THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Ahoy,

The seas will continue to be a mixed set this weekend with Tropical Storm Genevieve, which has crossed over Mexico from the Gulf to the Pacific. However, boating might be slightly bumpy on the ocean with swell heights around three feet with single-digit intervals near Newport. The outer waters have small craft advisories with windy conditions and swells five to seven feet dropping a little Sunday. Any high clouds and humidity will be from Tropical Storm Dolly as she makes her way moving west-northwest across Northern Mexico and Southern Texas. As my usual, watch out for areas of fog that will develop over ocean areas.

Well, you did it, and congratulations to those who made the effort! What am I talking about? Well, boaters across the nation called, e-mailed, sent letters and spoke with their representatives in the Senate and House to pass S. 2766 (Clean Boating Act of 2008). This is the bill I have been talking about for months, and now with a bipartisan support, the bill is awaiting President George W. Bush’s signature.

“This is a fabulous victory for common sense, and it just goes to show what can be done when the boating public, the marine industry and its representatives in Congress row together in a bipartisan way,” said BoatU.S. President Nancy Michelman.

Recreational boaters, for the last 35 years, have not had to get a water discharge permit, which controls the ballast water discharge from ships. When the Environmental Protection Agency’s permit recently came up for renewal, the agency left out the exemption for recreational boaters, but the Clean Boating Act reinstated the long-standing policy.

Our thanks go to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) for supporting and understanding the importance of the continuance of this exemption, which prevents a far-reaching negative impact on not only boating but water activities.

Tip of the week is a follow-up on a tip a few weeks ago about backing off your throttles to save fuel. I received many e-mails on this subject, and the majority had the same suggestion to save fuel: Take all the junk and extra “stuff” off your boat to lessen the weight.

Remember to tune in every Saturday at 11 a.m. to “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” broadcasting from our studios inside Angel Stadium on KLAA-AM (830), blasting with 50,000 watts to Southern California.

Safe voyages.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to www.boathousetv.com.