Headlight Herald
Festival & Rodeo 2022
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Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 134, NO. 25 • $1.50
TBCC celebrates 2022 Graduation
Saturday morning Coast Guard crews responded to a 42-foot commercial fishing vessel on fire off the coast of Manzanita Beach. The one person onboard was rescued from the water by another fisherman out on the water. The distressed fisherman is reported as safe and in good condition. Photos courtesy of USCG. Photo courtesy of the USCG
Hats off to the graduates of the TBCC Class of 2022. After graduation, several students took part in the traditional hat throw. See more graduation photos on page 3. TBCC Graduation photos by Joe Warren
Timbers from 17th century vessel recovered from sea caves near Manzanita R
Jeremy C. Ruark jruark@countrymedia.net
esearchers believe they have found timbers from a 300-year old Spanish galleon along Oregon’s north coast, according to the National Geographic. “The extraordinarily rare hull remains were removed from sea caves near Manzanita earlier this week in a risky emergency recovery mission involving archaeologists, law enforcement personnel, and search-and-rescue teams from multiple state and local agencies,” National Geographic states in an online article. The discovery was first made in 2019 after a beachgoer spotted the remains, but the pandemic and permitting requirements slowed retrieval of the timbers. “The dozen timbers are believed to be pieces of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Spanish galleon that was sailing from the Philippines to Mexico in 1693 when it veered off course and vanished, most likely wrecking on what’s now Oregon’s coast. Its cargo included costly Chinese silk, porcelain, and blocks of beeswax for making candles,” the National Geographic online report states. On June 14, state geologists traveled to the site to begin the recovery. Nehalem Bay Fire & Rescue (NBFR) Chief Chris Beswick said he and a NBFR crew of four assisted state geologists in retrieving the timbers. “There are a couple of caves where some artifacts had washed up, primary the wood pieces,” he said. “The main piece that we brought in looks like a main timber from the ship. It is about 6-feet long. It was very heavy.” Beswick said his crew using jet skis navigated the large timber from the cave through the water to the beach, about 200-feet, then carried it to a waiting trailer on shore. “We also helped bring in several other smaller pieces of wood,” he said. “The state geologist were very excited about them.” Beswick said the timber recovery was a unique experience and a first-time event for him and the fire crew. “I never expected in my career as a firefighter that I would be recovering artifacts from a ship wreck,” he said. National Geographic reports that the timbers are now at the Columbia Maritime Museum to be documented and conserved. Oregon State Parks spokesman Chris Havel said this can be a significant discovery that underscores the importance of Oregon’s history.
Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Beswick, left, marine archaeologist James Delgado, center, and Justin Parker, North Coast district manager for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, right, begin to haul in a timber believed to be part of a more than 300-year-old shipwreck, Santo Cristo de Burgos, also known as the Beeswax. Courtesy photo from Katie Frankowicz / KMUN “Hands down, this is an exciting development,” Havel said. “It may well be true that it wouldn’t have been possible if the ocean shore wasn’t protected by the 1967 Beach Bill, so thank Os West and Tom McCall and all the people who worked in the past to make the ocean shore a public place, and who work day-in and day-out right now to keep protecting it. We look forward to learning what researchers can tell us about the recovered timbers, so we can share that news with the people who visit.” According to Havel, state parks protect lands that tell many human stories, starting with the tribes that have lived here for thousands of years, right up to today. “It’s important to recognize the full breadth and depth of that experience and implore everyone to do their part to protect these places,” he said. “As a visitor, that means respecting each other and any signs or warnings you may see and refraining from searching for artifacts or taking anything from the park other than the memories of a fun, safe visit. It’s not just the law, it’s the right thing to do.” Havel urges anyone visiting the state parks who may find a suspected cultural resource, either on the beach or the surrounding area, to leave the suspected resource in place, do not
disturb them, and contact the park office. “Cultural resources are protected under state law, both on public and private lands,” Havel said. For more information about cultural resources and Oregon archaeological laws please visit the State Historic Preservation Office website: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/oh/pages/default. aspx
Fisherman saved from blaze on boat early Sat. near Manzanita A
Joe Warren jwarren@countrymedia.net
42-foot commercial fishing vessel caught fire off the coast of Manzanita Beach early Saturday, and U.S Coast Guard crews out of Tillamook Bay, Garibaldi, responded. According the USCG, one person was rescued from the water and transferred to shore with no injuries. According to Operations Petty Officer Arron Harris who is stationed at Tillamook Bay and was the driver of the rescue boat, a fisherman trolling in the area, rescued the distressed fisherman just before his boat was fully engulfed in flames off the coast of Manzanita Beach Saturday. “The captain called in to report the fire had started in the stacks, then we lost contact with him as he started to fight the fire,” Harris said in a phone interview. “The next contact we had was when he was safely aboard the fisherman’s boat who rescued him.” Harris said the fisherman reported to them, the fire started in the stacks, (stacks are similar to a chimney in a home), the fire quickly spread to the wooden cabinetry, and from there the rest of the fiberglass structure. It took about five minutes to become fully engulfed in frames. Harris said they received the distress call at around 6:30 a.m. and arrived on the scene a little after 7 a.m. “It took about a half-hour to get from Garibaldi station to about two nautical-miles off the shore near Manzanita,” he said. When the USCG arrived, Harris said, the fisherman was aboard the boat of the fisherman who came to his rescue, as both of them watched the flames and smoke billowing from the 42-foot fiberglass troller. The coast guard then brought the fisherman aboard their vessel and back to shore. He’s reportedly safe and in good condition. At around 8 a.m., the USCG crew sent out a tweet, saying they would remain on scene to enforce a 1,000yard safety-zone around the boat. At 2:46 p.m., the coast guard tweeted that the vessel had burned down to the waterline, and continued to smolder after drifting to about 1-mile west of Nehalem Bay State Park in Tillamook County. It is unclear at this time how the fire started in the stacks. According to Harris, “the Coast Guard is handling this as a, ‘Serious Marine’ incident and will be working with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to resolve the issue of any potential pollution from the incident.”