A Rough Week on the Oregon Coast

[Mariner]

Two major nautical mishaps on the Oregon Coast this week. First, a 40-50' sailing catamaran showed up capsized and missing it's crew just south of Florence. The crew left San Francisco on the 8th and was due in Port Townsend on Friday. They were delivering the boat from the Mediterranean for it's Renton, WA owner. The Coast Guard has suspended the search for the crew. In the boat, they discovered the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon for those that don't know) locked up in a box, unable to automatically deploy.

Most recent Coast Guard announcement:
http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_351205720.html
Original announcement with pictures:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/21/139863/

On Saturday, a 43' commercial fishing boat went down while attempting to cross the Rogue River bar. The vessel's owner, Robert Ashdown is among the missing. He survived his ordeal aboard the Andrea Marie in 2004 when it ran aground and broke up in the surf at Niseka Beach.

Oregonian Article:
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/print ... xml&coll=7

I don't know much of the details of either of these cases, but we can definitely draw some quick conclusions. First we know that the conditions on the Oregon Coast are currently very hazardous. With swells approaching 50' during last week's storm, the conditions were extremely rough at the time that both of these vessels were in the area. Today, NOAA buoy #46050 off the Oregon coast still shows a dominant wave height of almost 11', on a 14 second period When I checked it a Thursday, it was showing 25' swells. Second, we know that both boats were under financial pressure and probably feeling a little over confident. The crew of the sailboat had made it all the way from Turkey, stopped in sunny San Francisco, and was on their last leg home. Why they planned their trip to have them transit the Washington and Oregon coast in December is a total mystery. Particularly in a shallow draft catamaran, this was pure suicide and could only have been motivated by money or overconfidence. In the case of the fishing vessel, the motivation is obvious. Thursday's storm had kept them in and they were probably anxious to get out and start making money. The fact that they'd survived a similar event in the past only strengthened their resolve.

Like my dad always told me, "Respect the sea. It can kill you in an instant if you're not careful." But it definitely also brings to mind the words in my friend John Keiter's book; "Beyond Acceptable Risk". There's just no good reason the crew of the Catamaran should have been out there.

[Elizabeth Ann]

Mariner,

How did you make out with that storm? A friend of mine and his wife left Miami on Tuesday to see their families in the Seattle area. She was telling her parents house may not have power until after or right around Christmas.

Regarding the boat mishaps, you mentioned they were under 'financial pressure'. IMO, that is the worst position to be in. I stoped fishing competitively in tournaments for that reason. It really stinks to have a few hundred dollars wrapped up in entry fees, tackle, bait, gas etc. etc. for a 3-day tournament and have small craft warnings. It's especially hard to say no to a bunch of guys all geared up and ready to fish.

I guess what really changed my mind was a sharking tournament where a boat and 4 guys were lost in conditions when I knew I shouldn't have been out. After that myself and the crew sort of realized it would be better to just go out when we wanted to, not because we were obliged to.

[Mariner]

Actually, I personally fared very well. Living in the semi-urban, mature, residential neighborhood of North Tacoma, I was relatively impervious to power outages and wind damage. Anything that could fall down or get blown away, did (garbage cans, the barbecue, even an old range I had sitting in the carport). But everything permanent on the property has been there for over eighty years and has survived stroms of this mangnitude in the past. I did lose power for a few hours in the night, and some stucco was blown off the house, but in all, it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

The surrounding area, however, did not fare well. The storm was preceeded by several days of heavy rain, softening the ground and freeing the root structure of our famous 200' tall evergreen trees. In the outlying areas, power is still out to over 100,000 homes and many aren't expected to get it back for several days. To make matters worse, another storm is expected to hit tonight with winds from 25-40 knots. It's not as strong as last Thursday's 60 knot winds, but with trees already weakened, it's bound to do some damage.

Nordvika took a bit of a hit. We had already solidly secured the boat for a previous storm that was predicted but didn't materialize, so we thought we were good. Unfortunately, it did rip one cleat out of the dock to which both the stern line and after-tending spring line were attached. This allowed the stern to kick out causing it to impact the adjacent boat. Fortunately, the scratches on both boats are minimal. Ours will buff out easily. The 36' Saberline next to us needs a minor gelcoat patch and I think his woodwork will need some varnish work. We're just lucky that all the other lines held. An upcoming project will be to install multiple cleats at each attachment point on the dock so that the spring lines do not need to be attached to the same cleats as the bow and stern line. Also, A hip line to keep everything against the dock should this happen again, will be used when high winds are expected.