Contributed photo / Gene
INSIDE
Helfman
“Mom and Dad red crossbill have been coming to our feeder all summer, but this week, happily, a youngster showed up,” said Helfman.
Natural History
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Studio Tour
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Trashion Fashion Review
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www.islandsweekly.com 360-468-4242 • 800-654-6142
Inaugural Lopez Cup Race By Duane Bordvick
Special to the Islands’ Weekly
The modern version of the Lopez Island Classic Yacht Race is in the record books. Tom Andrewes skippering “Madam Pele,” a Davidson 29, is the first recipient of the Lopez Island Cup, a perpetual award for first place. Race Organizer Russ Johnson is already planning for next year and hopes the race will attract
racers from all islands and beyond. On Saturday, Aug. 19, 11 yachts (ten from Lopez Island and one from Anacortes) competed for honors in this inaugural race off Lopez Island. All 11 boats raced in the same class and the fleet sailed under the Performance Handicap Racing System. Two intrepid skippers, Dick Behan on Rowdy and
Jay Simonson on his Cape Dory, chose to sail single handed. They were afforded even more handicap time. A four mile beat to weather for small sailboats in 15 to 20 knots of breeze with a big flood tide in San Juan Channel is no small task. For lack of a committee boat, the race was structured pursuit style, or a staggered start for all boats. The concept is simple. The handicaps are applied at the start of the race instead of the finish. Simply put, the slower boats start first and
The
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VOLUME 35, NUMBER 35 • August 28, 2012
Contributed photos
Above, the Lopez Island Classic Yacht Race. Right, Tom Andrewes recieves the Lopez Island Cup, a perpetual award for first place. the fastest last. In concept, if all boats sail to their potential, then they should all finish together. The race course started
at the day marker at the entrance of Fisherman Bay Channel; then a 180 degree turn to port at the Coast Guard mooring buoy locat-
ed near Fish Creek Cove at the very southeast end of San Juan Island; then back to Fisherman Bay. Those See Race, page 5
Kwiaht’s tech challenge to high schools Submitted by Kwiaht staff
Lopez-based conservation laboratory Kwiaht is challenging San Juan County high school teachers and their classes to devise “reliable, economical” electronic devices to study and monitor the islands’ declining
LOPEZ ISLAND SCHOOL SPORTS PHYSICAL Lopez Island Medical Clinic is offering sport physicals at the clinic. By appointment in Aug. and Sept. It is the Clinic policy that no child should be denied an opportunity to participate in school sports due to lack of funds for the required physical examination.
For an appointment call Lopez Island Medical Clinic 468-2245
rockfish populations. “Rockfish were an important food resource for islanders for thousands of years,” said Kwiaht director Russel Barsh. “But nearly all rockfish species have been fished out or threatened with extinction in the
last 50 years.” Unlike salmon and forage fish, rockfish are difficult and expensive to study because they are scattered and spend their adult lives in deep water, he added. Relatively little is known about their ecology or behavior because a few hours of underwater video observation can cost thousands of dollars. The solution, Barsh said, will be compact electronic packages that rest on the sea floor “like the NASA Mars lander” or are attached to individual living fish. Kwiaht’s biologists and volunteer computer and electronics engineers will be available to discuss rockfish ecology, “burning
Lopez Island School District
Surplus Sale Saturday, Sept. 1st 9am-2pm in the Multi-Purpose Room *TV's; VCR's; Maintenance and Shop materials; books; furniture and asst. odds & ends *cash or checks only / must be picked up day of sale - no deliveries
f a m i ly c a r e c l i n i c s
questions,” data needs, and technical specifications with students from September through Jan. 31, 2013, when designs for proposed sensors and data loggers must be submitted for review. Up to five winning designs will be awarded $600 each to purchase materials for constructing, deploying and testing the devices in Wasp Passage. Additional funds will be available for boat support, SCUBA, and science advisers to install working devices by June 2013. Datagathering using this sensor array will be entrusted to the county’s high schools, forming a new countywide “community science” program for youth called Deep Reef Marine Health Observatories. Kwiaht welcomes collaborators both young and old to design and build additional rockfish monitoring capacity, working with island students. “Like the international space station,” Barsh said. “Deep Reef can be a platform for anyone interested in rockfish and the islands’ rocky reef fish communities.” The rockfish conservation technology challenge was made possible by a generous grant from the Charlotte Martin Foundation, and a donation by Orcas islander Win Rhodes. For info, email kwiaht@gmail.com.