Hey Chuckie !

Just a note that I really enjoyed the article on the Crater Lake passenger boats.

More than 20 years ago I had the pleasure of spending a summer operating similar-styled boats (I always called them "bus boats") in a different area of the country. Although the scenery maybe wasn't as dramatic, these passenger boats also had a long history, with service commencing in 1913. They ran until 2003 when the whole area was bull-dozed to make way for a convention center. Although the business is gone, I noticed it's website is still "up" as of this writing:

http://www.bransoncruises.com/pirate/

the boat in the photo, the "Sammy Lane," apparently originally came from Maryland, and had a cross-planked bottom ("Bay-built,"
as I think they say in that part of the country;

This boat and one other were powered by 318 cubic-inch Chrysler gasoline engines, and since I showed a bit of mechanical aptitude (this being well before my outboard motor days) I was given the job of changing the oil in the boats every Friday morning, I think it was.

I think they are both gone now, the usual fate that awaits old, tired work boats.

That is the same fate suffered by another boat that I had the pleasure of being "Captain" of that summer, a really solid 65-footer with twin diesels. I am attaching two photos of the pilothouse of that fine vessel;

One photo (above) taken by myself over 20 years ago, not long before the vessel ceased to operate, and another photo (below) taken a couple months ago.

The Crater Lake boats were "luckier" than most; I am glad to see that someone saw some value in some old passenger boats

By the way, being a "Captain" of an excursion boat in a tourist town is a sure-fire way to pick-up girls; something
about that silly-looking captain's hat..

Max Wawrzyniak

Four rowers rescued in Atlantic
Sunday, August 8, 2004 Posted: 9:11 AM EDT (1311 GMT)

LONDON, England (AP) -- Four Britons attempting to break the world trans-Atlantic rowing record were rescued Sunday after their boat broke up in heavy storms, the coastguard said.

A Swedish vessel picked up the crew of the Pink Lady, who were clinging to a life raft some 300 miles (482 kms) west of the Isles of Scilly, off England's southwestern tip.

The four oarsmen, who left Newfoundland in Canada on June 30, were trying to beat the current 55-day record when their boat was caught in a hurricane and split in two.

Falmouth Coastguard said one of the rowers was suffering from hypothermia and another had slight head injuries, but they did not need urgent hospital treatment.

The Swedish ship, Scandinavian Reefer, is scheduled to arrive at the port of Foynes on the west coast of Ireland on Monday.

The current record for the 2,100-mile (3,380-kilometer) journey was set in 1896 by two Norwegian fishermen and was equaled 17 years ago by Briton Tom McClean.

The Pink Lady team, which was raising money for the British Heart Foundation charity, hoped to complete the crossing in 35 to 40 days. Firefighter Mark Stubbs, 40, led the crew, which included journalist Jonathan Gornall, 48, digital mapping specialist John Wills, 33, and former special forces diver Pete Bray, 48.

Gornall told the British Broadcasting Corp. how the boat was battered by 30 feet (9 meter) high waves before being smashed into two pieces.

"The next thing we knew we were under water, fighting to escape the rear part of the vessel, which, on inspection afterward when we surfaced, appeared to be completely smashed by a tremendous wave," he said, via telephone from the Swedish ship.

The men activated their distress beacon at 0130 GMT Sunday and clambered into their life raft wearing survival suits. The coastguard initially scrambled a rescue helicopter, but it turned back because of the weather.

The coastguard stayed in contact with the crew via satellite phone and broadcast a mayday signal to alert nearby ships.

"We are all very grateful to be alive. It is a shame we didn't make it, but at least we can assure ourselves it wasn't anything we did wrong," Gornall told the BBC. "It was just, you know, you take on nature and you take what she delivers and on this particular occasion she delivered a killer blow."

Palacios TX Dinghy Dash - Sep 2004

We are having a casual cruise / race where we sail out to a beach and camp there overnight then head 7 miles back the next day.

Everyone is welcome - there is a launch ramp only 1.5 miles away.

Full info about the event here:
http://www.tcboats.com/palacios/ddash.htm

Bill Tosh

From: Meenken [meenken@wise.net.nz]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 1:01 AM
To: chuck@duckworksmagazine.com
Subject: Spade Anchor Safety Alert

Dear Mariner,

Spade Anchors are unsafe. Mechanical failure of a Spade Anchor was found by the Maritime Safety Authority of New Zealand to have directly caused the loss of the yacht "Deep Blue".

Some simple modifications can make a Spade Anchor safe. Please warn your readership. Details in the URL below.

http://www.geocities.com/spade_anchor_test

Thankyou

Diederik Meenken
PO Box 21144 Flagstaff
Hamilton
New Zealand