C’mon baby douse my fire

October 28, 2015 by 5 Comments

Another type of vessel has been taking a spin on the popular Beach Drive test track. Joining Delta Marine and the WA State Ferries is a brand spanking new 108′ fire boat built by Foss Maritime & bound for the Port of Long Beach California. The super pumper named “Fire Boat 20” tested forward & reverse for most of the day along the drive this morning.

According to Pacific Maritime Magazine…

The Long Beach pair each carry four Caterpillar 3512-C main engines, producing a total of more than 8,000 HP. Two engines are dedicated for pumping only, while two do double duty – propulsion and simultaneously adding more pumping power for a total of over 40,000 gpm. A pair of Cat C12 150-kW gensets provides the boats’ electric power. The largest monitor will be capable of delivering 12,000 gpm at a 600-foot range. The other nine monitors range from 1,500 to 6,000 gpm. Top speed is 12 knots – sufficient for a compact port like Long Beach. The low-wash speed is eight knots and on-site endurance is five days.

3_Pilots_3

Being one of the most technically advanced emergency boats in the world, it even has systems that protects the firefighters from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. I looked into buying one to protect Beach Drive but couldn’t negotiate them down from the 25+ mil price tag!

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Boats, Puget Sound

Wind Advisory Issued

October 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1137 AM PDT SAT OCT 10 2015

.A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS
AFTERNOON.

WAZ504-507-509-511-512-555-556-558-559-110000-
/O.EXB.KSEW.WI.Y.0007.151010T2000Z-151011T0000Z/
SOUTHWEST INTERIOR-EVERETT AND VICINITY-TACOMA AREA-
HOOD CANAL AREA-LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY AREA-
EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-BELLEVUE AND VICINITY-
SEATTLE AND VICINITY-BREMERTON AND VICINITY-
1137 AM PDT SAT OCT 10 2015

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON.

* TIMING...FROM 1 PM UNTIL 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON.

* WINDS...SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45
  MPH.

* IMPACTS...DOWNED TREE LIMBS AND WEAK TREES. POSSIBLE POWER
  INTERRUPTIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS
THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH
PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.


Here's an updated graph from Wind Alert:
2015-10-10_1250

Puget Sound Marine Forecast 9:00 am update has a small craft advisory until 7:00 pm tonight.

TODAY
S WIND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT DURING THE MORNING…BECOMING
SW 20 TO 30 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…BUILDING TO
3 TO 5 FT. RAIN.

TONIGHT
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT DURING THE
EVENING. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. A CHANCE OF
SHOWERS IN THE EVENING… THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER
MIDNIGHT.

Seattle Forecast updated at 12:48 pm today:

…WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON…

REST OF TODAY…BREEZY. RAIN AT TIMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH POSSIBLE. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.

TONIGHT…SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE EVENING…THEN CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S TO MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH BECOMING SOUTH TO 10 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

…don’t forget, the next high tide is a 10.72 at 4:27 pm.

Filed Under: Weather

Wind and Waves Ahead

October 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment

This morning was peaceful. Perhaps the calm before a storm. It looks like we are in for a very windy Saturday.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast

TODAY  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT…BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING. A SLIGHT CHANCE  OF RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN RAIN LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.

 TONIGHT  S WIND 10 TO 20 KT…BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.  

SAT  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT…RISING TO SW WIND 20 TO 30 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS…BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.  RAIN.

 SAT NIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER  MIDNIGHT.

Check out the blustery forecast from Wind Alert.

wind_10_09_2015

And last but not least… check out the high tides just shy of 11 feet. We have a 10.75 estimated at 4:04 pm today and 10.72 at 4:27 pm on Saturday. If the Wind Alert forecast is accurate, we could be dealing with gusts of 35 mph and higher during high tide on Saturday.

2015-10-09_1028_

National Weather Service Forecast

Today: Rain likely after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming south southwest 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind 7 to 17 mph.
Saturday: Rain. Patchy fog before 11am. High near 64. South wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: Rain likely before 11pm, then showers likely after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 55. Breezy, with a southwest wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

The Seattle City forecast that I often post has not been updated since 4:00 am this morning. Once it’s updated, if I catch it, I’ll post it here.

