Notes from the Island — Aug. 15

• The faint smell of diesel still hung in the air at sunset yesterday evening on the west side, following the sinking of the 49-foot fishing vessel Aleutian Isle on Saturday afternoon. The vessel — now located roughly 150 feet below the surface — was carrying an estimated 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil. This Seattle Times article provides more detail.
• The United States Coast Guard provided more detail about the multi-agency response to the spill in this news release, published Sunday evening.
• The Orca Behavior Institute shared their perspective on the spill and the response to it.
• More sad Monday news — San Juan Islander David Hodges died last week when his plane crashed on the Olympic Peninsula on its way from Friday Harbor to Olympia.
• The landing area at Griffin Bay will be closed to public access Wednesday through Friday this week as San Juan County Public Works unloads several thousand tons of road maintenance materials arriving by barge. The materials support the County’s winter weather and chip seal efforts, and bulk delivery by barge greatly reduces the number of vehicle trips on roads and ferries that would otherwise be required to bring them to the island.
• If you’ve ever thought that buying a derelict boat seems like a fine idea, your time has come. The Port of Friday Harbor will be auctioning three abandoned boats at the end of the month.

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