The Totem Line. 54 years of yachting 55 years of friendship

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1 Totem Yacht Club September 2011 The Totem Line 54 years of yachting 55 years of friendship In this issue. Northwest loses a boating friend; Sept meeting Weds, 9/7; summer cruising photos Upcoming Events Sep Fair Harbor Cruise Sep General Meeting Sep Lake Union Boats Afloat Show Sep Bell Harbor Cruise Sep 17...Talk Like a Pirate Day Sep Board Meeting Sep 30 - Oct 2... Olympia Cruise (No officers reports this month) Northwest Loses a Boating Friend When Donald Otto Espeseth, 70, passed away on July 28, 2011 in Black Diamond, Washington, northwest boaters lost a good friend. Don was born in 1941 in Seattle, Washington. He proudly served in the United States Air Force in the early 1960's. He retired in 1997 from Michelin Tire Corporation after 31 years. According to daughter, Joann, Michelin was more than a job for Dad, it was a home and his colleagues were his friends; they became lifelong friends; they became family. Don and his wife, Valerie, were celebrating 50 years of marriage. A member of the Des Moines Yacht Club for 41 years, Don was the club s first second-generation Commodore (twice: 2002 and 2007). His father, Otto, was Commodore of DMYC in 1965, and Don s daughter, Joann, was Commodore in 2009 (for a third-generation!). Word has it that Don s granddaughter, Brianna, might even be in line for a fourth-generation of DMYC Commodores from the Espeseth clan. In 2000, Don and Valerie received the DMYC Founders Trophy for being the Family Leadership Commodore... Gene Mossberger sunseeker@hcc.net Vice Commodore... Dave Redding Schultzt1@comcast.net Rear Commodore.... Ron Reding r_reding@comcast.net Area Fuel Prices Updated 8/26/11 of the Year, an award for which they could not have been more proud. But it wasn t just DMYC that kept Don s boating activities busy. He was a member of the International Order of the Blue Gavel. He and Valerie were also active in the Northwestern Boating Council. Many area boaters will remember Don for his active (See Boating Friend, page 2) Galley Report For those with last names beginning with N - W, please bring a dessert for the September meeting. Your Galley Hostesses, Sharon Blair, Sue Kautter and Karen Boedecker Don t Forget!! Because the September meeting would fall on the day after Labor Day and members might still be returning from their cruises, the meeting is on Wednesday, September 7 th. Totem Line is published monthly (except July and August) by the Totem September Yacht Club. The 2011 club or this publication cannot be responsible for any web links included. For more info on items in this publication, contact the editor or call (253) Our website is

2 September 2011 Boating Friend (Cont d) participation in waterside security activities during the 2005 and 2008 Tacoma Tall Ships festivals, taking the lead for the security escort function during the 2008 Tall Ships Parade. In addition to Valerie and Joann, Don is survived by two additional daughters, Nancy Espeseth-Rudin (Ken) and Karen Espeseth-Walker (Leslie); five grandchildren, a sister, Robin Asprea (Frank); two neices, a step-sister, a sister-in-law with her three married children and their children as well. Condolences can be sent to Valerie Espeseth, SE 290th St, Black Diamond WA Those wishing to honor Donald s memory may make a donation by check to: MultiCare Health Foundation, PO Box 5296, PHIL, Tacoma, WA Please include Donald Espeseth on the memo line. Totem Giving Welcome back from what we hope was a wonderful summer for everyone. We kept the pointy end toward Alaska until we turned to come back. This months donations will go to the YWCA. Remember, our contributions are needed, appreciated and put to good use. Keeping the pointy end forward, Gail Burg DAWN Sunshine Jackie Rudd has informed us that Jerry too a fall recently. After some confusing diagnoses, he was admitted to the Northwest Hospital last Tuesday. According to Jackie, his hip is bleeding internally, it looks like an infection-his heart is beating rapidly - blood pressure is low - white blood count up etc. She asks us all to keep Jerry in our prayers. Page 2 Totem Yacht Club is deeply saddened to learn of the recent death of Nan Peele s son, Jed, at his New York residence. No further details are available at this time. Our condolences go to Nan and her family. I have no other news for this month. Please contact me at FBurns5105@aol.com or by phone with any news of illness or etc. Marine Trivia Here s an easy one for your return from the summer: All aids which mark the edge of safe water areas, such as a channel, are 1. lateral markers 2. nun markers 3. marker buoys 4. channel markers RBAW Updates Numerous soundings of shoaling in the Swinomish Channel have been reported. The primary locations for the shoaling have been from the Swinomish Channel South Entrance, north to the vicinity of La Conner, WA. Some depths have been reported as two (2) feet less than the charted depths. Mariners are advised to use caution when transiting this waterway due to the reported shoaling. We also remind boaters to monitor the tides closely (the controlling depth for the channel is less than ft). Some of the shoaling is near the center of this narrow waterway. Kindly note that the US Coast Guard Navigation Center has an excellent site where you can sign up to have the Local Notice to Mariners ed to you when it comes out every week. That site is: ct&region=13. ( See RBAW, page 3)

