Tag Archives: F/V Aleutian Storm
A Fishing Vessel Ran Aground at the Sonoma Coast. Could It Have Been Saved?
It was nearing midnight and too dark for captain Chris Fox to see the land or determine how far offshore he was. But he knew he was too close. The water was shallow. The F/V Aleutian Storm was on a sandbar. Fox needed help. The engine and all other onboard systems were still working, but Fox knew he could hold the 57-ton fishing vessel only so long before the waves drove it ashore. Fox radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for help, which wasn’t immediately forthcoming—not in the way he had hoped, at least. The February loss of the Aleutian Storm is the latest controversy surrounding the Coast Guard’s local response to grounded vessels. While the details of each emergency are unique, they are viewed with similar frustration and pain by some who believe more could—and should— have been done to save them from breaking apart on land. Still, critics like veteran Fort Bragg fisherman Chris Iversen, a friend of Fox’s, sense déjà vu in the pattern of lost vessels—each briefly in a position for a possible save only to later run aground. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:34
Salvage crews complete recovery of Aleutian Storm, and find a surprise
The last of the wreckage of the Aleutian Storm has been hauled away from south Salmon Creek Beach after final salvage operations that yielded a surprise about the boat’s construction that helps explain some of the challenges when it ran aground. An unusual, 4-inch thick and 4-foot-wide slab of steel that ran 36 feet along the bottom of the commercial fishing vessel’s keel may be the reason it was immovable after it grounded in the surf Feb. 9 south of Bodega Dunes Campground, a representative of Parker Diving Service said. “It anchored that vessel into the sand so when they were either trying to turn it and pull back to sea in those first couple of days and have a tug tow it, it kept snapping the line,” Nunn said. “I know the owner tried desperately to get it back to sea.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
F/V Aleutian Storm: Volunteers rally to clear Sonoma Coast beach of debris from wrecked fishing vessel
“It was a great great, great turnout, I’m so inspired,” said Cea Higgins, who helped organize the event as advocacy coordinator and former executive director of Coastwalk/California Coastal Trail Association. She estimated at least 85 people, each of whom filled two or three 30-gallon contractor garbage bags, showed up on a day threatened by rain that, ultimately, stayed pretty much away. “We’re so, so lucky, it’s primarily been sunny,” Higgins said. “We just had one little squall move through. And by the time everybody got their rain gear on, it stopped.” The 58-foot Aleutian Storm came aground late Feb. 9 and was torn apart by subsequent winter storms. 9 slides of good people, more, >>click to read<< 18:46
F/V Aleutian Storm: Wind and waves claim most of grounded fishing boat near Bodega Bay
No one thought it would happen this fast, but the fate that everyone feared for the once proud Aleutian Storm has come to pass. Stranded on Sonoma Coast State Beach amid powerful storms and thrashing waves just 12 days ago, the 58-foot fishing boat has been reduced to little more than a gashed and battered hull. The vessel has been torn apart piece by piece — the mast, the pilot house, the cabin, the decking — resulting in a debris field that now encompasses much of North Salmon Creek Beach, as well as the south. Bits of foam rubber and Styrofoam are scattered far and wide. The boat also appears to have leaked all or most of the diesel fuel still left on board after an attempt to drag it out of the surf and onto the beach failed on Friday. Video, Photos, more, >>click to read<< 19:48
F/V Aleutian Storm: Unified Command transitions authority of response for the grounded vessel near Bodega Bay
The U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR) transitioned the authority of lead responding agency to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA’s GFNMS) Monday. NOAA’s GFNMS will lead the oversight of salvage operations in coordination with state and local agencies and the vessel’s owner. The Unified Command determined that pollution removal operations would be unsafe due to weather conditions and the degraded condition of the vessel. With the current safety concerns, the determination was then made to shift to salvage operations. more, >>click to read<< 06:42
F/V Aleutian Storm: A Race Against Time for Salvage and Environmental Protection
When the F/V Aleutian Storm, a 57-ton fishing vessel laden with Dungeness crab, ran aground at south Salmon Creek Beach on February 9th, it caught the attention of not just local authorities but also the concerned public eye. This wasn’t your ordinary maritime misadventure. The vessel, now a week into its ordeal, faces a grim future. Buffeted by relentless waves and ensnared by its own catch, the Aleutian Storm’s plight is a stark reminder of the ocean’s unforgiving nature. With salvage operations on the horizon, the clock ticks against both the vessel’s structural integrity and the environmental sanctity of the California coast. The community watches with bated breath as salvage operations prepare to unfold. The vessel’s fate hangs in the balance, with the risk of the ocean tearing it apart looming large. more, >>click to read<< 17:52
F/V Aleutian Storm: Coast Guard working to free 57-ton fishing boat grounded near Bodega Bay
The Coast Guard says the vessel ran aground during rough seas Friday night. The ‘re-floating’ mission is urgent before the boat becomes a pollution hazard from leaking fuel. By air, land and sea, there’s a major operation happening on a Sonoma County beach. Dozens of people working to get the 58-foot Aleutian Storm back into the Pacific. Trouble is, she’s stuck in several feet of sand. The Coast Guard said the plan Monday was to attach a tow line between to the Aleutian Storm and a tug boat offshore and pull her off the beach when the tide comes in. Video, more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Fishing boat aground near Bodega Bay
F/V Aleutian Storm’s owner, watching his fishing boat stuck fast in the sand at South Salmon Creek Beach, didn’t want to talk to a reporter. His livelihood was aground, out of commission and, despite its sturdy build, in some peril. His 58-foot vessel had run aground near Bodega Bay late Friday night — all four of the crew aboard got off safely, the Coast Guard said — and Chris Fox was waiting for a tugboat he’d hired to arrive from San Francisco. “If you lost your house, if you lost your means of making a living, all of that is similar to what’s happening, “said Dick Ogg, a veteran fisherman who is president of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association. ”Chris works so hard. He’s such a good person and it’s just devastating to see something like this happen. He had been out Friday night fishing, too, Ogg said, and it “had been miserable.” “There was probably close to 20 knots of wind and, you know, it had been building and it just was nasty,” he said. Five photos, more, >>click to Read<< 15:14
4 rescued after boat runs ashore in the North Bay
First responders rescued four crewmembers of a fishing boat that washed ashore near Bodega Bay Friday night. The boat ran around south of Salmon Creek Beach, according to Gino DeGraffenreid with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District. “As always, the Sonoma Coast is extremely hazardous on occasion,” DeGraffenreid said. “And tonight was one of those occasions.” more, >>click to read<< 06:50
Coast Guard responds to grounded vessel near Bodega Bay
The Coast Guard responded to a report of a grounded vessel Friday night at Sonoma Coast State Park. This position is two miles southwest of Bodega Bay and is located within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a call via VHF-FM Channel 16 from the captain of the 58-foot commercial fishing vessel Aleutian Storm reporting that the vessel had run aground and needed assistance ungrounding. The captain also reported that all four crew aboard were uninjured and had immersion suits. more, >>click to read<< 20:08