Of course weather forecast change often so please check the links on the right column of Beach Drive Blog. By the way, check out the new tides widget we just added yesterday.

Stay safe!

Filed Under: Weather

Seattle Police Department Community Newsletter

October 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Hot off the PDF press! The Seattle Police Department has released their community newsletter. You get your copy by clicking here.

This issue addresses:

  • An increase in package thefts. Tips on what you can do to prevent your goodies from being stolen from your porch.
  • What to do about noisy, rowdy neighbors.
Filed Under: Safety

Bottom line: Plug your nose & talk to the State

September 30, 2015 by 4 Comments

In our continuing coverage regarding the foul Beach Drive bouquet, A small community meeting with representatives from King County Waste Water just adjourned from the sidewalk of 4700 Beach Drive SW. Armed with a color 4 page report regarding the soundness of their sewer, King County says it wasn’t them!

2015-09-30 16.13.00

 

Four leakage sensors were setup inside man-holes along the circa 1957 main line that runs along the drive…

2015-09-30_1715

 

With no solid evidence supporting sewage runoff as our culprit, the meeting turned into a “now what” conversation. An ecologist from the county recommended that neighbors start a permit process asap with Washington Fish & Wildlife for dealing with the next round of rotting sea lettuce. The permits apparently last five years. If  NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is correct, we could be literally blown out of our houses next summer! An article issued by King 5 back in July reported NOAA’s prediction for Seattle’s chances of continued warming…

SEATTLE – There’s a 90 percent chance El Nino will continue through this coming winter and an 80 percent chance it will extend to early spring 2016, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center reported Thursday.

The stench has been no stranger to the Fauntleroy Cove area where residents took action to remove the seaweed. The Seattle Times reported…

When the problem last emerged in 1990, state officials attacked it by corralling the seaweed in nets and hauling it out into the sound, where it was dumped. They did this for three years at a cost of about $10,000 a year, then stopped. The problem abated until this summer, when average temperatures were three to four degrees above normal and the Puget Sound area saw more sunshine than usual.

A few residents present at the meeting showed interest in moving forward to find a solution. Maybe consulting with other neighborhoods that have or are currently dealing with this issue would be a good start. We did learn that Dumas Bay click here for their study & Shilshole Pt. were also plugging their collective noses and working on solutions.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

 

Filed Under: Beach Drive Homes, In the News, Puget Sound

1917 Atlas clearly shows Carroll Street Pier

September 26, 2015 by 2 Comments

I’ve been fascinated for years about the maritime history of Weather Watch Park. A plaque at the park describes how a long pier serviced passengers via the infamous Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet . In a blog post from 2013, we researched city/county archives & local museums looking for any photos or maps that would clearly establish the piers existence. There wasn’t much there except verbal accounts from a long time resident and a few vintage NOAA charts with a dark line jutting out.

I recently gave it another shot by emailing the Seattle Public Library’s at ASKspl.org (thanks Suky!). Within a day or so, I received an email with this 1917 Sanborn Atlas which clearly shows the area landmarks…

pier
A close up look not only shows the named pier but also a small Public Comfort Station at the head of the dock! Following east along Carroll Street, you can see the old locations of the Alki Congregational Church & the Fire Dept/Hall across the north side of the street.

 

CarrollStPier
I just love this stuff.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Escape the Stench

September 25, 2015 by 2 Comments

This is just in from a Beach Drive neighbor, Mary:

West Seattle has a real treasure a short distance away from Beach Drive’s odoriferous low tides: The Arboretum at South Seattle College’s north end.  Leaves there are beginning to turn reds and yellows.  Amble the winding paths through pleasant-smelling shrubbery (e.g., Golden Elaeagnus).  The award-winning dwarf conifer collection also begins changing colors this fall. Free guided tours Oct. 10.

arboretum

Filed Under: Not on Beach Drive, Parks

New stink to an old story?

September 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

EDITORS NOTE: Please scroll to the bottom of this post for an update.

