Friday, April 11, 2014 • Bainbridge Island Review
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Troubled tugboat to be taken apart?
The parts may be greater than the whole of ‘Chickamauga’ BY LUCIANO MARANO Bainbridge Island Review
The troubled tale of the ill-fated tugboat “Chickamauga” may be finally coming to an end. Having been neglected, sunken, raised and towed, the century-old vessel now faces being dismantled. While the owner of the vessel is now facing the legal ramifications of allowing the tug to become so dangerously neglected, the boat itself, having become the property of the state shortly after being towed, was essentially put up for grabs. There were very few takers. Toni Weyman Droscher of the state Department of Natural Resource’s Aquatics Program said there was a bit of early interest, but it soon faded. Staff with the Derelict Vessel Program spoke with representatives of Olympic Timber Town about the vessel, but officials with the heritage center backed off after seeing the condition of the tugboat. Indeed the boat’s advanced state of neglect is
one of the main reasons that DNR’s maritime archeology expert Maurice Major is advocating for its destruction. “Unfortunately, the restoration or even stabilization of derelict wooden vessels is so expensive and difficult that despite the efforts of the DVRP and myself, the fate of the ‘Chickamauga,’ like most of the others, is demolition,” Major said. Major said a photographic record of the 100-year-old tugboat would be created, but also noted the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation was being contacted so the boat could be removed from the Washington Heritage Register. By thus recording the vessel, Major said that the history of the boat can be maintained even as the boat itself is dismantled. No historically significant data will be lost. The real importance, he said, is in the records and not the actual boat. The tugboat’s current condition is part of the reason why. “The ‘Chickamauga’ lacks historic integrity because it
Photo courtesy of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society
The tug ‘Chickamauga’ during its early working days. was substantially altered in the 1970s, and because of lack of maintenance in more recent times,” he said. The “Chickamauga” had a rich history in the waters of Washington. Karl House, a researcher with the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, said the tugboat was the first American-designed and built diesel-powered tugboat in the United States. Built in 1915, as ships were making the transition from steam to diesel engines, at the time of the boat’s construction diesel engines were still in their
infancy and had only just been patented 17 years before the Chickamauga was built. The boat was originally commissioned by Arthur McNealy, manager for the Pacific Tow Boat Company, and construction of the vessel started June 24, 1914 at the Neilson and Keliz Shipyard in Everett, according to documents on file with the WHR. The vessel cost $7,700 to build, and was designed by famed boat designer L.E. “Ted” Geary, who is well-known for his designs of racing sloops and yachts through the 1920s.
Michael Houser, state architectural historian with the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, said that the “Chickamauga” is still on the register and he was aware of no plans to remove it from the list. “The ‘Chickamauga’ has not officially been removed from the state register,” he said. “It was listed in 2001, and removal would only be done if the boat no longer meets the criteria in which it was listed, or in the case if it was demolished [or] scrapped.” Houser said that simply being listed on the register does not protect historic vessels should they become damaged or neglected. Instead the database acts as a historic record only. “There’s a common misconception about being on the register,” he explained. “There really are no strings attached.” Also not attached is the helm of the “Chickamauga” itself. In what may be the turbulent tale’s final twist, it seems that at least part of the tug may well find itself
preserved and cared for. “DNR did pull off the helm for possible distribution to a museum,” Droscher said. The wood tugboat — which sank while moored at the Eagle Harbor Marina on Oct. 2 and was raised after it spilled hundreds of gallons of fuel into Puget Sound — was seized by the state and towed to Boat Haven Marina in Port Townsend in late January. There, the badly neglected tug was placed in a kind of legal limbo as authorities took the apparent owner of the boat, Anthony R. Smith, to Superior Court for the cost of the cleanup efforts surrounding the boat’s initial sinking. Smith is facing felony criminal charges in connection with the tugboat’s sinking, including one count of first-degree theft, one charge of causing a vessel to become abandoned or derelict and one count of discharge of polluting matters into state waters. Smith’s trial, originally slated for April, has since been rescheduled to June 23.
NASA robotics engineer to visit Bainbridge Island School District BY REVIEW STAFF
Paulo Younse, A member of the Technical Robotic Hardware Systems Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will be visiting Bainbridge Island schools from Wednesday, April 16 to Friday, April 18 to inspire students and share with them his experiences in such an exciting and innovative field. He will also be the guest speaker at the Bainbridge
Paulo Younse Schools Foundation annual breakfast fundraiser Thursday, April 17 at Bainbridge Performing Arts. As part of his job, Younse designs new types of robots
for future NASA missions that will explore the solar system. Some recent projects include working on the latest Mars Rover “Curiosity,” as well as developing techniques to collect Martian rock samples to bring back to Earth for future proposed Mars return missions. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in agricultural engi-
Please Join Us!
Police Department Fraud Prevention Workshop
neering from the University of Florida. He has a passion for teaching and has taught about space exploration at an orphanage in Tanzania, lectured on astronomy to children in Costa Rica and Honduras, and organized robotics activities for planetariums in Malaysia and Korea. In his free time, Younse enjoys excavating dinosaur fossils for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, running marathons, salsa danc-
ing, and underwater archaeology. In 2013 he starred in the SyFy television show “Robot Combat League” as the robotics technician for Team Commander. The Bainbridge Schools Foundation has funded over $100,000 toward robotics in elementary grades through high school. “I look forward to meeting Paulo and introducing him to our community,” said Vicky Marsing, BSF’s executive director.
Tickets for the annual Breakfast fundraiser on are available now at www. BainbridgeSchoolsFound ation.org. During his visit, Younse will be sharing his experiences as a robotics engineer with students at all seven Bainbridge schools. He has also made himself available to meet with afterschool clubs so interested students can ask questions and learn more about his work.
Safely Dispose of Unwanted Prescription Medications
The Bainbridge Island Police Department invites you to attend a fraud awareness and prevention workshop facilitated by detectives Scott Weiss and Aimee LaClaire, and featuring guest speakers from the Social Security Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Service and more. Topics will include scams, check fraud, and identity theft. The workshop is free.
One day only! Drop off your expired or unwanted prescription medications at the Bainbridge Island Police Station on Saturday, April 26 between 10am and 2pm.This one day event is part of the National Drug Enforcement Agency’s Drug Take-Back Initiative. For a four hour period, the BIPD will collect medication to ensure it is disposed of properly. If you are unable to visit during this time, please hold your medication until the next event in October.
9 am – 12 pm, Friday, April 18, 2014 Waterfront Park Community Center 402 Bjune Drive, Bainbridge Island
10 am – 2 pm, Friday, April 26, 2014 Bainbridge Island Police Station 625 Winslow Way E, Bainbridge Island, WA
Please contact the Police Department for more information (206) 842-5211.
For more information, call (206) 842-5211.