The Seattle Times has a story about an apparent dinghy theft and water chase in Everett that ended in the arrest of a 25-year-old man. Everett police responded to the marina at about 6:30 a.m. after receiving a call from a boat owner who said his 10-foot inflatable dingy had been stolen from from the [...]

The Coast Guard came to the aid of a sailboat in distress about 40 miles west of La Push, Wash., on Monday evening. The crew of the sailing vessel Talara was heading from Port Ludlow to Hawaii, at approximately 6:53 p.m., when the mast spreader or mast support rigging failed. The Coast Guard received launched an [...]

Seattle Times reporter Craig Welch has this story in today’s edition: The waters in Puget Sound’s main basin are acidifying as fast as those along the Washington Coast, where wild oysters have not reproduced since 2005. And in parts of Hood Canal, home to much of the region’s shellfish industry, water-chemistry problems are significantly worse [...]

The commander in charge of the Coast Guard’s Portland sector was let go Friday after allegations that he used a government computer to access porn websites, the Coast Guard said in a news release. An investigation found that Capt. Fredrick Myer is alleged to have repeatedly viewed pornographic and other restricted websites. Capt. Leonard Tumbarello, [...]

The Washington Department of Ecology has fined Olympic Tug & Barge Company $15,500 for a spill of two gallons of diesel fuel to the East Waterway off Harbor Island in Seattle. The incident, which happened on April 13, 2009, involved crew inattention during a fuel transfer between two tug boats, according to findings in an Ecology [...]

Authorities will be conducting mandatory checks of boats, trailers and gear headed to and from Washington this summer in an effort to combat the spread of aquatic invasive species. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) annual check stations and patrol program has already started up in several parts of the state and will [...]

Owners of boats and other registered watercraft are encouraged to sign up to receive annual registration renewal reminders by email, since paper renewal notices are being discontinued this year. The move will save about $150,000 a year, not to mention its environmental benefits. Signing up for email reminders is fast and easy, and the reminders [...]