1. Ticketing: just like on a roadway, traffic enforcement has three general purposes: enforcement, education and engineering. With that in mind, when dealing with the harbor code it mostly results in education rather than enforcement. This seems to be a reoccurring complaint/frustration from the maritime community. When a vessel is stopped for what appears to be a speed related issue, it more than likely is an opportunity to educate the operator of their responsibility for the wake their vessel causes. Unlike a patrol car, being on the water does not afford us radar guns, painted lines, other moving traffic and certainly the ability to "pace" a vehicle to determine speed. It is difficult to do it accurately and with enough certainly to hold up in a court when it is disputed. The engineering part of traffic enforcement is mostly related to items such as buoy installation and signage.
2. Calling the Harbor Patrol: Although it is not the most beneficial in the long run for the unit, calling directly into the station is the most efficient way for us deliver our services to the community. (A call into the station does not go through dispatch which would create a "stat", thereby increasing our documented workload to the city.) We can't discourage calling 911 but feel free to call us directly.
3. Wake: Throughout the ship canal a boater see a plethora of "NO WAKE" signs. Those are improper as "no wake" does not exist in the municipal code simply because anything moving upon the water is creating a wake. The code specifies that an operator is responsible for damages their wake may cause but it does not have a "no wake" regulation. The Harbor Patrol works at educating operators as well as property owners to this nuance in the code.
4. Cameras: This is a good idea but the city's ability to participate in this, especially the police department, is going to be limited in this environment. This is a discussion that would garner the best outcome amongst private persons and property owners.

You can find out more about what the Harbor Patrol police do here, and if you have specific questions or require assistance you can call them at (206) 684-4071

FHA Board Secretary
After 5 years of unwavering service, Maggie Chon is stepping down from her role as secretary to the FHA Board. We would like to thank Maggie for all her hard work on behalf of the FHA members, and look forward to seeing her upcoming FHA events. We would also like to thank Janet Williams of 2460 Westlake for taking on the role with immediate effect.

Proximity of Virginia V's Route to Portage Bay Homes
A resident on Portage Bay shared with us her concern about how close the Virginia V gets to the floating homes on Portage Bay when compared with other commercial vessels. The  Virginia V Operations Committee, which is not a board meeting, but a board sub-committee made up of volunteer deckhands and engineers who look at operational issues around the ship such as safety, procedures, and incident reviews has invited a representative of Portage Bay residents to joint them at their next meeting to discuss the issue. Unfortunately the resident who originally raised the issue will be out of town, and there are no longer any Portage Bay residents on the FHA Board. The meeting will be on October 4^th at 4:00 pm at the Foundation offices (901 Fairview Ave #A-110). If you live on Portage Bay and are able to attend, please let myself and Heron Scott of the Virginia V foundation know.