Last week the Swinomish Yacht Club was able to put together a visit from the Coast Guard Auxiliary to carry out safety inspections on boats in the water. This is a very valuable service the Coast Guard provides. It is purely informational, so there is no penalty if they find something wrong. However, such a finding could be a life-saver. All the things they require are built on hard experience, so it is a good idea to go through their list and make sure vessels are properly equipped and maintained.

Some of the most interesting boats come through the marina in the summer! We have one on the dock this week that is a canoe support vessel. They go up and down from Olympia to Alaska organizing and supporting canoe outings. They work with tribes in the U.S. and Canada and organize canoe outings large and small. Their activities can be found on their website, http://www.sparrowcanoesupport.com.

One of the boat web sites I love is the Nesvaag Sjø-og Motormuseum (Sea and Motor Museum) at http://www.nesvaag-motormuseum.no/. Now, some of you will say that the fact it is only in Norwegian makes the site hard to read, but I find it adds to the overall experience. This museum is a tiny little place in southeast Norway and it is a labor of love by Johnny Nesvaag. He puts out Facebook videos of his museum piece boats running on the North Sea with their antique diesel engines thunking away and it is easy to picture fleets of these boats out fishing in all weather. These are classic Norwegian double-ended vessels that have been painstakingly maintained and they are things of beauty. The engines on display in the museum building are immaculate, which is really impressive when you see some of the “before” items he takes in. Stop in if you are ever in Sokndal!

Again: Nesvaag Sjø-og Motormuseum: nesvaag-motormuseum.no/.

The 4th of July is coming soon and the Marina will be the place to be in town. We will have food trucks, the beer tent and the Chris Eger band! The Enthusiasts will be first on stage and then Chris Eger will play until the Town of La Conner fireworks are ready to start. It should be a great evening!

See you on the Channel!