‘Deadliest Catch’ boat capsizes, 3 dead

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Crab boat featured on 'The Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove' capsizes near Newport, 3 killed

GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press

A commercial crabbing boat capsized in rough waters off the Oregon coast, killing the three men aboard and sending a shock wave through a seafaring community already struggling from a monthlong delay to the annual crabbing season.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the vessel, the Mary B. II, overturned about 10 p.m. Tuesday as it crossed Yaquina Bay bar in Newport, Oregon. The bar is one of the most notorious off the Oregon coast, and authorities said crews faced 12- to 14-foot (3.6- to 4.2-meter) waves as they tried to rescue the fishermen.

It's so treacherous that the dangers of crossing it with a fully loaded crab boat were the premise of "The Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove," a reality TV show following Newport-based captains fishing for crab that aired on the Discovery channel. The Mary B. II was featured on the show.

James Lacey, 48, of South Toms River, New Jersey, was pulled from the ocean by helicopter and flown to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The body of Joshua Porter, 50, of Toledo, Oregon, washed up on a beach early Wednesday.

The body of the boat's skipper, Stephen Biernacki, 50, of Barnegat Township, New Jersey, was found on the hull of the boat after it, too, washed up on a jetty.

The tragedy was nothing new for Newport, a working fishing port about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of Portland on Oregon's central coast. The small town hosts a granite memorial at Yaquina Bay etched with more than 100 names of local fishermen lost at sea over the past century and shared tragedies are woven into the fabric of the community.

"It happens frequently enough that we actually have funds that help families during this time. We fundraise all year long, and we try to help them as much as we can," said Taunette Dixon, president of the nonprofit Newport Fishermen's Wives, which supports families who have lost a breadwinner to the waves.

But those in the industry said the loss hit particularly hard this year, when crabbers were rushing to sea to try to catch up after the annual Oregon Dungeness crab season was delayed more than a month. The season usually begins Dec. 1, but this year it only began last week because the crabs were too small and didn't have enough meat to harvest.

Then, a series of bad storms in the first week of the season prevented many crabbers from recovering their pots on Jan. 4, the first day they could do so, said Tim Novotny, spokesman for Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

"When they did get out, some of them had to stay out a little longer because of the weather. The difficulty is once you're out at sea, they can handle a lot of conditions. But the trouble is trying to get back across those bars," Novotny said.

A bar is an area near the coast where a river — in this case the Yaquina River — meets the sea. The force of the river water colliding with the ocean can create hazardous currents and swells, particularly during a storm. The Yaquina Bay bar is considered one of the more dangerous ones along the Oregon coast. On Wednesday, reports showed waves 16 feet (nearly 5 meters) tall there.
 
Andy, Thanks for posting this, I just heard a twitch about it on the TV news, no names of crew or boat, so this was helpful. Newport (Yaquina) Bar is notoriously precarious.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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This is our home port. We are greatly saddened to hear about the loss of the captain and crew members and the loss to their families upon the Mary B. II.

We recreational fish out of Newport but have the option to fish under the best of conditions. Far too often Commercial Fisherman do not have the best ocean conditions available to them. They have families to think of and provide for and must go out to sea when the conditions are not favorable.

Mistakes and accidents do and can happen but this accident is one that is very sad and hard to accept.
 
It sounds as though skipper Stephen Biernacki may have been a newcomer to Oregon waters.

According to an article in today's Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press, Biernacki and crew member James Lacey, who both died in the accident, had fished out of Viking Village, NJ, "for years."

"We are all really saddened by it," said Viking Village dock manager Ernie Panacek. "We knew them both. Steve had high hopes. He just bought that boat in the fall and got his Dungeness crab permit."
 
sorry to hear of the loss. These bars can all be very dangerous. None 0f us know what really happened. But with breaking seas in the magnitude of 12 to 20 feet the bars be fatal.


From this

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to this

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I called a friend who is a professional delivery skipper and lives in this area. He has written a book on all of the bar crossings and conditions on the West Coast. He has a sailboat to deliver along the coast and has been waiting for good weather for a number of weeks. Apparently this Mary B II was built in 1957, and was only 42 feet long--he thought that this boat was renamed from "BessChet", since the deceased owner purchased her in November. There was speculation that this actual boat had not been in the TV series...--or had been under a different name.??

The word was that the vessel was advised to stand off the harbor by the USCG at the time she requested an escort. That fits with our experience with the CG. He felt that the vessel had capsized before the patrol boat got on the scene. He described the sea conditions as chaotic, and extremely confused. The crossing was attempted about an hour after the low tide. (Generally best done at high slack water--especially in difficult conditions.). He noted that two other local vessels had significant damage this week crossing the bar in lesser conditions.

I asked why a crabber would put to sea in these conditions. He noted that some boats had brought in between 15,000 and 25,000 lbs of crab in the last week--The opening of the season had been delayed. The crab was selling for about $3 a lb at the dock. That means that a boat could bring in from $45,000 to $75,000 worth of catch in several days.

He also speculated that since the skipper/owner was from New Jersey that he might have under estimated the danger if this bar crossing under those conditions.

May their souls rest in peace. The sea always wins.
 
Such a tragedy. Rest in peace, friends of the sea. Sailors, mariners, fishermen, and all.

Just for informational purposes, "crossing the bar" refers to the sand bar that results from sand going in and out of the harbor with the action of the river carrying sand outward to the ocean and the incoming tide carrying sand back in the opposite direction.

