Category Archives: Liveaboard Topics
Summer Concerts at the Locks
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Sky Lanterns (aka Chinese Lanterns)
This is the time of the year when the uninformed and/or uncaring people show up at Golden Gardens park to set off these floating fire bombs! What seems “pretty” and “romantic” in the park is a disaster waiting to happen for us boaters or our neighbors on the hill during our dry summers. These “lanterns” have landed in the rigging of boats here at Shilshole and by sheer luck we have avoided a conflagration.
These floating lanterns are illegal in the State of Washington, and 29 other states. If you see one, immediately call 911, ask for the fire dept. and report as many details as you can.
http://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/June-2017/Regulating-Sky-Lanterns.aspx
World Ocean Day
One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something. – Henry David Thoreau
June 8th is World Ocean Day, reminding us that we all need to do our part to reduce the plastic we use, and to always practice good environmental stewardship! As boaters, the ocean is our backyard, and our playground and just like we wouldn’t want to see plastic bottles and trash while hiking in the woods, we don’t want to have it in our waters, either.
Try to get out that weekend and join an event, or go solo, and make a commitment to reduce, reuse, and recycle! Check out these websites for more helpful ideas…
The Starfish Parable: One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.
Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.
The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”
The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”
Living Aboard a Boat
Here is an article from last weekend’s Seattle Times about living on a boat. Thank you to Ned and Kristen for providing some insight for the interviewer…
Un-Plugged City Wide Drill
Saturday April 28, 2018 there was a city wide disaster preparedness drill. Shilshole Prepares Hub participated with Kirke Park Hub at Kirke Park. The drill was designed to allow the population of Seattle to think about and practice what it would be like to lose our electrical grid. Less than four weeks ago Puerto Rico’s 3,659,679 people lost all electrical power. It could happen here, imagine all 606,660 + people in Seattle with out power for an indefinite period of time.
Some of the questions that came up were: Can you tell me where I can charge my car and my phone? Do I go to work Monday at Amazon/Boeing/Microsoft? Where can I buy gas? Are the grocery stores open? Can you contact my Grandmother using your radio? How do I reach the, Hospital/ Police/ Fire Department/Red Cross for help? I smell natural gas, what should I do? Where is my Social Security check…my bank is closed. These and many other relevant questions were answered. We did lots of role playing of situations that could come up if the grid went down.
The hubs communicated with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management aka EOC, through a network of ham radio stations. This structure is an all volunteer group known as ACS, short for Seattle Auxiliary Communications Services, it is set up to be covered by five sector teams and a team at the EOC during a disaster. These people are the core of the hub program. They speak with one another and relay critical information about the overall situation in the city. Conversation is governed by strict protocols and requires the operators to adhere a no monkey business style of behavior.
All the people that volunteered to participate in the drill were given jobs to preform. The drill lasted three hours. Citizens walking by were asked to participate as well.
It is my hope that next year when we do the city wide drill here many of you will help. With more practice we can improve our disaster preparedness skills.
One last thing I would like to add; we are a well organized group of independent characters who in a pinch are ready to handle big issues. In many ways we are the best prepared group in Seattle. That does not mean we should be come complacent. Think about what you will do if a catastrophic event occurs. Your life and lives of those you love and care for could be stake.
Thank you to the following folks that participated: Ned Kohlhauff VP of the SLA and Hub Manager, Richard Meeks Board Member of SLA, Dave and Sam Krause V-MAN Net and ACS Members, Tom McIntyre ACS Member, Michael DePaula G-Dock, and many others.
Environmental Responsibility
A key pillar of the Shilshole Liveaboard Assoc.’s mission is the education, promotion and practice of responsible environmental stewardship. As liveaboards, the sea is our backyard, and just like homeowners would not “trash” their own backyard, nor should we. Most boaters and liveaboards understand this, but there are always ways to improve your footprint (both afloat or ashore).
Earth Day at Shilshole -followup
The Shilshole Liveaboard Assoc. wants to thank all the vendors that participated today and all the people that stopped by to learn about how we can better our environment!
Thank you to Shilshole Marina and the Port of Seattle for their help and participation in this event. We hope to work with you again next year to make this an ongoing event!
And..a big thank you to Jess from the Shilshole Liveaboard Assoc who did such a wonderful job organizing and recruiting for this!
Earth Day at Shilshole
This pubic event, which has been held on the Plaza the last several years was cancelled during CoVid19, but please join us next year!
Shilshole Marina Plaza
The Shilshole Liveaboard Assoc. is proud to co-sponsor Earth Day at Shilshole!
We will have educational booths for alt energy, responsible pumpout, sustainable fishing, gardening clubs, waterway cleanups and raffles from local businesses!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Puget Sound is now a No-Discharge Zone
Effective May 10th , 2018, Puget Sound has now been declared a No-Discharge Zone.
It has been illegal since the 1972 Clean Water Act to discharge untreated sewage (black water) into coastal waters. Over the years, there have been a couple ways for boaters to legally treat raw sewage before discharging, but most boaters contain all their sewage in a holding tank (Type III) and utilize a pumpout station.
Now, all sewage must be contained and be pumped at a pumpout station. If your boat has a toilet on board, you are required to have a marine sanitation device (MSD). For further details, please see the Dept of Ecology’s site.
Gray water (sinks/showers) discharge is still allowed.
Shilshole Blog 
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