NMTA's Annual Golf Tournament Details

Save the date for this year's edition of the NMTA Golf Tournament.

Mark your calendars and start thinking about who you want (and don’t want) on your team for the 2013 edition of NMTA’s Golf Tournament. Here are the details with registration info coming to you next week.

Thursday, September 5

 

Mill Creek Golf & Country Club (same location as previous years)

15500 Country Club Dr  

Mill Creek, WA 98012

 

Schedule:

8:00        Registration

 

8:30        Putting Contest

 

10:00     Shotgun Start

 

2:30        BBQ Lunch

 

3:00        Prizes!

 

For more info, you can drop either Katie Groseclose (katieg@nmta.net) or me (peter@nmta.net) a line. If you would like to sponsor a hole in this year’s tournament, let me (peter@nmta.net)  know. That cost is $300 per hole.

 

Our state's tax policies are driving boats away

I realize that this headline is old news to you, but it's great when newspapers like the Puget Sound Business Journal cover the subject (as they did today). Listen to KUOW (94.9 FM) tomorrow at noon for an interview with Peter Schrappen to hear more.

COLUMN: Washington state taxes are chasing away super yachts (Patti Payne/Puget Sound Business Journal)

Have plans for the weekend?

SEATTLE BOAT SHOW at KIRKLAND UNCORKED!

Join us at the Seattle Boat Show at Kirkland Uncorked, July 19-21, a fun art, wine, and food (and boats!) festival on the City of Kirkland waterfront! More than a dozen boat and yacht dealers and brokers will have multiple boats on display. Kirkland Uncorked is a regional showcase of art, food and wine of the picturesque shores of Lake Washington in Kirkland, WA taking place July 19-21, 2013 at Marina Park (25 Lakeshore Plaza, Kirkland, WA 98033). Benefiting the Hope Heart Institute, Kirkland Uncorked features wine tasting, grilling demonstrations, a new burger brawl, and live music in the Tasting Garden (21+) and an all-ages Promenade with the Uncorked Market, a boat show and dog modeling contest.

Dealers/Brokers on display: ArrowCat Marine Breakwater Marine Crows Nest Yachts Grand Banks Yachts Irwin Yacht Sales Lake Union Yacht Charters Lake Union Sea Ray Mastercraft Northwest Orange Coast Yachts Pacific Nautiques Seattle Boat Company Seattle Watersports Tom's Boat Shop

Boat brands on display: ArrowCat Larson Navigator Hunt Cobalt Sea Ray Bayliner Harris MasterCraft River Hawk Maxium Nautique Malibu MB Sports Chaparral Chris Craft Avalon

Attention all boat liveries and charter companies!

Senate Bill 5437 amended Washington’s law regarding boat rentals making the rental requirements more explicit. The Washington State Parks Recreational Boating Program has prepared a letter and fact sheet for these businesses to explain the changes. 

Boat rental and charter companies should contact State Parks to be put on their mailing list to receive this information: email: BOATING@parks.wa.gov / (360) 902-8555.

July 4th Fire at Seattle Boat Company's Dry Stack

Unfortunately, illegal fireworks on the 4th of July's fireworks took a wrong turn at Seattle Boat Company's dry stack facility on Lake Union. The good news is that the fire was put out quickly without any casualties. The bad news is that 14 families lost their vessels.

From Seattle Boat's President Alan Bohling:

Dear Friends of Seattle Boat Company,    Many of you saw the news or witnessed firsthand the harrowing fire at our Lake Union SkyLaunch facility on July 4th.    The fire caused significant and substantial damage but thankfully no loss of life or injury.  I am extremely grateful to our Seattle Boat staff and customers who reacted quickly and bravely to prevent even further damage or injury. Very special thanks are due to Cory, Tony and Spencer whose actions were nothing short of heroic. We're also grateful to the Seattle Fire Department for their quick response - the first fire truck arrived within one minute of receiving the 911 call and the fire was under control within 15 minutes, preventing what could have been a much worse circumstance.      Thank you to SPD for pursuing this arson investigation so quickly and thoroughly.    Our sympathies go out to our customers who lost their boats. Our staff has a personal relationship with each one of the 14 families whose boats were destroyed in the fire and we feel for all of them. We are doing everything we can to help them deal with the issues surrounding their property loss.    I wish to express my deepest appreciation to all of our Seattle Boat staff that leapt forward in a moment of crisis and worked tirelessly through the night.  Thank you also to so many of our customers and friends from around the county who have reached out to us in gracious support.    We remain open at all of our four facilities around Lake Washington and continue to offer all services for recreational boaters.       Very best regards,    Alan Bohling

Fishing sizzles in July for salmon, steelhead, crab, trout, other gamefish

Summer fishing seasons are now in full swing, requiring anglers to make some tough decisions about how to spend their time on the water. Salmon, steelhead, crab, trout, bass and walleye - all are now available for harvest in various waters around the state.

But for thousands of anglers, nothing beats the thrill of reeling in a big chinook salmon. Many are doing just that as waves of chinook move south along the Washington coast, then east into Puget Sound, coastal streams and the Columbia River.

"Fishing for both chinook salmon and hatchery coho should improve off the coast right through the month," said Doug Milward, ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). "The same is true for Puget Sound and other inside waters."

Six marine areas of Puget Sound open to salmon fishing July 1, joining other salmon fisheries already in progress. Various westside rivers, including the Bogacheil, Calawah and Nisqually, also open for salmon fishing that day, and Baker Lake in Whatcom County opens for sockeye salmon July 10.

Summer steelhead are another option - notably in Columbia River and many of its tributaries - where 339,200 adult fish are expected to move upriver in the coming weeks. As always, anglers are required to release any wild, unmarked steelhead they intercept in the fishery, which extends from the mouth of the Columbia to the Canadian Border.

Fishing regulations for these and other fisheries are described in WDFW’s For additional information on fishing regulations, see WDFW’s 2013-14 Fishing in Washington rule pamphlet, available from sporting goods stores and posted online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ .

Rather catch some crab? All but one marine area in Puget Sound will open for crab fishing July 1. The exception is Marine Area 7, where the crab fishery opens July 15 in the area’s southern portion (San Juan Islands/Bellingham) and Aug. 15 in the northern portion (Gulf of Georgia).

The crab fishery in all marine areas of Puget Sound will be open Thursday through Monday of each week. The season will get under way with a one-day opening (July 1), and will be closed July 2-3 before reopening on its regular weekly schedule Thursday, July 4. See http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/ for all crab-fishing rules.

Meanwhile, WDFW land managers are urging everyone planning to spend time outdoors this month to take care not to spark a wildfire. Unattended campfires, fireworks, hot vehicle mufflers, careless disposal of cigarettes and outdoor burning are all common causes of wildfires in the state.

Fireworks are prohibited at all WDFW wildlife areas and water access sites, and campfires are limited to three feet in diameter. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued a summer burn ban that limits campfires to approved fire pits or metal rings within designated campgrounds in some forestlands managed by WDFW and other state and local agencies.

More information on DNR’s summer burn ban is available at http://goo.gl/5jykD .


For more information about fishing, wildlife viewing and other outdoor activities available this month, see the Weekender Regional Reports posted on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/weekender/ . These reports are updated throughout the month to provide up-to-date information about recreational opportunities in six regions around the state.