Working Waterfront

On alternate weeks, Tuesdays at 5:30 and Sundays at noon, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins his co-hosts, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek, to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. This month, we’re down in the boatyard, visiting with shipwright and metal fabricator Mike Hogan.
Mike’s never at a loss for a story or two. He’ll tell you of run-ins with past Boatyard managers, how he once saved a vessel from its  precarious perch beneath one of of the Boatyard Travel Lifts, how he share’s innovative dreams for the Yard’s future with a current staff who’s visionary qualities and support he deeply respects, and about two heaping platters of chocolate chip cookies.

KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. Last month Charlie Syberg told us the story of his acquisition and restoration of Nonchalant, a stunning 50 foot Motor Yacht from a bygone era. In this edition, Pam and Chris talk with shipwright Clint Thompson who gives us his life-changing POV of Nonahalant’s.rebirth. Then we wander into the boatyard and meet up with one of Clint’s two business partners, Asa Clifford. Below the keel of fishing troller Rose Marie, we talk about their newly-formed 10th Street Boatworks, and how Nonchalant was a catalyst for three shipwrights (Clint, Asa, and Taylor Clark) to come together as a team. Chris drops by Port Headquarters to share some Holiday cheer with Eron Berg.

In this edition of Our Working Waterfront, co-hosts Port Director Eron Berg and Commissioner Pam Petranek join KPTZ’s Chris Bricker for a recap of Boatyard projects for the year and season, and then a conversation with Charlie Syberg, who tells us the story of his acquisition and restoration of Nonchalant, a stunning 50-foot motor yacht from a bygone era. He also tells us about its near catastrophic pre-restoration loss, the captains who saved her, and of the Port Townsend shipwrights who restored her.

Each month KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. At the Third Annual Boatyard Salmon BBQ, fishermen, shipwrights and members of the community celebrated the return of the fishing fleet. Amid trollers, seiners, crabbers, tenders and giant Travelifts, Chris, Pam and Eron roamed the boatyard as bands played, children danced, and folks gathered to meet, tell stories and catch up. Our community then took a special space for beloved fisherman Joel Kawahara, who was recently lost at sea. He was definitely with us in spirit as we celebrated this special event that welcomed the fleet home.

Each month KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. For years, Bernie Arthur, retired maritime tradesman, has had the vision of creating a memorial for those of our maritime community lost at sea. In August of this year, as he had done for decades, beloved fisherman Joel Kawahara set out from his hometown of Quilcene for the fishing grounds.  After a few weeks, Joel’’s commercial fishing troller Karolee was found adrift, without Joel aboard. But even in his passing, Joel Kowahara has once again become the catalyst for a vision come true.. Now, Bernie Arthur’s dream of a mariner’s memorial has come closer to a reality. The proposed sight is at the entrance to the Point Hudson jetty’s Boardwalk. In Joel’s honor, we’ll reprise the interview we did with him in April of 2022.

Each month KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts Port Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek cover the waterfront – its boats, its people and their stories. The three of us are hanging out in the Boatyard, admiring the components of a massive, brand new 300-ton capacity state-of-the-art TravelLift. It’s destined to largely increase the Yard’s capacity and flexibility. The lift was trucked in on nine flat-bed semis from its builders in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. We speak with Justin, one of the Port’s engineers, and two factory representatives in charge of re-assmbly of this massive machine.

Each month KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins Co-Hosts Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg, and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. Chris reaches out to Port Director Eron for his monthly update, and then Pam & Chris join a small gathering of young Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building alumni in the conference room of the Shipwrights Co-op, along with member owner, Shipwright David “Griz” Griswold, who also graduated from the the School in 1993.

Each month, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts Port Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our Port and our vibrant maritime community. The 300-ton yard is full this month! Port Director Eron gives us a comprehensive update on the Port’s activities, and then we continue to discuss the fate of the abandoned tugboat Elmore (pictured above) with shipwright Clint Thomas and Commissioner Pam.  Clint spent a decade maintaining and repairing the Elmore during just one part of this storied vessel’s recent life. Now the Elmore sits on the hard amid historic schooners and working vessels – all of them surrounding her as if they were perched as guardians of its 135-years of history.  The Elmore continues to face an uncertain future.

Each month KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-hosts Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek to bring you news, updates and stories surrounding our vibrant maritime community. Chris joins Eron for his monthly update, and then Pam and Chris take a tour among the boats on our working waterfront with six delightful goal-oriented and curious members of the Port Townsend Maritime Academy.  The Academy is a free half-day program that provides high school juniors and seniors from eleven surrounding districts the opportunity to gain maritime experience, skills, and certifications while exploring different careers in the maritime industry.

Each month, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and his co-hosts, Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek cover the waterfront—its boats, its people and their stories. In this month’s edition, Chris, Eron and Pam, along with Commissioners Carol Hasse and Pete Hanke (today’s Captain) board the Puget Sound Express with 120 visiting Harbormasters and staffers as they wrapped up the three-day Spring Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters and Port Managers. The event culminated in a special journey via the harbor, for exclusive tours of the Bay & Waterfront, the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, and our internationally acclaimed Boatyard. Our Working Waterfront tagged along!