Harbor Lights

NOV 2026

Produced by and for



Hidden Harbor Yacht Club

Seattle, WA

General Membership Meeting

Nov 10 Zoom 6:30 PM

Social 6:00 PM

Click HERE for link

We look forward to seeing you!

Commodore's

Message

Rick Nolte,

"Scoutabout"

Ahoy HHYC!


Well, that was certainly a lot of fun! Our annual Commodore Ball / Change of Watch event was an absolutely fabulous party; and Kim and I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Tiah & Jeremy, who led the charge in organization and execution. We are again this year enjoyed the elegant soirée at Tacoma’s Hotel Murano, which served delectable victuals, flavorful drinks, and a broad assortment of quality sweet treats for dessert.

The evening was made even more enjoyable by our resident DJ Extraordinaire, Robert Dahlin, who had the near capacity crowd up and boogying throughout the night. Deep thanks to Robert for putting on a great show; and to Adrienne, for her support and good humor.

We had occasion to recognize many of the HHYC members who graciously volunteer their time to ensure the continuity of the club. These include Steve and Wendy Rittereiser (our incoming Commodore for 2027), Paul and Patti Quinn (Our newsletter editor and general tech support), Jill Lehman (our long-serving webmaster), as well as our Board Trustees, Sue Burke, Terry Fantz, Dave Hoffman, Dennis Kroeger, and Vic Portolese. And, of course, John Keene as our communications coordinator. These folks, and many others who contribute on an ad-hoc basis make the Commodore’s job easy.

After dinner, most attendees donned their traditional HHYC Jammies and continued the party until about midnight. While I was a bit bleary-eyed as I retired for the evening, we generally awoke the following morning feeling remarkably spry and enjoyed a delicious group brunch at the restored McMenamins Elk Lodge. Highly recommended!

We have some new members taking on key roles for the coming year, and we express our sincere thanks to all the incoming folks. Steve and Wendy also shared a preliminary cruise and meeting schedule for the coming year, and I’ll defer to Commodore Steve for additional details.

As I reflect on the experiences of the past year I feel fortunate to be part of HHYC, and grateful for our fun-loving, open-hearted members. Whether we are cruising, partying, or planning new adventures, the HHYC experience is invariably among the best the Salish Sea has to offer.

We wish all our HHYC family good health, high spirits, and lots of laughter, and look forward to our Christmas gathering at Razzi’s on Tuesday, December 8^th.

Cheers, Rick & Kim

Vice Commodore's

Message



Steve Rittereiser,

"Doc Holiday"



Happy November everyone.

The fall colors are beautiful; another wonderful Commodore’s Ball is in the books and here we go heading closer to winter. Let’s talk about one of my and perhaps your favorite parts about boating – crabbing. There are few things more satisfying than bringing home fresh Dungeness crab from your boat. Its part fishing, part adventure and part treasure hunt. If you haven’t crabbed before but would like to try it, get together with one of our club’s seasoned crabbers for tips and tricks. Don’t expect them to tell you their favorite spot, but I bet you might hear about the best bait to use.

Besides choosing the type of pot (I use a foldable type) you need 100 feet of sinking line, highly visible buoys, bait, a measuring gauge, gloves, a boat hook to retrieve the buoyed line/pot and a crabbing license. Remember that Dungeness crabs are commonly found on sandy/muddy bottoms, often near channels and protected areas with good tidal movement. I find 40–70-foot waters to be most productive. Remember that tides can change so don’t throw a pot in 90 feet of water at low tide and try to find it at high tide! Crabs are always on the move so your favorite spot one year, may not be productive the next. That’s the treasure hunt part. I’ve soaked pots for anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight and had success.

Recreational crabbing has a few regulations so make sure you are in open waters, have a license, know how to measure a crab, can determine the sex of the crab (we only keep males), and respect the catch limit.

Of course, the real reward comes after the HHYC crew gathers around the table for the crab feast. Fresh Dungeness crab, melted butter, a little lemon, good bread, and a cold beverage make for a memorable meal. After a few boating stories, a little friendly competition over who caught the biggest crab and some exaggeration about the one that got away, you have a perfect ending to a day on the water. Fair winds, following seas and happy crabbing ahead.

Enjoy!

Steve

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