On the Water Aboard the Commencement

Coming to Gig Harbor this Fall!

For several years now we have been lucky to have Destiny Harbor Tours taking visitors and locals out to enjoy Gig Harbor’s best feature – the water!  Additionally Gig Harbor Rent-a-Boat and Lee’s SUP have added some fun new options for people of all levels to find their place on the water.

Now, coming in September, something new is brewing.  Coastal Heritage Alliance, which will soon be working out of the Skansie Netshed, is “testing the waters” with a new program of on the water offerings aboard the Commencement.

F/V Commencement, CHA’s West Coast education and training vessel, is moored in Gig Harbor.  Built in 1926 by Skansie Brothers Shipbuilding and Transportation Company, Commencement was gifted to CHA in 2006 by Michael and Paula Vlahovich Family.

Coastal Heritage Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving the vessels, skills and stories of a proud working waterfront culture.

Captain Mike Vlahovich is still developing the program which currently is focused on itineraries this fall in and around Gig Harbor.  Offerings will include fishing family heritage based harbor tours interpreting the netsheds, the fishing boats and the fishing culture of Gig Harbor.  These tours may include a walk-through of the Skansie Netshed.  Dinner trips in the bay with wild sockeye salmon on the grill are also in the works.

Down the road Captain Mike hopes to provide half day trips to view the Gig Harbor Fishing Fleet at work in West Pass.  These morning or afternoon excursion out of Gig Harbor will include a taste of wild salmon on the BBQ aboard the Commencement.  Fishing schedules will dictate these trips, but normally the schedule begins in mid-October.

I am very excited about the prospect of providing a heritage tour for our out of town visitors to enjoy in Gig Harbor.  And, of course, this tour will also be popular with many locals.  Helping both our residents and our visitors to see first-hand the important fishing heritage of our community, this is not just about our past but is also so much of our present and future.

Captain Mike is still working out many of the details of this upcoming program, including the price guests will pay.  In the meantime, he welcomes your thoughts or ideas on this new program.  Feel free to comment and we will be sure he sees your input.  Or visit www.coastalheritage.org to learn more.

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