The Friday Five - News and items that caught our eye this week!

[Tollycraft Boating Club]

Start your weekend with these five items that caught our eye this week: 

Stories Across the Sky: Observations from Night Watch

From the corner of my eye, a bright white light hits the water and cuts sharply through the dark night. Is it a boat? A lighthouse on a nearby island? After a quick look I realize it’s a star twinkling off the water, rather, many of them, and I stand up to take in the scene. In utter disbelief, I almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. The ocean is so glassy, and the sky so clear, that the stars are reflecting off the water all around me. Seemingly filling the ocean with glitter. READ MORE

A Rude Awakening

A couple of days ago we were awakened at 02:45 by the sound of a river otter's claws scrabbling on our deck, almost directly over our heads. READ MORE

Ask the Experts: Pump-Out Systems

For boaters with a holding tank, the ritual of pumping out is usually embraced with emotions ranging from mild annoyance to hyperbolic disgust to joy (if there’s an overflowing blackwater tank that’s steeped for a week aboard). READ MORE

Students Thrive In Maritime

Twenty years ago, Norm Manly of the Foss Maritime Company based in Seattle, Washington, identified a problem within the marine industry: workers were retiring and there was a need to bring the younger generation on board. So Manly, along with other local businesses, formed the Youth Maritime Training Association (YMTA). Seattle Public Schools caught on and collaborated with the YMTA to develop the Ballard Maritime Academy, a Career Technology (CT) Vocational Education program anchored on the Ballard High School campus in a neighborhood known for its maritime traditions. READ MORE

Vesper Marine Cortex: What makes this the world’s first smart VHF?

It has taken its time coming but electronics specialist Vesper Marine has launched what it hopes will become the iPhone of VHFs. Called Cortex, it’s a brand new wireless touchscreen handset that combines a state of the art VHF radio with the latest AIS transponder and a remote vessel monitoring system. READ MORE