Dave (and Dege) and others,
Several of you have asked about the wreck of the freighter
at the mouth of the bay. During a heavy wind a 700'
freighter pulled anchor and drifted onto one of our pristine
white sand beaches. After much pondering (understand a lot
of political maneuvering went on behind the scenes) attempts
were made ot burn of the 40,000 gallons of fuel aboard.
Only part of the fuel burned, the shop split into two parts,
and attempts at pumping the remaining 20,000 gallons turned
out to be like trying to pump a parking lot through a 4"
hose --- the stuff was just to viscous to pump.
So the bow half (containing the fuel) was finally pulled out
to sea to be sunk but another wind came up during the tow.
Blowing in excess of 100 mph (in the East you call it a
hurricane but in Oregon it is just a stiff wind), the bow
broke loose from the tow and drifted back to land on another
beautiful beach some 80 miles north. It was once again
removed and towed out to sea 200 miles and sunk. Actually
it did not really want to sink. The Coast Guard put over 70
cannon shells into it, the Navy demo squad put explosives on
it, and finally the Navy brought out a nuclear sub and sunk
it with a torpedo.
The stern section with all the superstructure still remains
in its original position mired in the sand about 200 yards
offshore. Local residents are split as to what to do with
it. Some say get it out of sight and others say it is a
tourist attraction. It looks like they are going to have a
couple of giant cranes on barges assist in cutting it up and
hauling it away piece by piece ... supposed to start in June
and if they do it would be interesting to take a 10 minute
side trip off Hwy 101 and watch the operation for a few
minutes. In the mean time I notice a sign on the highway
that says "New Clarissa Tours". Don't know what that is all
about??
Gary
'77 Kingsley
North Bend, Oregon Cost
Several of you have asked about the wreck of the freighter
at the mouth of the bay. During a heavy wind a 700'
freighter pulled anchor and drifted onto one of our pristine
white sand beaches. After much pondering (understand a lot
of political maneuvering went on behind the scenes) attempts
were made ot burn of the 40,000 gallons of fuel aboard.
Only part of the fuel burned, the shop split into two parts,
and attempts at pumping the remaining 20,000 gallons turned
out to be like trying to pump a parking lot through a 4"
hose --- the stuff was just to viscous to pump.
So the bow half (containing the fuel) was finally pulled out
to sea to be sunk but another wind came up during the tow.
Blowing in excess of 100 mph (in the East you call it a
hurricane but in Oregon it is just a stiff wind), the bow
broke loose from the tow and drifted back to land on another
beautiful beach some 80 miles north. It was once again
removed and towed out to sea 200 miles and sunk. Actually
it did not really want to sink. The Coast Guard put over 70
cannon shells into it, the Navy demo squad put explosives on
it, and finally the Navy brought out a nuclear sub and sunk
it with a torpedo.
The stern section with all the superstructure still remains
in its original position mired in the sand about 200 yards
offshore. Local residents are split as to what to do with
it. Some say get it out of sight and others say it is a
tourist attraction. It looks like they are going to have a
couple of giant cranes on barges assist in cutting it up and
hauling it away piece by piece ... supposed to start in June
and if they do it would be interesting to take a 10 minute
side trip off Hwy 101 and watch the operation for a few
minutes. In the mean time I notice a sign on the highway
that says "New Clarissa Tours". Don't know what that is all
about??
Gary
'77 Kingsley
North Bend, Oregon Cost