September 2011 RBAW (Cont d) RBAW has been meeting during the summer with similar groups (snowmobilers, off-road vehicle organizations, etc.) to seek the "gas tax cap removal".

removed. RBAW has supported removal of the gas tax cap many times in the past, and this appears to be one of the best opportunities in recent years to perhaps actually get the cap removed.

3 September 2011 RBAW (Cont d) RBAW has been meeting during the summer with similar groups (snowmobilers, off-road vehicle organizations, etc.) to seek the "gas tax cap removal". With the cap removed, boaters could ask for refunds on their entire gas tax paid, and the amount of un-refunded money (the Recreation Resource Account) would also be a greater amount with the cap removed. RBAW has supported removal of the gas tax cap many times in the past, and this appears to be one of the best opportunities in recent years to perhaps actually get the cap removed. NBF Updates An advisory panel to the U.S. Coast Guard gave its go-ahead to pursue federal regulations that would require adults to wear life jackets on certain boats. The National Boating Safety Advisory Council asked the Coast Guard to consider mandating that anyone aboard a boat less than 18-feet long be required to wear a life jacket when underway. In addition it asks that all those being towed in water sports, riding personal watercraft, or in humanpowered boats of any length be required to wear life jackets as well. The 16-5 decision mirrors a trend among state boating agencies to increase the number of people actually wearing Coast Guard-approved life jackets with the aim of reducing boating fatalities. But unlike the Council recommendation, which would apply to all ages, most state laws apply just to children and specify varying age cutoffs, typically 12 and under. It appears NBF may receive Coast Guard funding to print its recently developed tri-fold, "DSC today's SOS." Based on information obtained from the USCG that only 10% of distress calls contain any position information on the vessel in distress, adherence to instructions on the tri-fold should eliminate this problem. Without any position information, the Coast Guard's response time will be greatly increased, exacerbating the risk to life and property and adding greatly to the cost. The brochure indicates the steps to follow: make sure Page 3 your VHF radio is DSC capable, connect the DSC equipped VHF to the GPS, register to obtain your MMSI number, enter the number in your VHF and finally making a test call. By following these procedures, the boating community will be in sync with the newly implemented USCG Rescue-21 system now operational Nationwide. The debate has heated up between LightSquared and the GPS industry on the potential interference on GPS signals from the proposed new network. According to AVweb site, LightSquared claims that the GPS industry has not followed DOD and other standards regarding GPS performance and protecting its devices from interference from neighboring broadcasts. The FCC has asked the industry to be more specific about the number of devices that may be affected. Also, LightSquared has been asked to specify the number and location of towers in the new network. In any case the FCC still states that operation of the new network will not be allowed unless it can be proven that it will not interfere with GPS receivers. The suit by NMMA, the National Marine Manufacturers Assoc., against the EPA for its partial approval for E15 ethanol is progressing. NMMA has filed its brief in District Court. The briefing will be done in the fall and oral argument is anticipated for later this year. Marine Trivia Answer: 1 September 14-18

4 Blake Island State Park (Watson s) James Island State Park (Watson s)

5 Dockton Park (Wallace s) Young boys having fun Old boy having fun Ladies having fun

6 Desolation Sound (Rhone) Burg s Alaska Trip (Burg s)

7 More Burg s Alaska Trip

8 Commodore s Cruise (Longordo)

9 Summer Cruisers (Longordo)

BookletChart. Intracoastal Waterway Matecumbe to Grassy Key NOAA Chart A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters

BookletChart. Intracoastal Waterway Matecumbe to Grassy Key NOAA Chart A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters BookletChart Intracoastal Waterway Matecumbe to Grassy Key NOAA Chart 11449 A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters When possible, use the full-size NOAA chart for navigation. Published by