Working Waterfront

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)!

The Port of Port Townsend’s south county facility is located on Quilcene Bay at the southern terminus of Linger Longer Road. The property encompasses 58 acres of waterfront and uplands. Five months ago, the Quilcene Outreach Project was launched in order to involve area residents in helping to paint a picture of the future for this Community treasure. In this edition of Our Working Waterfront, Jeannie McMacken, Communications Consultant for the Port, along with the Port’s Deputy Director Eric Toews, share their personal takeaways from this listening experience and give us a preview of the formal public presentation and workshop to take place on October 13 at 6pm. Click here for more information.

In this edition of Our Working Waterfront, co-hosts Port Director Eron Berg and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek join KPTZ’s Chris Bricker to celebrate this year’s Maritime Lifetime Achievement honorees: Jake Jacobsen, Diana Talley, David King, and Jim Franken.  David and Jim join us to share their stories, their histories and their passion for the Working Waterfront and its boats, and for the community they’ve embraced and loved since they both arrived here in the late 1970’s.

Each month, on the second Friday at Noon, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and his Co-Hosts, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and our Port of Port Townsend’s Director Eron Berg bring you an update on news, issues, and personalities surrounding our vibrant Working Waterfront community. This month we visit Dave Thompson, our Boatyard’s iconic shipwright, and 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 Commissione,r and overall generous soul. Oh, and he also reveals the origin of “Charlie Noble Enterprises” (a.k.a. Thompson Boat)!

KPTZ Host Chris Bricker checks in with Port Director & Co-Host Eron Berg for his monthly update on all things Port. And then Port Commissioner & Co-Host Pam Petranek introduces young shipwrights Peter Stein, Erik Fahlstrom, and Leo Goolden, along with volunteer apprentice and sculptor, Patrick Kingshill.
Chris has a conversation with them about how the marine trades’ 40 year history of synergy here in the Boatyard has cultivated a giving atmosphere where craftsmanship is shared through true apprenticeship.
Peter and Erik have rented the buildings formerly occupied by the Shipwrights Co-Op, and are providing another haven for independent workers to garner and share more skills. Leo just moved his business, Sampson Boat Company, and his boat, Tally Ho, to Pete and Erik’s expanding adventure as their new business tenant. They’re all examples of how a rising tide of cooperation is one that lifts all boats.

This month Chris Bricker, with co-hosts Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Port Director Eron Berg, speaks with Deputy Port Director Eric Toews and Jeannie McMacken, organizer for the Quilcene Citizens Listening Tour set to launch on June 26. We talk about all things Port for the Quilcene community and the Herb Beck Marina Project.  Jeannie tells us that the listening has already begun, and it all made for an interesting and informative conversation for this month’s show.
Note: Our Working Waterfront will be moving to a new Friday time slot in July. Look for us at noon on July 16!

(Airdate: May 17, 2021) For our special Birthday episode of Our Working Waterfront, we check in with Co-Host Eron Berg, Port of Port Townsend’s Port Director, for his regular recap for the month, with a special emphasis on developments in the formulation of a Citizens’ planning process for the Port properties there. Then Chris Bricker and Co-Host, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek take a walk through the boatyard to encounter some of our Women of the Waterfront. They speak with shipwrights Esther Whitmore of Haven Boatworks and Angi Lungu of the Shipwrights’ Co-Op. Then they visit Port Townsend sailing legend, Carol Hasse and her wooden boat Lorraine in the marina, and finally a delightful conversation with Erika and Alyson of Port Townsend Sails, locally known as the Sail Loft, in Point Hudson.

On Our Working Waterfront this month, Chris, Port Commissioner Pam, and Port Director Eron visit with Betsy Davis, Director of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB), and Kevin Ritz, Lead Instructor for the school’s newest program, a six-month intensive course in Marine Systems. The Port and the NWSWB are sharing the exciting news that the School will now have an on-site campus extension right there in the Boatyard. We discuss the importance of apprenticeship and hands-on learning, and Kevin shares some stories about jobs that young student graduates have found with businesses in the Yard. Eron and Pam emphasize the economic value of having this synergy between the NWSWB and the Marine Trades at the Port. Betsy gives us an overview of the application process, scholarships, and financial opportunities for loans and grants that National Accreditation brings.

