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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016 98-year-old boat steals owner’s heart — and life savings Three years later, Patrol No. 1’s crew used hooks to ish for 40 cases of whiskey dumped into the water after a boat chase near Alki. The archives tell of the boat saving the life of the harbor master in 1929 when he had to jump into Elliott Bay during a devastating dock ire in what now is Terminal 46. Or when the boat did such rescues as that of three teen boys who in 1931 were drift- ing “aimlessly” for four hours in Elliott Bay in “a rickety raft” with “paddles fashioned out of boxwood.” Relics can ‘stir your soul’ By ERIK LACTIS The Seattle Times PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. — There is something about old, historic wooden boats that, for some, turns them almost into living beings. Says Mike Luis, former executive director at the Cen- ter for Wooden Boats, “They stir your soul. Boats are inher- ently emotional. They are beau- tiful things. They have interest- ing stories, they did interesting things. They’re not a neutral object.” This is the story of Patrol No. 1, a little-known but signif- icant Seattle tugboat that a cen- tury ago guarded and watched our waters for more than four decades. It’s not an overstatement to say Patrol No. 1 ended up tak- ing over the life of its last owner. Marc Landry, 58, has used up his savings trying to restore it over the past eight years. He’s now homeless, staying with various friends in town, going to the food bank. Since the boat left service, he’s been among three own- ers of the boat who have spent some $300,000 in total restor- ing it. But only Landry has had this much emotional invest- ment. The other two knew when enough was enough. Now, Patrol No. 1 is headed for demolition; the Port of Port Townsend took possession of the boat after Landry didn’t move it when given an eviction notice in January. It’s been at the port for ive years. Port oficials say they have had numerous problems with Landry, from late rent pay- ments, to living aboard the boat in a “cocoon” of boards and plastic without proper permission. People with the kind of pas- sion shown by Landry don’t do very well with bureaucra- cies. They don’t — or for- get to — conform to the rules. Their work areas are messy and cluttered. “It’s very unfortunate. I don’t believe any parties wished it would come to this moment,” says Sam Gibboney, executive director of the Port. Says Landry, “I have a beautiful boat that deserves a rebirth.” About his arrival in Port Townsend in 2011 from the boat’s previous location on Van- couver Island, he says: “I had heard this was the Wooden Boat Capital of the West Coast. I came here with dark brown hair. Now it’s completely white.” Documents pile up Patrol No. 1 sits uninished behind a locked gate at the Port’s longterm storage yard. Landry is not permitted to board it. Since January, a massive amount of court documents have accumulated in the battle between the Port and Landry. He has iled a $10 million defamation and “emotional dis- tress” case in Jefferson County Superior Court against the Port and Jim Pivarnik, its then-dep- uty director. Landry asked the court to vacate the eviction. A money hole Sy Bean/The Seattle Times Marc Landry, who purchased the Seattle Harbor Patrol Boat No. 1 in June of 2008, spent over $185,000 and between 7,500-9,000 man hours restoring the wooden ship, which now sits at a shipyard at the Port of Port Townsend. The Port of Port Townsend deemed the boat derelict and will either sell it or demolish it. Landry estimates he only needs one more month of work to make the boat float. The proceedings dragged on with Landry iling paperwork “two, three and four times,” said Seth Goodstein, attorney for the Port, asking the court “to rule on the same issues he has already unsuccessfully brought.” The court has awarded the Port $5,475 in sanctions against Landry. The Port iled a motion ask- ing that Landry be declared “a vexatious litigant” and barred from further ilings, but a judge did not agree. Landry responded to the request by reiling his suit. The Port says Landry was late on his rent 46 times. Landry says that on average he paid by the 20th due date each month, and that, like all other tenants, he had up to 90 days to pay. “They’re making me the exception,” he says. The Port can evict any- one from its 200-boat shipyard without cause with 20 days’ notice. Oficials say they sel- dom do that. The Port says it “is also frankly concerned that Mr. Landry fails to grasp the hole into which he continues to dig himself.” It says his repetitive litiga- tion “with expectation of dif- fering results indicate irrational behavior.” Landry responds, “They’re talking through their ass.” He does have his supporters in this town of 9,200. Says James Fritz, 76, a retired general contractor: “This is supposed to be a Victorian seaport. You need a few old boats being worked on to add character to the port.” Sure, says Fritz about Landry, “he’s a little bit messy. It’s conined to a small area.” Russ Guilford, a retired bus driver, met Landry while walk- ing around the port taking pic- tures. Guilford and his wife, Lorie, recently let Landry camp out in their backyard. “He’s a quirky guy with a different personality than most people,” says Guilford. “He wasn’t a troublemaker. It’s beyond me why this is happen- ing to him. It’s beyond sad.”’ al 18 th Annu IDE GEM, MINE SEAS JEWELRY SHO RAL W AND AUGUST 19, 20, 21 SEASIDE CONVENTION CENTER 415 FIRST AVENUE • SEASIDE, OR FRI & SAT • 10AM TO 6PM SUNDAY • 10AM TO 4PM BEADS • CRYSTAL • FOSSILS • GEM STONES • JEWLERY MINERALS • OPALS • PETRIFIED WOOD • ROUGH SLABS SPHERES • SUN STONES • THUNDER EGGS FREE STRAND OF PEARLS FOR THE FIRST 75 LADIES DAILY FREE ADMISSION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE LE Drawing for Septarian Nodule from Morocco Sunday at 2pm Tickets $1 each / 6 for $5 Hunting for pirates Patrol No. 1’s working days were such that she should have been the star of her own TV show: “Stories from the Harbor Patrol.” She was the irst vessel built speciically to protect our waterfront terminals, including “pirates” that “roamed the bay all night,” said a May 10, 1918, Seattle Daily Times story about its launching. Waterfront pirates. Just 100 years ago in Seattle. The 55-foot boat’s equip- ment included riles, a machine gun and pumps for ighting ires. The city was so proud of the boat that it also was to be used by the mayor and other ofi- cials to meet incoming ships of importance “in a way that will relect credit to the port.” In christening her, “genuine Champagne” was used. She worked irst for the city’s old Harbor Department and then for the Seattle Police Department until her retirement in 1961. A Seattle Daily Times story from May 31, 1920, the year Prohibition went into effect, told of Patrol No. 1 using “sev- eral rile shots” to bring to a halt a speeding boat on Lake Washington just off Laurel- hurst that was suspected of run- ning whiskey. Three men on the boat were seen dumping over- board three heavy gunnysacks. The captain said he believed he heard “a noise like clinking glassware” in the sacks. If you want to preserve his- toric boats, better open up your wallet. The legendary ferry Kalakala (made of iron, steel and copper) was demolished in 2015. One guess for resto- ration costs was $15 million. The schooner Wawona, built from Douglas ir, was sawed into pieces in 2009. Restoration costs also were estimated at $15 million. Wood boats aren’t meant to last. Says Mike Luis, “Even- tually you end up replacing everything. They burn. They get shipworms. All kinds of things. There’s very little of the original left.” Landry tallies up $78,000 in materials. Landry is a Canadian who says his background includes working in data collection, concrete construction and as a geoduck diver. (Part of his money problems, he says, is that as a Canadian he can’t legally work here.) Landry dreams about in- ishing work on the boat. He says he needs less than a month and he can get out on the water. Then: “Go ishing. Crab- bing. Shrimping. 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