Harbor Lights December 2025

Commodore's Message

Jeremy Hardy, "Jin Ju"

And just like that it’s Holiday Season!

Tuesday, December 9^th we have the final Membership meeting of 2025, and we hope you all will join us to close out the year! We will be having a little gift exchange, for those who would like to participate, towards the end of the meeting. We ask that no more be spent than $25 per person. The meeting will be held at Razzi’s Pizzeria on Greenwood Ave. Happy Hour will kick off at 4:30 as usual.

As we look forward to next year’s exciting cruising plan laid out by our esteemed 2026 Commodore Rick and Kim, Tiah and I can’t help but reminisce about our 2025 season with all of you, each one more memorable than the last.

Port Orchard, Tacoma, South Sound, Bremerton, Commodore’s Cruise, Crab Fest and even Port Townsend (this one kinda fell apart but was saved by Terry and Dane’s RV) and finally Bell Harbor. But wait, there’s more! The Walla Walla Land Cruise was a blast, and it turns out that we weren’t the only ones who had never been, and we’ll definitely be returning.

It sure felt like a packed year; Tiah and I owe huge thanks to all of you who helped to organize & participated. Turns out that making something look easy talks a whole lot of effort!

Little Jinju is on the hard at Canal being serviced for next year’s season. Of course, it turns out that we need more work than we’d planned for. We have our paper charts taped to the office walls so we can make plans and cross reference Waggoners with on-line resources to look for routes, overnights, and fuel. We can’t wait!

In closing, I offer up this thought: As we near the breaking of the New Year, it is my hope for safety and calm for Mariners from ports world-wide. That they be protected from all seen and unseen danger and be provided courage and fortitude and may they find safe passage home to their families and loved ones.

See you at the meeting,

Jeremy Hardy

Commodore

Hidden Harbor Yacht Club  

Vice Commodore's Message

Rick Nolte, "Scoutabout"

Ahoy HHYC!

Kim and I hope all our HHYC family are enjoying a salubrious and indulgent holiday season. For our part, we are grateful for the bounty of culinary experiences we’ve had this year…sumptuous rib roasts, elegant root vegetable medleys, tongue tantalizing tapas, and of course, the usual unreservedly opulent Thanksgiving feast.

As dedicated members of the Pacific Northwest boating community, such experiences make me think, “Hmmm, is there a toilet paper out there that won’t mess up my black water hoses, holding tank, and pump-out apparatus?.” Luckily for HHYC, a recent, unscientific study was conducted that may help to inform future marine toilet paper purchase decisions.

Using the wrong toilet paper for your marine toilet could leave you with an “issue with your tissue.” It’s important to choose biodegradable paper that quickly dissolves; and be careful how much you use! Less is best! For this study four brands were randomly chosen: West Marine, Scott RV & Marine, Angel Soft, and standard Kirkland. Four jars were filled halfway with room temperature water. Two squares of tissues were put in each jar. All jars were then shaken vigorously 8 times and allowed to settle for 30 seconds.

As the graphics below clearly demonstrate, there was a clear winner: Scott RV & Marine Quick Dissolving tissue!

Indeed, this soft and gentle tissue (see future articles for details of related studies), quickly dissolved into a fine gelatinous mush…certainly a welcoming consistency for any marine sanitation system.

The runners up…sort of tied for second were West Marine and Angel Soft. While they both seemed to dissolve readily, they fell far short of standard of excellence set by Scott. On the other hand, Kirkland standard everyday TP performed miserably, winding itself into a dense, unassailable mass sure to vex even hardened sea captains.

Anyway, wishing all of our beloved Hidden Harbor Family a happy, healthy holiday season, and a prosperous New Year. And don’t forget! No job is finished until the paperwork is done!

Cheers- Rick & Kim