In this month’s edition of Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-host, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg, along with the Port’s Chief Engineer, Matt Klontz, for an update on the month’s activities and a review of the timeline for the North Jetty Project set to begin right after the Wooden Boat Festival. Our special guest is Captain Robert D’Arcy, proprietor of Robert D’Arcy Marine Services and Primary Captain and Project Manager for the restoration of the 1907 Schooner Martha. Robert introduces us to Martha, tells us how she got here, and notes her unique place not only as a “living history” project, but also her role in sail training and education.
Robert and Eron emphasize the complementary, dynamic, and organic nature of a Port such as ours and its synergistic relationship with our local community and economy. We truly have a World Class boatyard that includes all facets of the Marine Trades, along with an amazing panorama of expertise.

In this episode of Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg, and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek explore the Boat Yard and visit with tuna fisherman Paul Svornich and his wife, Lorraine, beneath the stern of their 38 foot sloop named Ocean. As usual, Eron gives us a brief update on the happenings around the Port, and then Project Director and Engineer, Matt Klontz, chimes in with the latest news and projections for the long-awaited north and south Jetty Projects. Paul Svornich tells of his family’s rich Croatian heritage, how he’ll always call Bainbridge Island’s Eagle Harbor his home, how he and Diana Talley built his sloop, and of his adventures with wife Lorraine. Though his daughter, Kashmira has also fished with him in the past, Paul will captain his ship solo these days. Lorraine no longer fishes, and now minds the home front.  Paul minds his sails, pampers his small biodiesel-fed engine, and fillets, packages, and freezes his catch onboard. Then brings all of it home to sell to the niche market he’s created for himself over time. In Paul’s own words, he loves dancing with the Sea.

It’s time again for our monthly update on news, issues, and stories surrounding our vibrant Maritime Community. In this edition of Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’S Chris Bricker and co-hosts Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg give us a report from the boatyard. Then, sitting in the sunshine at “C” Dock, we engage in conversation with Eric Toews, the Port’s Deputy Director, about current developments in the Quilcene community’s Port Property planning process. Later, we speak with Pete Langley, Port Townsend Marine Trades Association President and owner of the Port Townsend Foundry. We Discuss the PTMTA board, its activities, and the role Marine Trades have in the County’s economic development. Topping things off, Pam honors the past District 3 Commissioners, especially Herb Beck, who recently passed and will always be remembered for his long service.

This month on Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Port Commissioner Pam Petranek visit with 3rd generation Quilcene resident Joel Kawahara. We meet by the stern of his 42-foot troller Karolee, now hauled out for maintenance near Dave Thompson’s shop at the north end of the Boatyard. He’s a career commercial fisherman who is widely known as an advocate for sustainable fisheries and habitat restoration. He’s involved with the Wild Salmon Coalition and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and their efforts at preserving this important resource.
Joel is a guy who has never quite fit in the corporate world, but has combined his credentials, talents, and caring nature as a catalyst for bringing disparate interests to the table in order to affect significant change.

This month on Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-hosts, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg wander the boatyard and meet up with brothers Tim and Mike Quant. Tim  & Mike have been commercial fishermen all their lives, and throughout their years they’ve acquired valuable skills in the maritime trades.
In their “retirement” from commercial fishing, they tend to the haul-out needs of the fv Sundancer and enjoy life ashore as craftsmen.  Now they can fish leisurely, without the long hours and physical demands of the commercial season. In his monthly recap, Eron tells us about the reorganization of the Port’s staff structure, and he applauds the arrival of the Port’s new Travel Lift,  Pam give us the historical timeline of the boatyard since before the arrival of the very first Lift to the present day. Of course, brothers Mike and Tim give us a few stories to spice up our visit.

Our boatyard and Port are one of the most unique places in the maritime world, considering that so many of its navigable tenants, great and small, have sailed, cruised, and fished our planet’s vast waters for decades and decades. This month, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-hosts, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Port Director Eron Berg, explore the history, ambience, and governance of our beloved Port of Port Townsend.

In this episode of Our Working Waterfront, we follow sixteen young students from the Port Townsend Maritime Academy as they tour the Boat Haven with Instructor Kelley Watson, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek, and Port Director Eron Berg. They learn from young shipwrights about the different ways each has come to their craft. They also learn about the abundant and varied opportunities our bustling Shipyard offers to those who already possess hands-on skills or to those willing to learn them as apprentices to master craftspeople. Jobs in the boatyard pay well and they are rewarded well by hard work and the desire to learn.

Each month on Our Working Waterfront, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner PamPetranek for our monthly update on news and issues surrounding our vibrant marine community. Eron gives us his monthly recap of all things Port, and introduces our new Director of Capital Projects and Chief Engineer, Matt Klontz. Since November 1, Matt has been getting up to speed on the multiple Port projects, along with their proposed schedules and priorities. Matt grew up in Port Townsend, graduated from Port Townsend High School, and earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Washington State University and the University of Washington. Since then, Matt has gained considerable experience with major projects in California and Washington State, worked with Jefferson County, and was City Engineer and Public Works Director for the City of Sequim for the last six years. Pam talks about the impact that the Boatyard has had on our local economy, about the Economic Development Council, and about the upcoming discussions to develop and enhance the Jefferson County Economic Framework.

On Our Working Waterfront today we bring you a reprise of a visit with Dave Thompson, our Boatyard’s iconic shipwright.  We learn a little about his life, his career, and his mentoring of past and current young shipwrights and apprentices that have graced his open-air shop. His “Career of a Lifetime” has spanned the decades here, from the mid-1970s to present day, as apprentice, as advisor to artisans, as the Yard’s advocate, as two-term Port Commissioner,  and overall generous soul.  Oh, and he also reveals the origin of “Charlie Noble Enterprises” (a.k.a. Thompson Boat)!