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.

June Club Meeting: Apps and Tech for Cruisers Read More »

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.

PSCC Memorial Day Cruise to Mystery Bay Read More »

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

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

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.

 

April Cruise: 35th Circumlocution of Bainbridge Island Read More »

April club meeting on Zoom – Brandon and Scott presenting – The Adventures of S/V Cool Change in the Amazon basin

In July of 2016, S/V Cool Change and her crew set a course Southeast from the island of Grenada to the muddy river waters of Suriname. The forgotten and former Dutch Colony most people think is somewhere in Africa. This would be the start of their 16 month exploration of the great Amazon Basin. In these months they would sail over 700 miles of river systems and come to know the lands of Suriname, French Guyana and Brazil.

This untamable region is still by definition the wild west. The jungle is littered with illegal gold mines ran by armed outlaw renegades searching for their fortune at the cost of the locals and more importantly their fragile ecosystem. The nature is equally wild and unforgiving. It may be full of predators and poisonous creatures but it also holds a chance to taste the magic of the mystic jungles and the cultures living within.

The crew of Cool Change was more than up to the task. They dedicated nearly a year and a half to explore and create a deep understanding with the Amazon region. The ultimate goal of their expedition would be to enter the “River Ocean” or better known as, “The Amazon River.” Doing so from the North is a huge feat in its own right due to the relentless Northwest setting Guyana Current. Culminating in a circumnavigation of Ilha De Marajó resting between the Río Amazonas to the north and Río Pará to the south. The Island of Marajó is roughly the size of Switzerland and holds a tangled web of rivers, tributaries and marshlands seemingly infinite.

The boys never saw another sailing vessel while navigating the Amazon River. The locals and authorities all warned them that they were sailing at their own risk. No one could protect them or rescue them from the ever-so-evident pirate threat. In a way it was just what they had been searching for, an untamed wilderness and where frontiersmen still lived. A place that was only fringed by their fears. If they could over come the lingering fear of the unknown, they would be awarded with a gift that is granted to few sailors But all they heard from the sailors in their wake was a plead, “Please don’t go!!”

The story of Peter Blake rang out in conversation between them and their fellow navigators as they prepared for the mighty Amazon River. But something stronger, something magnetic drew these searchers further into the darkness. The ships captain, Brandon Savory, and the ships jack-of-all-trades, Scott Gallyon, speak of their firsthand experiences and what they learned about navigation and survival on these rivers of doubt.

  • When: April 16, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time
  • Join Zoom Meeting
  • Meeting ID: 857 7197 2300, Passcode: 399443

 

April club meeting on Zoom – Brandon and Scott presenting – The Adventures of S/V Cool Change in the Amazon basin Read More »

March 19 Meeting: S/V Complexity’s Adventure across the Red Sea during the Pandemic

PSCC’s March meeting on Zoom will be by Barbara + Jim Cole, PSCC members who are currently cruising the world and crossed the Red Sea last year.

The Red Sea Passage is the route from Southeast Asia to the Med that runs across the northern Indian Ocean and through the Red Sea. For years, the risk of Somali Piracy was so severe that most boats chose to go from Southeast Asia to South Africa. During the almost two-year refit of their boat in Malaysia, Jim and Barbara closely followed the experiences of boats crossing the Indian Ocean and laid in plans for both of the two major routes. The plan was to decide which route closer to departure time.

In the end they chose the Red Sea Passage because of a desire to cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. The presentation will be about SV Complexity’s 2020 Red Sea Passage including preparations and events along the way. It will include stops in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Djibouti and Egypt. Their passage was complicated by countries closing their borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic while Complexity was at sea. Jim and Barbara were “stranded at sea” for 78 days. They transited the Red Sea with friends on other boats who were for aboard 130 days due to the pandemic.

March 19 Meeting: S/V Complexity’s Adventure across the Red Sea during the Pandemic Read More »

2021 Puget Sound Cruising Club Annual Haul-out Auction

Gift certificate from CSR Marine entitles bearer to haul out, pressure wash, 3 lay days in the yard, and 20% off the bottom paint material and labor for monohull boats up to 36 feet. For boats over 36 feet, a similar discount is applied. Approximate value $1,200 (for a 36 foot boat).

Auction rules:

  1. Minimum bid is $500
  2. All auction bids must be submitted by midnight Pacific time on 3/31/2021.
    Submit your bid to sheztucker@sbcglobal.net. In the subject line of your bid please use “PSCC 2021 haul out auction bid”
  3. Winners will be notified in early April. Payment by check or PayPal must be
    received by PSCC within 10 days of notification.
  4. In the event of two equal bids, the first one received shall be selected as the
    winner.
  5. Auction is open to all PSCC members. If you are not currently a member, you
    can join PSCC for a $50 lifetime membership.

All proceeds benefit PSCC. PSCC appreciates the annual support from CSR!

2021 Puget Sound Cruising Club Annual Haul-out Auction Read More »

February Cruise to Port Orchard – Saturday February 27, 2021

Saturday February 27 PSCC will cruise to the Port Orchard Marina. PSCC will pay for guest moorage for two lucky boats (Bardo and Red Hot are not eligible) – we will have a drawing at our socially distant happy hour. The Port Orchard Marina has a free open air community space at the end of the guest dock – that is where we will go for a socially distant happy hour around 5pm. Greg and Lindsay will be the cruise leaders for this cruise. Remember to fly your PSCC burgee and please use VHF 69 for club communication.

If you’d like to join us early, Friday night some club boats will be at the Eagle Harbor Public Dock.

February Cruise to Port Orchard – Saturday February 27, 2021 Read More »

February 19 Meeting: Sextant to AIS, two voyages, two boats, bridging two cruising styles

Tony Gibb and Connie McCann of Victoria, BC, circumnavigated the Pacific Ocean via the Aleutian Islands from 1983-1990 in a home built Vancouver 27, Hejira of Victoria, with a sextant, one battery, no refrigeration and no head. They departed again in 2010 in Sage, a Wauquiez 38, with a sextant, numerous GPS’, a Lavac head, refrigeration and no AIS.

The British sailor Pete Goss said Tony and Connie had bridged two different cruising worlds. The world of the Hiscock’s and sextants and the Delos social media world and AIS.

  • When: February 19, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time
  • Watch the Zoom recording here, passcode: %63@Q@Va

February 19 Meeting: Sextant to AIS, two voyages, two boats, bridging two cruising styles Read More »