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Kingston Cove Yacht Club
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 81
Kingston, WA 98346-0081
(360)297-3371
KCYC is a 501C7 - Social Organization
Club Address
25815 Washington Blvd NE
Kingston, WA 98346

News / Articles

2022 Spring Boater Education Series – Program Descriptions

Janiece Christian | Published on 3/11/2022

Marine State Parks of the San Juan Islands

This session covers general park information regarding marine parks and then specific information on some of the more popular parks in the San Juan Islands. 
Presenter: Christ Guidotti has been a Washington State Park Ranger for 37 years. He has worked in parks all over the state but has been in the islands for 20 years.  The San Juan Area includes 17 parks and there are over 1.5 million visitors a year.  13 of the 17 parks in the San Juan Islands are marine parks.

Recommended Engine Maintenance, Tools, and Supplies

This session will discuss and provide guidelines for proper engine maintenance and maintenance schedule. What tools and supplies to keep on board will be covered. And recommended parts/fluids to keep on hand will be discussed.
Presenter: Brandon Haines is the service manager at Achievement Marine. He has decades of experience in a vast array of mechanical systems from automobiles, motorcycles, and marine diesel engines. Brandon has worked with Diesel Systems/Achievement Marine as a technician since 2017 and as the service manager since 2019.


Navigating in adverse conditions using today's available electronics

This session includes use of AIS, Radar, Chart plotter, Foghorn, and VHF Radio and sharing of some personal experiences.
Presenter: Dave McBride is the Squadron Education Officer for the Bremerton Sail and Power Squadron. The United States Power Squadrons (USPS) DBA America's Boating Club, is a non-profit educational organization, founded in 1914, whose mission is to improve maritime safety and enjoyability through classes in seamanship, navigation, and other related subjects. The USPS comprises approximately 45,000 members organized into 450 squadrons across the United States and in some US territories. It is the largest U.S. non-profit boating organization and has been honored by three U.S. presidents for its civic contributions. My wife and I moved to Washington in 1995 due to the Navy. We are both retired military. I have been around the water and boats for 40 plus years. We joined USPS about 6 years ago and I have held the offices of Commander, Executive Officer, Administrative Officer, Squadron Education Officer, and Treasurer.

Navigation - What to do when the power goes out

Almost all of us use electronic navigation on our boats.  Chart plotters, GPS on our phones are all great ways to help us locate our current position and direct us to where we are going. But, what happens when the instruments go dark?  What do you do then?  This presentation will recount once such an event in the presenter’s history when there were no instruments, and what the crew did to continue on their journey and navigate safely to their destination.  This presentation will cover reading and using paper charts.
Presenter: Neil Parker. I began sailing in the early 80’s as part of my efforts to court my first wife.  My future father in-law was a sailor and I went along, almost willingly, on numerous sailing adventures with Captain Bligh (we do not have permission to use his real name).   Together we typically sailed in the Northeast from Long Island, NY to Maine.  I also partnered with a friend and we raced catamarans of the Rhode Island coast, our only form of navigation was a compass and the chart in our heads. I attended and graduated from the US Power Squadron Boating Course where I first learned navigation.  I’ve cruised in the Caribbean, raced sailboats on Lake Michigan and competed in multiple Mackinac island races.  Upon moving to the PNW I joined a few racers initially out of Shilshole and later out of Edmond and have competed in multiple PNW races.  I have since retired from racing to cruise with my wife and our dog on our Sailboat Flying Cloud.  We didn’t know this when we named the boat, the original Flying Cloud was a Clipper ship built in the Northeast, and had the first ever paid female navigator on board.  


O Canada – Passage Planning, Weather, Border Crossing, Shoulder Destinations, and Canadian Things You Should Know!

Some of the most beautiful cruising grounds await just beyond the San Juans from Victoria to Desolation Sound and points North. Although cruises to the San Juans and beyond require a little more passage planning and weather analysis, they can be safely and comfortably reached in most cruising boats. The Fleet is headed to Victoria this August, so it is appropriate and hopefully helpful to review the particulars. This presentation will cover the 3 main strategies to get North of the Straits, Canadian weather sources and tips, how and where to cross the border and destinations you might tack on to the week-end in Victoria. We will also talk about those things Canadian that you need to know. Even though they speak English, it is still a foreign country!
Presenter: Nancy Langwith. With over 40,000 miles under the keel, I lived aboard an ocean cruising sailboat with my husband for almost 12 years in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Oceans, crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice and traversed the Atlantic Ocean between Florida and the Caribbean 5 times. During those 12 years aboard, I was the designated weather “person”, did most of the passage planning and communications, captained and crewed. The only formal training I had was various weather short courses and one university course in meteorology. The remainder of my weather, passage planning, and communications education was through self-study and experience. While living aboard and crossing oceans, our equipment was more diverse and complex than what we need in the Sound and the Islands. We had 1-3 computers (navigation, communications, and weather), a single side band radio (HF), anemometer, barometer, weather fax receiver, satellite phone, OCENS infrared and visible satellite receiver, radar, 2 eyes, local knowledge and the hair on the back of my neck. Our current equipment for coastal cruising is far less, but still includes 2 eyes, local knowledge and the hair on the back of my neck.

Washington State Boater Education Card

USPS Commander to speak about the Washington State Boaters Card and how USPS can help KCYC members get one.
Click below to go to event page to sign up. 
Second Annual Spring Boater Education Day - 3/26/2022