Ship's Log January 23 2021
The unexpected chance to participate in the 2021 Oregon Dungeness Crab season came via a message from Sully on January 8th at about 1pm. The strike had blown up, guys were moving boats and loading bait. It is GO TIME, and their day guy that was lined up for the wheelhouse of the Loui M flaked out.
COOL. An opportunity for a short stint onboard this vessel is rare. The holidays were past, and I was willing. Kristi and I discussed it, I shot Sully a message, then I flew into action getting my gear ready. At 5pm Seanna and I met the vessel at the dock in Charleston where we loaded up the bait and headed out to sea.
January 16th the night of my birthday, the crew was all asleep and I was running the Loui M back to the beginning of the strings of 500 crab pots. They are pretty spread out, so my run would take about 4 hours. During that little run, while contemplating life in general, I wrote this little story in my log book and I want to share that with you all now.
When I was a kid, living in Winchester Bay cleaning salmon and filleting rockfish for the charters in the summertime, my father Patrick Roelle Sr. got a lease at a dock in Reedsport and built a shipyard.
Umpqua Marine Ways immediately began the build for an order of a 58’ Fishing Vessel. I will never forget the lineup of people 3 deep all the way across the Umpqua River Bridge, looking down at the shipyard as they splashed the Grizzly sideways into the river where it teeterd over onto its side a bit, then self-righted and stood straight upright, proud and strong. The cheer from the bridge was like a 4th quarter touchdown to win by a point. All hands either clapping, raised high with fists clenched, or wrapped around one another with giant bear hugs. Lungs were blaring out hoorays and feet were dancing and jumping up and down. That was about 1978 but may need to edit when I learn the truth on that date.
No more orders for fishing vessels came up, so Dad concentrated on government contracts for overhauls of Coast Guard Buoytenders and NOAA boat work of various types. The 80’s rolled in and soon the extremely high interest rates, and slow payments by the government for work completed led to the end of Umpqua Marine Ways via bankruptcy. We lost our 100 acre ranch and ultimately our family split up with my parents divorce and Dad headed overseas for work in Africa. I graduated High School and went to College.
Fred Wahl Marine ended up with the shipyard and has made it into the west coast's finest. They build incredible fishing vessels. Many of my dad’s original employees still work there to this day.
John Nunn, the master carpenter, does the most incredible, tight, beautiful woodwork a person could ever imagine on these new vessels. Before the shipyard, dad was a building contractor in Reedsport area. He hired John Nunn who started out working for my dad in about 1973, building the Fire House in Gardiner Oregon, just down the street from our home where we lived there before moving to Winchester Bay. I was 5 years old and would wander down to the jobsite and collect the pop bottles, and pick up 16 penny nails that were lying around, bent from a bad hammer strike. John gave me a hammer to straighten them out.
Now as I spend my 53rd birthday in the wheelhouse of the Loui M, a 58’ Fred Wahl built fishing vessel chasing down crab, I get to reflect on this history with a deep sense of meaning and personal satisfaction. Looking about the wheelhouse gives so much reflection of PRIDE. The fit of the woodwork, floors, windows, staircase, and electronics display are amazing. I spend plenty of time all around the vessel, in the engine room with a giant Cummins main and 2 John Deere gensets, tools, fresh painted pipes, pumps, refrigeration all clean and tight. 3 electrical panel boxes all of which are larger than the one in my home. Seems you could climb under the main and eat a meal off the floor of the bilge there and come out clean. The kitchen with a giant full size stainless refrigerator and a flat top convection oven stove with beautiful countertops and a deep double well sink. The head has a full shower, and stacked LG front loader washer and dryer for clothing. There is a big wrap around table for seating 6 people comfortably during mealtimes. The cabinetry all around is super strong, built for rough usage, and beautiful to look at the clear finished wood work. There are 4 spacious bunks up front, and a side room with 2 additional bunks behind a closed door for the top crewman or the captain if he were to choose. However, the captain does have the option of choosing one of the 2 bunks upstairs in the wheelhouse, and that is where Sully chooses to be. I could go on with regard to the deck, the mast and all the goings on with that stuff, but will spare the details and just say that it is all a marvel of engineering, with top quality components arranged and placed with obvious craftsmanship and again, PRIDE.
I am a very lucky man to have this opportunity to participate in a fishery using one of these vessels. It is a Hot Rod at sea. Makes my old wood boat feel like a bit of a jalopy. I do plan to dry dock the James Lee in the Fred Wahl shipyard this spring. Tighten a few things up a bit. Go around and rub my hands down the hull of any new vessels being built and worked on. Special thanks to this crew for inviting me into their strong and capable team. I am inspired by all of them.
