nootka
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2002
- Messages
- 7,547
- Reaction score
- 0
So last night was a rough one for me w/lots of houseguests and they fed my cat tons of chicken, which she usually only gets a few treats of scraps once in a while. So the cat starts throwing up all over (she has never thrown up in her life). This a.m. after going to bed at 2:30, I was awakened by being very sick myself and got about five hours of sleep. I have been throwing up constantly and the memorial was today for Craig, my nephew lost at sea last Tuesday a.m. when his crab boat broke up on the Tillamook Bay bar going into Garibaldi. On top of that, there was cat hurl everywhere I had to clean up and in between trips to the bathroom I did that and got them taken care of. (I have not been sick like this in over ten years, so this is not normal for me)
I threw up right until about 1 o'clock and then we left fifteen minutes later, because I felt ok. We get there and the sky is sunny, nice, but the wind is blowing out of the North about 30 kts. BRRRR about 40 degrees. In spite of this I began to feel sweaty and faint. We hung in there for 45 minutes, though, before I had to go lie down in the car.
The memorial was nice, it was "Craig" and had a Grunden's jacket laid over the railing (the orange rubber waterproof ones they wear on the ocean) where his friends had taken a Sharpie and signed it to him. That boat from the Discovery Channel show, the Maverick, was one that he had worked on, and they donated the jacket w/the Maverick name on it. A photo of his old boat, his dream, was at the center of the wall, and around that were flowers on a life ring from the boat, and balloons, even a token unopened cold Coors...tons of photos from all stages and adventures of his life. So much for him from those that loved him and knew him best. The Coast Guard helicopter made a flyover and we were left with our thoughts and reminiscences among his family and friends left to mourn him. It was so odd to see all these people and not him, was like "Where's Craig, oh, he has to be along any minute now..." but it never happened.
Was hard to be there, not just b/c I was so sick, but because this was our "goodbye" as they did find the third body just South of where they went down. Can't be anyone but him, I wouldn't think, though they are loathe to say until they have looked more closely.
The theory from those that were nearby and knew the boat and him best is that they were in very shallow water, maybe 10-15 ft., the waves were 12-14 ft themselves, and they rode down the face of a breaker like a surfer, but it drove the bow of the boat into the hard sand at the bottom. The heavy load of saltwater for the 1200 lb. of crab (the fill it to keep them alive in sea water) probably acted like a battering ram and definitely helped to blow the old wood boat apart pretty quickly. He had taken a rough crossing here on the Columbia R. Bar a few weeks prior, and may even have had some undetectable damage since that time, such as cracked ribs on the boat, or a sprung keel. Either way, the boat was old and tired, and Craig'd never been across that bar, so it was a fatal mistake for he and his crew.
Thank you for all the thoughts, all the prayers, all the hopes you have held since the first post, when I still had hope myself, that he would be found w/out power or something and a false alarm of distress. It's been a rough journey and there will always be awakenings of grief, but goodbye and knowing where his remains are is some help. I have been on the phone today when I have not been out in town and sick throwing up, so it's been one busy day and I need some sleep.
I will post a few pics we took at the memorial a little later...
Liz M.
I threw up right until about 1 o'clock and then we left fifteen minutes later, because I felt ok. We get there and the sky is sunny, nice, but the wind is blowing out of the North about 30 kts. BRRRR about 40 degrees. In spite of this I began to feel sweaty and faint. We hung in there for 45 minutes, though, before I had to go lie down in the car.
The memorial was nice, it was "Craig" and had a Grunden's jacket laid over the railing (the orange rubber waterproof ones they wear on the ocean) where his friends had taken a Sharpie and signed it to him. That boat from the Discovery Channel show, the Maverick, was one that he had worked on, and they donated the jacket w/the Maverick name on it. A photo of his old boat, his dream, was at the center of the wall, and around that were flowers on a life ring from the boat, and balloons, even a token unopened cold Coors...tons of photos from all stages and adventures of his life. So much for him from those that loved him and knew him best. The Coast Guard helicopter made a flyover and we were left with our thoughts and reminiscences among his family and friends left to mourn him. It was so odd to see all these people and not him, was like "Where's Craig, oh, he has to be along any minute now..." but it never happened.
Was hard to be there, not just b/c I was so sick, but because this was our "goodbye" as they did find the third body just South of where they went down. Can't be anyone but him, I wouldn't think, though they are loathe to say until they have looked more closely.
The theory from those that were nearby and knew the boat and him best is that they were in very shallow water, maybe 10-15 ft., the waves were 12-14 ft themselves, and they rode down the face of a breaker like a surfer, but it drove the bow of the boat into the hard sand at the bottom. The heavy load of saltwater for the 1200 lb. of crab (the fill it to keep them alive in sea water) probably acted like a battering ram and definitely helped to blow the old wood boat apart pretty quickly. He had taken a rough crossing here on the Columbia R. Bar a few weeks prior, and may even have had some undetectable damage since that time, such as cracked ribs on the boat, or a sprung keel. Either way, the boat was old and tired, and Craig'd never been across that bar, so it was a fatal mistake for he and his crew.
Thank you for all the thoughts, all the prayers, all the hopes you have held since the first post, when I still had hope myself, that he would be found w/out power or something and a false alarm of distress. It's been a rough journey and there will always be awakenings of grief, but goodbye and knowing where his remains are is some help. I have been on the phone today when I have not been out in town and sick throwing up, so it's been one busy day and I need some sleep.
I will post a few pics we took at the memorial a little later...
Liz M.
