Cap Sante Marina Remains Longtime Environmental Leader

in the Northwest

By Anna Townshend

Cap Sante Marina at the Port of Anacortes in Washington has been one of the Northwest's industry leaders in environmental practices for some time. A Clean Marina since 1996 and one of the state's first certifications, the facility is owned and operated by the port, which also operates a marine terminal and small airport.

Yellow bikes can be seen all over downtown Anacortes, a few blocks from the central pier. The marina provides them for free, along with pump-out and fuel facilities and a vast array of recycling options. Over the years, this marina has earned its environmental distinctions.

Industry Leader Sheila Mayer, marina services manager at Cap Sante Marina, has a faded certificate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1996 for a Clean Marina achievement award, before the state program was developed in 2005. In 1997, the marina also received a Leaders in the Industry Award through the Clean Vessel Act, for its pump-out operation.

The 950-slip marina caters to a variety of customer - commercial fishing fleets, brokerage businesses, charter companies and whale watching boats, along with permanent tenants. The marina also includes 150 slips for guest moorage, which was added with the help of a Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG). Six years ago, Cap Sante Marina built a new dock and took over operation of the fuel dock in-house. "The fuel dock has been a great success story. We make a lot of money from it, "Mayer said. In 2013, the marina increased the number of gallons of non-ethanol fuel sold by 15 percent.

Mayer said the marina sells non-ethanol fuel because the customers demand it. Non-ethanol fuel is not always easy to get in the area, and some boaters come long distances to get it from Cap Sante Marina.

The marina recycles everything from waste oil to antifreeze, fisherman nets and metals. It also works with a local charity organization that recycles appliances and electronic equipment. Customers bring containers of anti-freeze from boats, and the marina passes on the disposal cost ($2.60/gallon) to boaters. Cap Sante marina also uses an oil and water separator to handle watery oil from boats.

Recently, Cap Sante Marina started a liveaboard program, in which the marina is requiring weekly pump-outs. For 27 years, the facility did not have liveaboards. As part of the new program, liveaboards pay $75/month and a pump-out company goes to the boats and pumps out the liveaboards on-site each week. Mayer said other marinas require proof of pump-out, but this program is mandatory for liveaboards. "We want to do the right thing," Mayer said. "We have some of the best crabbing in the area right outside our marina."

Cap Sante Marina started the liveaboard program in part to encourage marina customers to stay year-round. "We have a problem in Anacortes with people taking their boats out of the water in the winter and bringing them back in the summer," Mayer said. Cap Sante Marina also started an annual moorage rate program to reward customers for the whole year. Mayer said the liveaboard program, though small in numbers, so far has been a success.

"They're the eyes and ears for the marina and ambassadors to the port," Mayer said.

THINK ABOUT IT  

"In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way."

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."  

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes."

Boating Infrastructure Grant Program  

The Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (BIG) rules are currently out for public comment.  If you are not familiar with the program it is a federal program that funds short-term (less than 10-days) tie-up docks, on water fuel stations and amenities to serve recreational boaters cruising the nation's waterways.  I would encourage everyone to review the proposed rules and provide comments.    There are several changes throughout the federal rules including eligibility, scoring and proration that could impact an applicant's ability to receive or use the federal grant funding.   This is your opportunity to provide comments to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the proposed rules. 

The comment period for the Proposed rule is 90 days, ending July 24, 2014.

The docket number for the BIG rule is: FWS-R9-WSR-2011-0083

To make comments:

Comments must become part of the public record. You may mail or hand-deliver comments to the Service's Division of Policy and Directives Management, but the preferred method is directly through www.regulations.gov.

1)     Go to www.regulations.gov. Copy the docket number above and paste into the Search box. Click on "Search." [If the Federal Register document is not yet posted when you check today, it will be soon]  

NOTE! The system only allows 20 minutes to complete the comment form, so have your comments ready to submit. If you need more time, you can continue the session when prompted, but if you do not you will be timed-out and your comment will not be submitted.

2)     The BIG rule will be in the list. Click on it.

3)      Click the "Submit a Comment" link.

4)     This will display the comment web form. Enter your submitter information and comment(s) on the web form. Note: This is publicly viewable.

5)     You may attach files up to 10 MB. If your comments are extensive or detailed, an attachment is encouraged.

6)     When you have finished entering your comment(s), you may click the "Preview Comment" link to review. Once you are satisfied with your comment, click "Submit." You will receive a tracking number for your submission.

7)     You may view all comments by searching the docket number during and after the comment period.

We welcome and encourage all of your comments!  

Some guidance/suggestions:

·         Read through the entire rule before forming comments. 

·         Please identify the section of the rule or the definition you are commenting on.

·         Do not wait until the end of the 90-day comment period to begin reviewing the rule. Use the time to identify areas where you feel your comments can improve the rule and prepare useful responses.

·         You should make comments to show support as well as to suggest changes. [Not everyone agrees on all topics. If we just receive the negative comments, we may consider removing something the majority supports.]

·         If you do not support something in the rule, you should give reasons why, and if possible, suggest alternate approaches.

If you have any questions regarding process, please contact Lisa_Van_Alstyne@fws.gov or 703.358.1942.

