Rep. Brian Blake’s bill bestowing title on the Lady Washington sails on to the state Senate

House of Representatives designates official state ship;
House also honors longtime coastal residents Bob and Ruth McCausland

From left - Ruth McCausland, Rep. Brian Blake, Les Bolten from the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, and Paul O'Brien from the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, following passage of a resolution honoring Bob and Ruth McCausland and House Bill 1084, designating the Lady Washington as official state ship. Print-quality photo available for download   Rep. Blake's Floor Speeches for the McCausland resolution and the Lady Washington bill HR 4616 (McCausland Resolution) QuickTime (coming soon) Windows Media RealPlayer HB 1084 (Lady Washington) QuickTime (coming soon) Windows Media RealPlayer

The state House of Representatives has approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, naming the Lady Washington the official state ship of Washington.

Blake also sponsored a resolution passed today honoring longtime Tokeland residents Bob and Ruth McCausland. In addition to many other achievements, Bob carved the figurehead on the Lady Washington.

The 112-foot brig was built in Aberdeen as a full scale reproduction of the original Lady Washington that became the first American vessel to visit the West Coast of North America in 1788 under the command of Capt. Robert Gray.

Today’s Lady Washington is the official Tall Ship Ambassador for the State of Washington. Launched March 7, 1989, by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, she has been used as a floating classroom to provide hands-on maritime heritage programs for schools and the general public. Her namesake was built in 1750 and in 1787 was dispatched around Cape Horn of South America by a Boston trading company to trade metal and glass goods for sea otter pelts with Native Americans on the West Coast.

In recent years, the Lady Washington has been seen in several feature films including "Pirates of the Caribbean -- Curse of the Black Pearl."

Blake introduced his bill after it was brought to his attention that the state no longer had an official ship since The President Washington had been bought, sold and renamed.

"More than one million people have crossed the decks of the Lady Washington as she has visited more than 100 port communities on the West Coast and in British Columbia," Blake said. "I'm honored to recognize this Goodwill Ambassador for Washington state."

If approved by the state Senate and signed into law by the governor, the Lady Washington will join other official state symbols such as:

-- State Fish - Steelhead trout

-- State Bird - American goldfinch

-- State Tree - Western hemlock

-- State Fruit - Apple

-- State Flower - Coast rhododendron

The McCausland resolution recognized the many contributions of Ruth and her husband Bob, who passed away last July.

Among those achievements, they were named Historians of the Year in 2004 by the Aberdeen Museum of History.

Bob drew the “Hairbreadth Husky” cartoon for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and then a weekly cartoon for the Aberdeen Daily World.

Ruth wrote a history of Westport and writes a birding column for the South Beach Bulletin.

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House Bill 1084 (Designating the Lady Washington as official state ship): http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/Summary.aspx?bill=1084&year=2007 

House Resolution 4616 (Honoring Bob and Ruth McCausland): http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/Summary.aspx?bill=4616&year=2007 

Staff: Larry Clark, 360.786.7214, Clark.Larry@leg.wa.gov