Bilge Pump: July/August 2008

It is my hope that by the time you read this you are either underway or putting the finishing touches on planning and provisioning for a great summer cruise.  I know that the rapid rise in fuel prices may limit some of our cruising, but there are great places to go nearby and following Captain Chuck Gould’s sage advice, paying attention to fuel economy takes a lot of the pain out of even modest travel and adds little to the total cost of your boating vacation. 

The Club Summer Cruise is just such an event.  The fleet departs Kingston on August 8th and returns August 17th.  It is planned around limited travel distances and maximum fun.  Cammy and I hope to see you then.  When you consider other forms of vacationing and the cost of ground or air transportation, hotel, meals out, etc…all of which are rising in price due to fuel costs, the cost of boating doesn’t seem so bad.

This publication should be online and in hand in printed form by July 4th and I want to mention what a great Independence Day celebration Don and Judy Wilson have organized for this year.  There will be lots of great food, a lively atmosphere and fun times in store.  There is always room for one more---will that be you?

Looking ahead to Labor Day weekend, Dave and Pam Christianson are putting the finishing touches on a grand party to close the summer season.  I hope to see you all there—will there be another Doggie Olympics?—Will we smoke ribs or steam clams?  Look for the flyer in this edition and around the clubhouse. 

I want to thank PC Dean Lengtis for his excellent talk on the real privilege of belonging to Queen City Yacht Club at the June 11 membership meeting.  He spoke of some members who have suggested that all of us own the club: 

The privilege of belonging to Queen City Yacht Club is not the clubhouses or the moorage, but rather it is the privilege of being entitled to fly the Queen City burgee. We don’t own this club.  We are its stewards and have the responsibility to protect and improve it for the members yet to come.

Never were truer words spoken.  It is our duty and that of those just joined and yet to join, to do our best to honor that tradition.  It is our privilege to fly the burgee.  Thank you, Dean.

We have had a string of boat fires this year and I want to focus on that for a moment.  These recent events have got me thinking that perhaps not all of us look critically at our own vessels because we are used to seeing them and accepting them in less than perfect condition because the engine starts and the genset runs.  Cosmetically, any of our boats can look shipshape.  But what danger lurks behind the electrical panel or underneath the galley stove or refrigerator?  Are we storing gasoline and other flammables in the correct manner?  When is the last time we looked closely at our shore-cord or behind the shore connection point on the boat?  Are the bilge pump float switches all working?  In discussion with several members, an idea is evolving of putting together voluntary member-to-member surveys or safety checks of other members’ boats.  Rear Commodore Ed Jennerich is your contact point if you are interested in participating in this endeavor.  Walt Mauldin, Bill Field and Chuck Gould have also volunteered to help organize a Club safety day, with fire and police department personnel and perhaps local yards and merchants to focus on marina, vessel and personal safety.  We have significant investments in our boats and in our club facilities.  Our fellow member’s lives could be at risk.  Let’s pull together to get ahead of the curve. 

Finally, this marks my next-to-last column in The Bilge Pump and the last 3 months of my year as Commodore.  I thank my friends and mentors as well as those who gave time to the club and friendship to one another.  Without friendship, there is no reason for this club to exist.  I admire the hard work of our Commodore-elect Dale Roberts and Vice-Commodore elect Ed Jennerich.  I could not have done this job without your earnest support and wise counsel.  Together we accomplished a lot and gained a lifetime friendship between us.  We could not have done so without the support of our wives—Cammy, Susie and Elaine.  George and Nancy Austin now join that team, as Cammy and I leave it.  We ask that you support them.  They are not in this for themselves, but for you.  Most members seem to get that—maybe they can talk to the ones who don’t and get them on board with why this club exists and how it has survived.

Safe boating.

Bill McGillin
Commodore

By now, most of you have heard about the most recent boat fire on Dock 1.  Looking back, it seems that everything went as well as could be expected during an event that could have turned into a conflagration.  Quick actions by our members doing exactly the right things were a big factor too.  The response from the Seattle Fire Department was quite substantial and included the following; Engines 22, 25, 34, and 38, Ladders 7 and 10, Rehab Van 4, BN 6 (Command), Diver Truck Air, and two Medic One aid trucks.
Collectively, our club thanks them for their quick and commanding response to a potentially devastating fire.  On a related note, the “Fire Protection for Covered Moorage” plan, also known as the Fire Vent Project, is being resubmitted to the Seattle Fire Department with corrections and changes.  This mandated plan, when accepted by the SFD, is the document that will guide us over the next seven years as we make changes and improvements to our docks.  It should be noted that all moorage facilities in Seattle will be going through this process.  Rod Hilden and Art Mauldin are chairing this committee and are assisted by many others.  Thank you all!

