GARDINER — A commercial fisherman missing in a boat capsizing off Oregon loved working outdoors even though he holds a college degree, his wife said Saturday.
The Coast Guard suspended its search Friday after seven hours of searching for George B. Shaw and his friend after they were thrown into the sea when large waves battering their boat, capsized it and broke it apart near a jetty of Tillamook Bay.
A third man, the captain of the 42-foot crab boat, the Network — which was based at nearby Garibaldi, Ore. — was picked up by the Coast Guard.
Shaw’s wife of 20 years, Dorothy Shaw, said a friend in Oregon told her what had happened to her husband at about 9 a.m. Friday.
None of the men was wearing a life jacket, and the water was about 52 degrees, the Coast Guard said.
Dorothy Shaw said she knew then that in such cold water, her husband had no chance of surviving if the Coast Guard hadn’t found him yet.
“After 45 minutes, there was no hope,” she said.
Although he held a degree in forestry, her husband went back to college and received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Washington State University, she said.
But he did not stay away from the ocean and forests for long.
“He found that he loved working in the woods and fishing, rather than working at a desk,” his wife said.
Large waves
The boat sank while crossing the Tillamook bar, which is a narrow opening to the Pacific Ocean between two jetties.
The boat capsized after it was hit by several large waves at least 11-feet high, said Shawn Eggert, a Coast Guard spokesman.
One of the waves forced the boat into a jetty, and its forward end sank first.
The Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office unsuccessfully searched the nearby coast on Saturday for signs of Shaw, 55, and Timothy Leake, 44, of Tillamook after the boat capsized at about 7:42 a.m. Friday, said Robert Coster, Coast Guard Group Astoria search and rescue controller.
The boat’s captain, Darrin Mobley, 43, of Bay City, Ore., swam to nearby rocks and was treated at Tillamook County General Hospital and discharged.
The Coast Guard, using boat and helicopter crews, spent about seven hours searching 15 square miles of water before suspending the search.
The Coast Guard’s investigation is continuing, Eggert said.
The three men were setting crab pots in preparation for crabbing season, which begins Monday.
Good friends
Shaw was good friends with Mobley and Leake, his wife said.
They had known each other for about 20 years, and had crabbed together out of Tillamook Bay last year.
“They had hopes it would be better this year,” Dorothy Shaw said.
She said her husband had lived in Gardiner, between Sequim and Port Townsend, since 1985 after moving from Oregon, where he grew up.
He had worked in commercial fishing and logging since he was a teenager.
He and his father, also named George Shaw — who died in 2006 — had owned a 36-foot fishing troller in Garibaldi, north of Tillamook.
They fishing together in the summers and logged in the winters, she said.
‘Highest danger jobs’
“I know that he has two of the highest danger jobs, but I didn’t really expect this,” Dorothy Shaw said.
“He has always been very careful, and safety-conscious.”
Her husband owned a own timber consulting firm, Shaw Timber, which he started after he was laid off from Herman Brothers logging in 1993.
“He was a very loving and caring person,” she added.
“He got me through this last year.
“I had breast cancer, and he was always here for me.”
The Network contained about 400 gallons of diesel fuel, and although two Coast Guard pollution investigation teams were sent to the scene, Eggert said no cleanup will be needed.
Eggert said a Coast Guard lifeboat crew was checking sea conditions when it witnessed the boat sinking, and immediately tried to help.
Coster said 20-foot swells were battering the Oregon coast on Saturday, which is comparable to the conditions the day before.
“The water up and down that coast can be pretty rough,” Eggert said.
“With river bars going in and out . . . it can be hard to get back.”
The Tillamook bar has claimed the lives of at least 15 people since early 2007, The Associated Press reported.
“The major issue to come out of this is life jackets,” Eggert said.
“The odds of somebody surviving something like this is dramatically increased if they have some sort of flotation device.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