About 8 years ago, the Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters and Port Managers began to discuss ways that they could increase the knowledge, skills and professionalism of employees of their harbours.  The president at that time, Ray Majeski, was the harbormaster in Sitka, Alaska so he turned to the local campus, University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka to investigate training opportunities for harbor employees.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect.  The Sitka Campus was applying for a grant which provided the opportunity to develop online courses at a non-academic level.  The courses were developed in close partnership with the Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters and Port Managers, the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators, the Harbour Authority Association of British Columbia, and Washington Sea Grant.  Drawing from these professional organizations, UAS partnered content experts with instructional designers.  The content experts were expert in the fields of Oil Spill Prevention, Fire Safety for Marinas, and other topics related to Harbor Management.  The instructional designers were expert in how to develop an engaging effective online course, but relied completely on the professionals to provide the content.  An education committee from PCC provided the initial direction for UAS to take and ensured that the result would be the kind of quality that would truly support the industry.

Ten courses now comprise the Career Training for Ports and Marinas program. PCC provides certificates at 3 levels.  Complete any 3 courses of your choice for Level 1 Certification, another 3 courses of your choices for Level 2 Certification, and the last 4 courses for Level 3 certification. The courses are:

1.      Marine Structures and Materials

2.      Facility Safety

3.      Oil Spills: Prevention, Preparedness and Response

4.      Fire Safety for Ports and Marinas

5.      Customer Service for Ports and Marinas

6.      Marina Utilities: Electrical Systems

7.      Marina Utilities: Water and Sanitary Sewer

8.      Hazardous Materials and Waste: Risks and Controls

9.      Harbor Operations and Planning

10.  Harbor Administration

All of the courses are offered online.  They take approximately 12-15 hours of actual work, but students are given 3 months to complete them.  Clear navigation instructions and tutorials are provided when students begin, so that even if they've never taken an online course before, they quickly learn how easy it is.  Content material is provided through text and pictures or audio lectures accompanied by notes; there are interactive self-check activities, and sometimes a short written account of an actual walk-about the harbor.  Students are in touch with the instructors for the courses by email.  Instructors are Shannon Kinsella, Ray Majeski, Larry Boyer, Alan Sorum, Eric Olsson, John Lewis and David Garrett.  All instructors are professionals in the field of harbor management.

New Inner Harbor Boat Basin at Crescent City, CA

The new Inner Boat Basin (IBB) was dedicated at the Crescent City Harbor District on March 22.  The new facility has 234 slips ranging in size from 30 to 70 feet with side-tie space for vessels up to 125 feet.

The Inner Boat Basin had been totally destroyed by the tsunami that struck the harbor on March 11, 2011 and has taken three years to rebuild.

The new IBB was designed to resist a 50 year tsunami event.  Stover Engineering, in association with Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., Kennedy/Jenks Consultants and Treadwell and Rollo Geotechnical collaborated on the Crescent City Harbor District Inner Boat Basin Reconstruction.

Gerwick's engineers used the BOUSS-2D model, which is a comprehensive numerical model based on a time-domain solution of a particular form of the Boussinesq equations. These equations are capable of describing highly asymmetric waves in shallow water, wave-induced currents, wave setup close to the shoreline and wave-current interaction.

The accuracy of their modeling was proven when the March 2011 tsunami destroyed the harbor in the manner in which they had projected.

The new IBB was constructed at a cost of over $34 million. 

Thirty inch diameter pipe piles replaced the 12 to 16 inch diameter piles destroyed by the tsunami. 

The massive new piles were driven from 21 to 37 feet to imbed them in the harbor bedrock.  The depth depended upon the location of the pile relative to the tsunami currents - lateral load - and the strength of the rock. The piles were designed to have a lateral load capacity at least 25% greater than the designed tsunami load to preclude failure of the piles and the necessity to replace piles into bedrock.

The prior piles were drilled 5 feet into the bedrock and impact driven an additional 5 feet after that.

The new piles have an inside closure plate at the top to create a dead air space within the pile.  The piles are enclosed in a 34 inch outside diameter HDPE sleeve with a 1.6 inch wall thickness. The HDPE sleeves are intended to act as corrosion and abrasion protection.

Docks "A" through "G" were designed and manufactured by Bellingham Marine.  The floating dock system is referred to as the Unibolt System.  The fingers and headwalks have a concrete deck and concrete sides supported by Styrofoam trapped within the channel.

"H" dock is designed as a wave and current attenuator with many closely spaced piles to disrupt tsunami flow patterns within the harbor.

Prior to the tsunami, seafood landings in Crescent City were second only to San Francisco in Northern California.  Currently there are around eighty commercial fishing vessels berthed at the marina.  Dungeness crab, rockfish, and shrimp are major fisheries for the Crescent City fleet.  Tuna are landed in Crescent City in the season when the schools venture closer to shore.

The Harbor District is trying to attract former tenants of the marina and would like to invite transient vessels to try the improved facilities, which include new ADA compliant restrooms, showers, laundry facilities and enclosed fish cleaning stations.  Englund Marine has a store at the harbor and four restaurants are located on harbor property. 

The Harbor operates a 30 ton Travelift and Fashion Blacksmith, the shipyard located at the Harbor, has a 100' by 34' Syncrolift shiplift platform with a 230 ton capacity.

The Harbor is only 8 miles from the Redwood National and State Parks where large groves of Coastal Redwoods still thrive.

For more information about the harbor, you can go to www.ccharbor.com