Soon the re-roofing of covers # 2, 3 and 4 on Dock 2 will begin.  This project involves removing all the old layers of roofing and installing new PVC membrane on the wood decking.  All boats that normally moor under those covers will need to be temporarily relocated for the duration of the work.  One of the reasons that July was selected for the re-roof was the need for space to move boats from under the affected roof covers.   Please contact Jonelle at the office by phone or email, office@queencity.org, if you will be out of your slip for vacation.  Your cooperation is appreciated.

During June, volunteers spent countless hours working on the floating sheds on a project designed to keep birds from roosting inside.  The guano has been making quite a mess on the boats that moor in the sheds.  The project was headed up by Walt Mauldin and the following participated:  Mike Fish, Dave Svendsen, Larry Chmela, Gerald Fey, Mark Stevens, Bob Myers, Rod Hilden, Kendall Hilden and Phil Hardwick.  Thanks for fixing an ongoing problem.

Finally, Susie and I would like to thank everyone who attended the JO Ball that was held on May 31st.  It was a sold out event and from accounts, it seems that everyone had a good time.  With the junior officers of the Grand 14 Yacht Clubs in attendance, our club and its members showed what a great thing we’ve got going at Queen City.  We would like to thank Carol Soffel, Dick Geving, Mel Whitlinger, Jess Hill, and the bar committee for all their efforts that made it such a success.

Have a great summer of cruising and if our paths don’t cross, we’ll see you in September!

Dale Roberts
Vice Commodore

Whew--the past year seems to have flown by!  It’s been a fun, sometimes challenging one, adjusting to my new responsibilities and duties as your Rear Commodore.  I appreciate the support and help the membership, the Bridge and the Board has given me.  I also appreciate your continuing confidence by electing me your Vice Commodore for next year and I look forward to our continuing to work together.

As with any new role, there is always a learning curve.  However, if anyone had suggested that as Rear Commodore I’d be learning about nutria I’d have said they’d spent a little too much time at the bar!  Unless you attended the June 11th meeting or have an interest in invasive species, you probably aren’t aware of the danger these furry critters pose.

Nutria are native to South America, have the upper body of a beaver and the tail end of a rat.  They were imported into the United States in the early 20th Century for their fur (by Mr. McIlhenny of Tabasco Sauce fame, among others).  Changing fashion, Mother Nature and other factors led to many nutria escaping into the wild from farms in Louisiana, several east coast states and Oregon, which brings us to our current situation.  Nutria are vegetarians who destroy the root systems of shoreline vegetation.  To give you some idea of their destructive nature, they are believed to be responsible for the destruction of 60% of the shoreline vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  Their vegetarian status notwithstanding, nutria are rodents and, by their nature, chew other things and have been know to nibble on inflatables, wiring or anything else left lying around.

Nutria have been observed in Portage Bay and other areas in Lake Union and Lake Washington.  We have seen them swimming at dusk around the docks.  Some of you may have observed the floating small island of weeds moving around the bay—a result of nutria destroying the root system.  They are a serious threat to our native habitat.

Several weeks ago, Pete DeLaunay organized a meeting of area neighborhoods, the City of Seattle, QCYC, SYC, UW, houseboat association and others to hear a presentation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency tasked with eliminating invasive species of this type.  As a result of that meeting, USDA has prepared a proposal for the eradication of the nutria from the east end of the Montlake Cut through Lake Union.  We will be evaluating that proposal and associated costs, but given the number of governmental and civic agencies and shoreline homeowners involved, the cost to QCYC should be modest.

On a lighter note, my research on nutria revealed that there are some health benefits.  Nutria has ½ the cholesterol and fat of chicken.  There is a Cajun chef in Louisiana who has a recipe for nutria in a mustard sauce which he serves in his restaurant.  In the spirit of cooperation within the boating community, I forwarded the recipe to Seattle Yacht Club’s Commodore for the consideration of their chef.  Bon appetit!

I wish you all a safe and pleasant boating experience this summer wherever your travels take you.

Fair Winds,

Ed Jennerich
Rear Commodore