The result is a shallow sand bar piling up, often in a semi circular or fan shape that causes waves coming in from the ocean to break on top of the bar.

The worst conditions occur when these factors combine:

1. large ocean swells and / or wind waves provide more power for breaking waves

2. low tides decrease water depth making waves break more steeply

3. fast and or strong river currents running outward stand up incoming waves increasing their height and making them break more steeply

4. confused currents in and around the bar / harbor entrance make picking out a "safe" wave set to try to cross the bar on a harder task and one with a greater chance of being wrong

There's probably more to this, but this is what comes to my mind at this time.

You can go to YouTube and look up "crossing the bar" and find some really frightening videos of this dangerous game in action.

Also, did you notice they tried to cross the bar at 10 pm? At dark? When you can't see the waves except right by your bow lights and especially behind you and to the sides?

Joe.
 
thataway":1fjlp957 said:
sorry to hear of the loss. These bars can all be very dangerous. None 0f us know what really happened. But with breaking seas in the magnitude of 12 to 20 feet the bars be fatal.

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The word was that the vessel was advised to stand off the harbor by the USCG at the time she requested an escort. That fits with our experience with the CG. He felt that the vessel had capsized before the patrol boat got on the scene. He described the sea conditions as chaotic, and extremely confused. The crossing was attempted about an hour after the low tide. (Generally best done at high slack water--especially in difficult conditions.). <more stuff clipped>
Click to expand...

Bob, unless the entrance is particularly shallow, my experience has been that crossing the bar is easiest on an incoming tide as it tends to flatten out the swells (e.g. it counteracts the outgoing flow of the river). This is especially the case on the Columbia river bar as the lower sections of the river can have a 3-6kt reverse current on an incoming.
 
Looking at Dr. Bob's second picture of the wreckage on the beach north of the north jetty reminds me of something. There is a rocky shoal area just north of this jetty (that extends quite offshore) that boaters are warned to avoid on the charts. While being told to stand-off and waiting for an escort from the USCG, it may be that the Mary B II drifted into this area. When the large ocean swells meet this rocky shoal they make incredible waves without warning. It may be that the Captain was not paying attention to this rocky shoal area on his chart and it caught him and his crew off guard while waiting for the USCG.


With sadness we speak on this matter and to the cruel effects of the ocean. This is a costly lesson for us to hear and learn from. Be safe!
 
Roger agree with better on the flood, than ebb, which steepens the seas. Best in bad conditions is near the high water, with a deeper channel.

Gary my friend called telling me that CG had told Mary B to go back to sea as she was nearing that shoal / reef. Instead she came in. Speculation that lights on shore were confused for the range lights. He also felt that the steeper seas over the reef contributed to the capsize; they might have made it if in the channel. I have been guilty confusing shore lights for range lights . G p s makes this mistake less likely. Night, fatigue, heavy weather & lack of local knowledge all contributed. It is very easy to become disoriented.”
 
This bar is actually one of the safest and quickest bars to cross on the Oregon coast. Incoming tide close or on slack makes it pretty easy. The crab boats that go out of there aren't much of a contest for the bar when they are loaded and coming in on a following sea. They don't have the power and speed to hold course. If they would have waited another 4 hours it would have been much easier.
 
Below is a chart of Yaquina Bay. You can see that the reef is just North of the North Jetty, The channel was reported (Dredged?) in Sept 18 to at least 25'. Also note the range for coming in from the sea. The Sea Buoy Green #1 is approximately 1.08 mile bearing 61* from the North Jetty. Green #3 is about 0.52 nautical mile bearing 58* from the North Jetty end. One would want to round the sea buoy and account for these two buoys upon approach to the channel. before lining up on the range markers: When on the range, in the center of the channel, the range markers bear 61* and from the sea Buoy to the first range tower is 1.75 miles. Of course it is easy to say, and plot, when sitting in the comfort of one's home. Far different when in heavy seas, buoys and range markers obscured. Radar should show the jetty. (I have only been in and out of Yaquina Bay during relative calm conditions, and the jetties were clearly visible on radar.) I remember it well, since I was leaving the harbor before dawn--and the CG vessel had gone out to check on the conditions. They were coming back in, as I turned at the dog leg-- CG, shined their spotlight on our vessel, and I lost my night vision. I had already plotted the bearings, and went right to compass course--and radar range to be safe. As a double check, I had Marie use our spotlight to sight the jetty. It is extremely easy to become disoriented, especially if heavy seas, fog, or spray obscures marks and structures.


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Thank you Dr. Bob for sharing your experience on the Yaquina and with this Yaquina chart. There is a reason for the incoming green buoy to be one mile offshore. The north jetty needs to be the focus point when coming in to avoid that northern shoal area that extends from its tip on northward. The breaking waves there are dangerous when the swell meets this more shallow water even at 50 ft. depth. We have cut off this distance and came in closer to shore to save fuel and time when approaching from the north to avoid this proper approach but have been nervous in doing so.

Book knowledge and wise pre-trip planning are great but when it's dark or the visibility is compromised because of fog, panic can ensue rather quickly. Decisions at this point are made and at times they are wrong only leading to possible disaster.

Tomorrow night we are scheduled to stay at the South Beach Marina in Newport and may or may not cross the Bar. We can enjoy a great dinner at Mo's and just play in bay if the CG has restrictions on the crossing.

To come home safely at the end of the day to your loved family and friends is what is important.
 
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