This month on Our Working Waterfront, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek took us on a stroll through Port Townsend’s busy Boatyard. We encountered Robin & Amanda, a young Swiss couple who stopped here for repairs on their world-wide cruising sailboat. Like many sailors who encounter our community, they’re falling in love with it. Then we visited two 100-year-old wooden boats and talk with the craftsmen who are tending to them: shipwright Brad, working on a 108-year-old commercial fishing boat from Seattle; and shipwrights Erik & Dylan, working on a local commercial fishing boat.

On this edition of Our Working Waterfront, Eron Berg, the Port’s Executive Director, gives us a recap of the past month’s activities around the busy Port. Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Eron discuss the “Strong Towns” community conversation that took place February 4, along with some insightful responses from the public. We discuss our Port’s economic centers, the ongoing planning process in Quilcene, and then finish with highlights from the ship and boat yard. Businesses are seeking new
talent, sails are being recycled – and the Shipwright’s Co-op is celebrating 40 years of a successful journey!

This month on Our Working Waterfront, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek, and Port Director Eron Berg join us from the deck of the schooner Cape Cleare.  We talk about the ongoing attention to our Port’s infrastucture, long-term plans in Quilcene, storm damage and repairs, and citizen participation in Port planning and activities.  Pam tops it all off with good news about Carol Hasse’s Sail Loft and its employees, as Carole plans her 2021 retirement!

(Airdate: December 8, 2020) In this edition of Our Working Waterfront, Port Director Eron Berg gives us a recap of the month’s activity at the Port. The budget is finished, and the Intergovernment Collaborative Group is underway. The airport runway is finished after resurfacing hit a snag with the contractor.

Both Eron and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek emphasize the importance of the new Facility Engineer and maintenance team in keeping the Port’s infrastructure healthy and functioning. Pam talks about the vibrant synergy that exists among educators, designers and makers, that contributes in such a healthy and sustainable way to our maritime economy’s circle of giving and receiving.

This month on Our Working Waterfront, we join Port of Port Townsend Executive Director Eron Berg, and Port Commissioner Pam Petranik give us an update on happenings around our Port.

Eron talks about the ongoing budget 2021 planning process, our International Airport runway project, the Airport’s mission for emergency management, and the delightful Port Townsend Aero Museum and its program for teens.

Pam explains the ways in which the Port weaves itself into the community and the ways of connecting to current activities, ways of conversing with the commissioners, and ways to explore the Port and its history.

We talk about derelict vessels, lift tires, houseboats, developing transportation links to the airport, COVID-19 recovery, and Pam gives some shouts out to local Icons and businesses around the Port.

This month on Our Working Waterfront, the Port’s Executive Director, Eron Berg, and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek summarize a flurry of activity around our Port. We get a glimpse into what it means to be in the middle of budget season, and we discuss grant and funding options for the Port, current and planned projects throughout our Port properties, significant airport improvements,  and a very busy boatyard.

We talk about sea life on the current jetty pilings and its disruption during renovation, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s proposal for an upwelling system in the Point Hudson marina for oyster spat, and the tribe’s idea for a potential retail seafood outlet and restaurant there.

Eron recounts his walkabout with State Representative Steve Tharinger, and Pam highlights two of our local maritime workers, and she also acknowledges recent Leadership Awards and their recipients.

Chris Bricker joins Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Port of Port Townsend’s Executive Director Eron Berg for our monthly update on news and issues surrounding our vibrant Maritime Community.

This month, Pam and Eron discuss businesses in the Port, how their proprietors grew up in the Marine Trades, and how they value the environment and creative community in which they work. 

We talk about the Quilcene Port property, its uniqueness, the Linger Longer Advisory Committee and its long range efforts to plan for the future while keeping the Port property in public hands.  Good planning can provide good jobs for the community and access to the world.  Pam also talks about how a local idea has hatched a creative project in the making, for a proposed video walking tour of the Quilcene Port area.

Eron also gives us an update on Point Hudson and the Jetty, and the updating of the spending plan for the Port, an expedited Comp-Scheme Update,  which can be followed by a substantive update later on. 

On the second Tuesday each month, on Morning on the Salish hosted by Chris Bricker, Our Working Waterfront explores news and issues from The Port of Port Townsend with Port Commissioner Pam Petranek and Executive Director Eron Berg.

This month we explore the 2018 Economic Impact Study of the Marine Trades in Jefferson County, public access to our waterfront, maintenance projects, the budget process, a Point Hudson update on the historic preservation of the Jetty, our Quilcene update, and we talk about the Intergovernmental Committee groups – their purpose, process, and time frames.