Join Zoom Meeting
  • Meeting ID: 899 0738 2755, Passcode: 143734

April Cruise: 35th Circumlocution of Bainbridge Island

The April club cruise will be the traditional circumlocution of Bainbridge Island with boats anchoring afterwards north of Lemolo (east side of Liberty Bay). Steve and Elsie on S/V Osprey will be cruise leaders.

  • Dates: Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, 2021

Race Rules:

  1. The Office of Circumlocution is proud to present The OPENING DEBATES of the 35th CIRCUMLOCUTION at 1000 hours, 24 April, 2021, on a line true west from the West Point lighthouse and east of the VTS lanes.  The debates will be argued initially upwind from this line, then the Masters of vessels who have mangled the administration of issues may choose to sail either north or south.  Boats heading north must leave the “SF” buoy on the far left as described below in Para 11, before heading to Agate Pass, and shall be prepared to discuss the finer elements of tea and crumpets.  Boats heading south around Bainbridge Island have no marks, shall be prepared to sail over the Dept of Bureaucratic Terrorism (DBT) wall. The determination of the most clueless administrators will be made under the power lines just past Keyport Naval Station and Underwater Weapons Research Center. 
  2. There will be three Platforms for Debate. 1) Smaller craft and gray double-enders under 38 feet LOA (former Trump Cabinet members who were fired or left under a cloud).  2) Half-fast, in mid-size craft (former administrators laying low hoping to retire alive). 3) Larger and/or those who think they are really fast (former Cabinet members who left on their own terms).
  3. The first platform will start at 1000, the second at 1015, and the third at 1030.  Boats with more than one hull must wait 15 additional minutes for each additional hull.
  4. The Debates will be monitored by former VP Pence, who will come out of silent obscurity to sound a single long horn blast at each plank laying session except for the multiple hull boats.  Protests must be registered in advance with the night before with Nikki Haley, Ambassador without portfolio and Governor without State..
  5. Those vessels who have earned 2nd place in the past five years are not eligible for 2nd place.  They may, in the enduring tradition of politicians worldwide, obfuscate the discussion by coming in First, i.e., ahead of 2nd place.
  6. The following are frowned upon and are grounds for public scorn:
    Failing to have at least one sail up starting and finishing.
    Use of internal combustion engine(s).
    Failing to sail the entire course on your bottom in your bottom.
    Failing to navigate the entire selected course.
    Failing to display a PSCC burgee.
  7. The HIGHEST and MOST VALUED Award will be given for SECOND PLACE.  First across will be gagged, no longer allowed to blather.
  8. An award will be given for the BEST HORROR D’HOOVER.  Judgment will be by secret negotiations in the Raft-up described below.
  9. An award will be given for PERSEVERANCE.  To qualify the vessel must cross the Finish Line prior to 0001 hours on 25 April, 2021.
  10. The Nominating Convention will be a Raft-up (if permitted) for all boats north of Lemolo.  Powerboats with dance floors are encouraged to attend.  The Raft-up will be the base of the HORRORS D’HOOVER Contest and the Awards Ceremonies.
  11. As always, good candidates never travel in the middle of the nautical road.   Cross the middle of the nautical road quickly.  See DBT COMDTINST M16672.2 Rule 10 (c).  With regard to Buoy SF, you must stay east of the traffic lane until Buoy SF is past your beam before crossing to the west side.  Chart plotters will be audited. Do not impede or force a WSF ferry or other large or government vessels in Rich Passage (considered a narrow channel) to stop or change course.  Doing so will create hate and discontent amongst those who would rather see sailboats removed from local marine waters.  See DBT COMDTINST M16672.2 Rule 9.
  12. As directed by the DBT, in accordance with pending dicta from the Lesser State of Washington, debaters must stay at least 400 yards ahead or behind, or 300 yards beam of any Southern Resident Orca (SRO).  You may approach Transient Orcas (TO) within 100 yards (90 meters).  If there is any doubt about whether the Orca is a SRO as opposed to a TO, it is suggested that you examine their breath, as TOs are mammal eaters as opposed to salmon eating SROs and therefore will not smell fishy.
  13. As required by the censorious Vice Admiral, the Office of Circumlocution points out that the last two items are to be taken seriously.  Admiral Jack Tar has meowed his assent.  The Bilge Rat stands censored.