The saga of Capt. Fred Rodolf’s and his wife, Megan’s, misadventure last May aboard their 75-foot Alaskan tour boat, Lu-Lu Belle, continues — albeit on a more positive note.
Peninsula Daily News readers will recall that in the early morning hours of May 14, Lu-Lu Belle — en route from Port Angeles to Alaska — ran aground on a rocky shoreline at Hinchinbrook Entrance in Prince William Sound about 50 miles south of Valdez, Alaska.
The Rodolfs and their two dogs were taken off the boat by a Coast Guard helicopter, and the vessel was left to fight her own battle with the pounding seas that inflicted ever more injury to her already-damaged composite hull and keel.
Once Lu-Lu Belle was freed from her perch, she was towed to the Valdez Small Boat Harbor and moored to the tour dock.
Five dewatering pumps were located throughout the boat and operated continuously to keep her afloat until she could be taken out of the water.
Fred and I spoke Wednesday evening, and he told me that the insurance company has written off Lu-Lu Belle as a total loss.
In spite of this crushing news, Capt. Fred and Megan decided to purchase the yacht from the insurance company.
They engaged the services of a renowned naval architect, Jack Sarin of Bainbridge Island, to draw up engineering plans to make their boat whole again.
The plans were then reviewed by the Coast Guard in Washington, D.C., and once they were approved, Capt. Fred had the green light to begin repairing the boat that has been a part of his existence for nearly half of his life.
According to Fred, the only TraveLift in the area was too narrow for their boat, so a friend lent them a giant trailer that is otherwise used to haul out barges for repairs.
Lu-Lu Belle is now sitting on that trailer, and uprights have been placed around her hull for stability while the repairs are being made.
Fred and a crew began the repair work Monday by grinding away damaged areas of the keel and hull and preparing the surfaces for new material.
Fred said that by the time repairs are completed, the keel and hull on Lu-Lu Belle will be stronger than ever.
Although this entire tourist season is lost to Capt. Fred, he expects to be back in Port Angeles by late September or early October, at which time he and Megan will began planning for their 33rd year in Alaska providing tours of the glaciers around Prince William Sound.
Under construction
Lee Shore Boats, the aluminum-boat manufacturer in east Port Angeles, has begun building a 26-foot law enforcement patrol boat for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
The new craft will have seating for four crew members, be powered by twin 175 horsepower outboards and equipped with the latest array of navigational technology including night-vision goggles.
The new patrol boat will replace the vessel currently in use by the Sheriff’s Office, a 19-foot inflatable boat that was confiscated when she was discovered transporting drugs and converted to law enforcement use.
According to Eric Schneider, owner of Lee Shore Boats, the expectation is that his company will deliver the patrol boat to the Sheriff’s Office by late August.
Lee Shore Boats is also building a 22-foot work boat/tender for RV Sikuliag, a 25- foot research vessel that is currently under construction at the Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wis.
The ship will be owned by the National Science Foundation, operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and based in Seward, Alaska.
The ice-strengthened ship is scheduled to be launched in 2012 and fully operational by 2014 for a whole host of scientific endeavors, including fisheries studies, acoustical mapping of the sea floor using multi-beam and side-scan sonar and oceanographic and atmospheric studies.
Out of the water
Platypus Marine on Thursday morning hauled out Kingfish, a 110-foot Christensen, that is now sitting on the hard as personnel tend to her balky stabilizer issues.
According to Capt. Charlie Crane, director of sales and marketing for the Port Angeles company, the owner of the company, Judd Linaberry, flew to San Francisco and assisted in bringing the yacht to Port Angeles.
Capt. Charlie said Kingfish will be at Platypus facility at Cedar Street and Marine Drive for about a week, then the owner will come aboard and spend a month or so cruising the Pacific Northwest.
After that, the yacht will return to Port Angeles for additional work.
Wild blue yonder
There are times when what goes on around the waterfront is not about the what but about the who.
Such is the case with a boat Platypus recently worked on, Abaco Nights, a 28-foot Bertram that was briefly in the Commander Building to have a hard top installed.
The boat is owned by George Morgan who, it can be said, has lived life in some pretty fast company and has seen the world from the top down.
For 11 years as a major in the Air Force, George was the reconnaissance systems officer, or RSO, aboard a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.
The plane was put into service in 1964 and served our nation until the mid-‘90s.
She could reach altitudes in excess of 80,000 feet and speeds of Mach 3.2.
On July 28, 1976, Maj. Morgan, the RSO, along with Air Force Capt. Eldon Joersz, the pilot, set a speed record of 2,193.16 mph in the skies above Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
I don’t care who you are, that’s some pretty fast company!
Fueling up
On Wednesday, Ron Winterfeld deftly maneuvered Tesoro Petroleum’s tank barge, HMS 2000, alongside Overseas Long Beach and offloaded bunkers to the 576-foot petroleum products carrier anchored in Port Angeles Harbor.
Then on Friday, Tesoro bunkered Timaru Star, a 574-foot cargo ship that made her way to Port Angeles from Coos Bay, Ore.
Today, Tesoro Petroleum will refuel Yasa Scorpion, an 899-foot petroleum products carrier that is flagged in the Marshall Islands, and the 576-foot petroleum products carrier, Overseas Los Angeles.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats, ships and strolling the waterfront.
Items involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.