Rob Walton takes merchant mariner's oath at Coast Guard Station Channel Islands
Rob Walton completed the Maritime Institute course of instruction for his captain’s license this week with a perfect score on all sections of the test. On Saturday LT William T. McGhee, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Channel Islands, administered the oath.
A final grip and grin with Lt. William T. McGhee, CO of the station, and Damned-Near-A-Capt-Rob is one step closer to his "ticket."
Rob’s not quite there — he still has to deal with the final paperwork drill to get his ticket, but he’s damned close. By the time you read this you’ll probably be correct if you call him Capt. Rob.
I’ve been out sailing for the last couple of days and don’t have any details beyond the general-
We spent a big chunk of time in the fog this weekend and only broke out as we neared Smugglers Anchorage
circulation newspapers’ accounts of the Newport-Ensenada Race, where one of the contestants was apparently hit by a large and fast-moving ship, or, according to more recent speculation, ran into the northern most of the Coronado Islands, which has no light(house). See Sailing Magazine.
Though I wasn’t there and have incomplete knowledge of the events, it sounds to me like keeping an eye on the radar might have avoided the accident. That only comes to mind because I spent a couple of hours in the fog a few days ago dodging radar blips. We were nearly mown down by a tiny intermittent one that appeared bogus. Even though we were pretty sure the dot represented a crab pot or something innocuous, we had a lookout on the bow sounding our fog horn every minute.
The blip appeared and disappeared, appeared and disappeared and changed heading a few times. Now at a quarter mile it was the size of a pinhead, and abruptly headed for us. I zigged left, not entirely sure that it was another boat.
A dive boat emerged from the fog about 1 o’clock inside 100 yards. I don’t think they ever saw us or heard our fog horn. They followed one of the rules and were proceeding dead slow. Would have been nice if they’d been sounding their fog horn. It’s quite possible they were watching their radar and didn’t see us. Their 100 foot steel boat was only a pinhead on our scope; our fiberglass boat augmented by reflectors might not have looked any more significant.
Many of us delay firing up the radar because of the drain on the batteries. On the other hand, some folks make the case that the Rules of the Road dictate that you use it if you’ve got it.
There is no question that you need to light off the radar in low visibility conditions. But night doesn’t necessarily bring poor visibility. If I wasn’t a night radar believer before the loss of the racing yacht last week, I certainly am now, especially here in the Channel, where running lights easily blend in with background city lights.
1. The shoal that develops north and west of the NW jetty in Channel Islands Harbor is expanding more rapidly than usual. It is marked, but
The light at the NW end of Channel Islands Harbor is working --- sort of.
poorly, by two orange banded white state regulatory buoys. These buoys are almost impossible to see at night … and fairly difficult to spot even in daylight. We do not use the NW entrance after dark and avoid it in daytime.
2. The Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) no longer notes that the light on the NW end of the breakwater is working at reduced intensity. (It’s not really reduced, it’s just pointing down.)
Gales a couple of weeks ago moved the light’s foundation. Doubt we’ll see this fixed in 2012.
This navaid has never been easy to spot, now it is nearly useless.
3. The Coast Guard has proposed turning off the light at Gull Island. If you think that’s a bad idea — which I adamantly do — call or e-mail to LT Melissa Smith at 510-437-5984 or Melissa.A.Smith@uscg.mil.
If you have ever tried to feel your way into the Morse Pt. Anchorage at night, you know how critical this aid to navigation is. Call or write before 5 May.
A bride, a groom, 25 guests, one baby, one bunny, two photographers, Capt./Chaplain Dan and two whales at Malibu Beach Wedding.
Natalia and Geoff exchange vows on the beach just below their Malibu apartment
Driving south on PCH toward Malibu found us in dense fog almost the entire trip. It looked like it would be a grim day for a wedding, but just past Geoffrey’s restaurant, the fog curtain lifted. Guests coming from the south reported the same thing: the wedding site just below Natalia and Geoff’s apartment enjoyed the only spot of sun on the entire coast.
Cars lined PCH for every inch of the next several miles where parking was allowed. Some of the guests found spots along Corral Canyon Dr., others parked at Beau Rivage. It seemed everyone was at the beach: coast dwellers celebrating a moment of sun and folks from the Valley fleeing the heat.
We lined up just above the surf line and as I was about to say, “Friends, family etc.” a gray whale broke the surface less than 100 yards from the bridal couple. A second spout followed and we were all transfixed for a few moments.
Though we had a PA system, our group was small enough to herd in close enough to be able to hear an unamplified voice. Though not quite as intimate as weddings we do aboard Sancerre — the largest party aboard is six — this was a very tight knit affair.
The heart of the ceremony featured the writings of the bride and groom, which talked about their hopes and plans for the future. Melding Geoff’s carefree surfer-style with Natalia’s precise and well-ordered ways, they admitted, would be one of their biggest challenges. All who know the couple well nodded in agreement, then chuckled then laughed out loud.
The bride’s mom had traveled from her Moscow home to attend and the newly weds will head back with her today for a Russian celebration.
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