A part of American naval legend moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 3 to take on a load of fresh water Friday afternoon.
Harvestor, owned by Gregg Peterson, is used to harvest fish from the fish pens on Ediz Hook.
To look at her at work in Port Angeles Harbor, you’d probably not realize that she’s believed to be the only vessel still afloat that survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Here’s her amazing story:
Harvestor was built in 1939 at the Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, Calif.
In 1941, she was in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, being used as a garbage scow with the hull designation of YG-21.
On Dec. 7, of course, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked and decimated the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the precipitating event that drew the United States into World War II.
In his book Target: Pearl Harbor, Michael Slackman noted that YG-21 went to the aid of the stricken battleships USS California and USS West Virginia and assisted them in their firefighting efforts before being called away to other pressing duties.
Although she received a battle star for meritorious service, the 119-foot YG-21 was placed out of service and removed from the naval register — dates unknown, according to NavSource Online.
Gregg has owned Harvestor, as the former Navy steel-hulled garbage lighter is now named, for more than 10 years.
Only a memory
Global Diving and Salvage crunched up Orbit last week, put the debris into a couple of dumpsters and hauled them to the Port Angeles landfill.
Orbit was a 57-foot wooden commercial fishing vessel that was abandoned in Neah Bay.
The vessel’s final disposition fell to the Washington state Derelict Vessel Program.
Sailing program
The Port Angeles Yacht Club continues to develop its sailing program.
This summer, the club has acquired several boats through its members and community contributions.
In addition, the yacht club is working with the YMCA to take over ownership and maintenance responsibility of the Y’s small sailboats.
The yacht club now has 11 small sailboats that will be used in its sailing program.
Eight are “one design class” Vanguard 15 sailboats, which are ideal for use in racing and youth sailing regattas.
Platypus Marine Inc. recently committed to providing new sails for the Vanguards.
The Port Angeles Yacht Club’s sailing program boats will be made available to the YMCA sailing camps and the Port Angeles High School Sailing Club as part of the yacht club’s overall support to these activities and youth sailing.
The next weeklong sailing camp will start Monday.
The camp will be held at the yacht club facility on Marine Drive, and all sailing will take place on the water in front of the clubhouse.
The sailing camp is a collaborative effort with the Sequim Bay Yacht Club, with members from both providing instruction and support.
An introduction and orientation to the sailing camp was held at Sequim Bay.
At this time, sailing camp participation is restricted to members of the Port Angeles or Sequim Bay clubs because of insurance limitations.
Port Angeles Yacht Club Commodore Randy Volker said the overall objective of the sailing program is to get people out on the water and learn to sail in a safe and supervised environment.
All support for the sailing program is coming from member volunteers.
If you are interested in either participating or providing support to local sailing, phone Commodore Randy at 619-884-4599, email sailing@payc.org or phone the Sequim Bay Yacht Club’s Michael Cobb at 805-504-6609.
Passing through
Acania, a 136-foot yacht that hails from Tiburon, Calif., pulled into the Port Angeles Boat Haven on Tuesday for a load of diesel fuel.
The vessel was built in 1930 by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp. of New York for a Wall Street banker.
Acania has had eight different names throughout her history to accommodate the current owner’s desire.
One of those owners was Charles R. Walgreen of the Walgreens pharmacy family.
Another of the purported owners, according to the guests aboard the yacht when she was in Port Angeles, was Al Capone.
A little research on the Internet did nothing to dispel that notion.
Todd Ritchie, who works in the Boat Haven harbormaster’s office, said the guests aboard Acania were a cordial lot who offered tours of the classic steel yacht before the vessel headed south to San Francisco Bay.
Port Angeles Harbor watch
Tesoro Petroleum on Thursday provided bunkers to Polar Enterprise, the 895-foot crude-oil tanker operated by ConocoPhillips that was anchored in Port Angeles Harbor.
Also Thursday, Tesoro refueled Cygnus, a 600-foot petroleum-products carrier that is flagged in Hong Kong.
On Friday, Tesoro provided bunkers to Fan Fare, a 453-foot cargo ship that is flagged in Antigua.
Tesoro today is scheduled to refuel the 600-foot Panamanian-flagged petroleum-products carrier Nave Aquila.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts.
Items and questions involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears Sundays.