Some new controversy is brewing in regard to the rotten egg-like stench we reported along parts of Beach Drive SW.  A neighbor in the 4600 block reportedly complained about the gaseous smell to a King County Wastewater representative and was told that the cause could possibly be related to a recent CSO (combined sewage overflow). At first flush, I would think they are referring to heavy rains we experienced on August 29th which pushed our monthly total far beyond the average.

seattle2015rain
Another concerned neighbor and I caught up with a KC Waste Water truck hanging out this morning at the base of Jacobson Street. The gentleman in the truck explained that he was tasked with installing sophisticated sensors at different points along the sewer line that would indicate any accidental sewage leaks. He went on to say that most complaints of the odor have been located between around LaRustica Restaurant and about the 5000 block of Beach Drive. Also checked out were the City of Seattle lines that run down Jacobson to the main county line. Where the two lines intersect create what’s called  the SW Alaska Street Seattle Combined Outfall which dumps out into the sound when the Alki overflow treatment plant becomes overwhelmed.

AlaskaCSOphoto1

 

Incidentally, this particular outflow rarely overflows according to report studies (.1% yearly 1987-2007) however it is not uncommon to have some leaky-poos just north at the 63rd St & Alki outflows.

AlkiUntreatedCSO

63rdCSOphoto

The CSO Status website used by recreational divers and beachcombers has been experiencing technical difficulties and is not showing any real time data for the outflow stations in the immediate area.

King County West Point Treatment is encouraging all residents along the drive to report any stink zones with the exact time they occur. This will go along ways to get to the messy bottom of the mystery. 24 hour odor hotline 206-263-3801

A meeting had been setup between representatives of King County Waste Water Treatment, concerned homeowners and local media for this Friday but has been temporarily postponed.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

UPDATE September 25, 2015: We received this email from a local resident:

Hi. Thought I would pass along some information about my morning’s experience regarding the odor on Beach Drive.

Last night when the odor intensified, I called the hotline you posted on the Blog (thanks for that information).  This morning around 11:30 a King County representative came to measure the levels of hydrogen sulfide, the likely gas causing the odor.  The couple of manholes out in front of the house had a zero reading for hydrogen sulfide.  At our deck, water side, the reading was .02.  At the bulk head, the reading was .14.  The rep said this was definitely abnormal and KC continues to be perplexed as to the cause but is actively investigating. 

He expected some public announcement next week on the status of the investigation.

Thanks again for the information on the Blog.  Helps to inform and connect us all.

Filed Under: Alki, In the News, Puget Sound

Wind and Waves: Small Craft Advisory

September 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment

A small craft advisory has been issued for Puget Sound through tonight. With gusts predicted around 30 mph and waves up to 3 to 5 feet, the weather and waves should be spectacular.

The National Weather Service:

Today
A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 68. South wind 13 to 20 mph.
Tonight
Rain likely before 11pm. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 50. Southwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

From the Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

TODAY  S WIND 15 TO 25 KT…RISING TO 20 TO 30 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.  

TONIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING NW 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. RAIN AT TIMES IN THE EVENING.

From Wind Alert  is showing potential gusts of 30 to 34 mph from  2pm to 5pm today.

2015-09-20_0758_wind_alert

High tide is predicted to be 9.5 at 11:00 am. As you can see from the chart above, we could have gusts of 25 at that time. Low tide is a 6.52 at 4:32 pm and then rising back to a 9.14 around 10:00 pm.

2015-09-20_0804_tides

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Weather

Wooo weeeeee! “Fauntleroy stench” stink’n up the beaches

September 7, 2015 by 6 Comments

Don’t blame it on the dog or over clean the cat box. This mornings low tides and the lack of a good breeze is making it nearly unbearable around Beach Drive. Rotting seaweed or sea lettuce is busy emitting hydrogen sulfide into the air we breath.

The term “Fauntleroy stench” was coined back in the late 1980’s when the the cove and other areas around the sound experienced this same rotten egg sensation. The Seattle Times wrote an article about it during the hot summer 1998 when Fauntleroy residents were complaining of headaches and nausea due to the strong odors.

In small amounts, the gas can burn the eyes, nose and throat, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In moderate amounts, it can bring on headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and respiratory problems.

Contrary to what you might think, opening windows and doors while running fans is the best way to purge the scourge from your home.

Some experts believe that a mild winter combined with a prolonged hot summer is the yummy recipe to bring the stench. If that’s the case, next year could be a real duesey! I just think it smells like Labor Day.

seaweed

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Tides, Uncategorized
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