The fishing vessel which ran aground near Westport's south jetty in the early hours of July 30 began breaking into huge hunks of wood and metal wreckage as the incoming tide with westerly 4 to 5 foot waves began having it's way with it. Just prior the 40' boat, Miss Elora, from Hoquiam, Washington, had been thrashed about near the low tide line for a few hours with most of it's contents spilling out and scattering up and down the beach. Clothing, food, equipment, tools, plastic bins, buckets, anything and everything imaginable was deployed from the ships cabin and hull. Then around 9:00am the entire boat began self destructing. By evening chunks of wreckage had strewn the beach from Westhaven State Park's Jetty south for more than a mile and half at least.
Passersbys and beach goers along with the fishing vessel's skipper and one shipmate worked all day to gather debris into piles and Ecology's spill response team came on the scene to deal with the more than 250 gallons of diesel that spilled into the water which permeated the air even before the boat began breaking apart. Only 100 gallons was recoverable. Ecology was again on the scene early July 31, perhaps to continue the possible recovery of any remaining diesel. Washington State Park's, Ranger Brad Staab noted that it is the boat owner's responsibility to clean up the wreckage however the plan of action in place for total removal of the literal tons of debris is unknown today.
Beach goers including surfers, paddleboarders, kayakers, and people swimming and wading were in dismay at the event. By this morning, July 31, just after low tide around 10:00am, only one hunk of wreckage remained where the boat originally ran aground. A small concern considering with what one witnessed when scanning the beach a mile or more to the south of one of our coast's favorite recreational beach locales. Piles upon piles of boat wreckage scattered as far as the eye could see. A chunk of the boat's stern sat embedded in sand at the mid-tide line along with hoards more fragments of hull, cabin and births, electrical wiring and plumbing. A truly horrific site for all to experience. All from just one boat! It gives new meaning to the definition of boater safety which obviously should refer to not just learning about the safety of those traveling in the boat and other boats but also the safety of our environment and habitats that fall prey to poor decision making, faulty equipment, unsafe vessels, or bad weather.
