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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
CRAB CASTLE
ad a great time carving this with my husband,
Wade Lapp,” Brittany Lapp posted on the
Long Beach Peninsula Friends of Facebook page about
the incredible sand “Crab Castle” they created last
weekend.
“We dumped about 6 inches of sand, added lots of
water, and used a cement tamper to tamp it down,” she
explained. “We repeated this countless times.
“… At the end we take a little nontoxic Elmer’s Glue,
mix it with water, and spray every surface and crevice of
the piece to create a slight shell.”
The talented couple will be giving sand creation
lessons at the Bolstad Avenue beach approach in
Long Beach on July 31, during the Sandsations event
“for anyone who would love to learn.” And, the couple
will be at the sand castle competition at Sand Island
Campground and Marine Park Aug. 13 through Aug.
15.
“My husband started pumpkin carving about 10 years
ago,” Brittany recalled. “About seven years ago, he was
invited to try and carve sand. We have been hooked ever
since.
“Since then, he has branched out to wood, and we
both actually had the wonderful chance of visiting
Alaska during the World Ice Art Championships, where
he placed second this last year.” Wade also carves in
“most mediums, including watermelons.”
“I have been able to try my hand in sand,” Brittany
noted, “and am hoping to branch out to more mediums
this year, also. I have been very fortunate to be able to
watch and learn a lot from him.”
‘H
BLOOD MONEY
SUPREME SACRIFICE
n an eﬀ ort to give the respect the monument
deserves, the Public Works crew got a fence put up
around the memorial rock just before the start of our
busy summer season,” Warrenton posted on its Face-
book page about the stone memorial at Seafarers’ Park
in Hammond.
Paciﬁ c Power helped complete the project by donat-
ing the fence posts. The newly spruced up memorial is
shown, courtesy of the city.
According to MarineLink.com, on Jan., 12, 1961, the
38-foot crab boat Mermaid, with two crew members on
board, which had lost its rudder oﬀ Peacock Spit, sent
out a call for U.S. Coast Guard assistance.
Two vessels from the U.S. Coast Guard Cape
Disappointment Lifeboat Station, CG-40564 and
CG-36454, responded. The seas were so heavy, they
requested assistance from the Triumph, stationed at
Point Adams, which arrived and took the Mermaid
under tow.
Breakers capsized 40564, but the 36454 managed to
rescue the crew and take them safely to the Columbia
River Lightship, which ﬂ oundered soon after. Another
large breaker smashed into the Triumph, separating the
towline, setting the Mermaid adrift, and capsizing the
Triumph.
The Mermaid’s crew managed to rescue one of Tri-
umph’s six crewman before two more vessels arrived
from Point Adams. One took the Mermaid under tow,
but then another breaker hit. This one snapped the tow
line and sank the Mermaid. A search began; a foot patrol
found only one survivor on a beach.
The inscription on the memorial stone honors
those “… who made the supreme sacriﬁ ce while assist-
ing the ﬁ shing vessel mermaid on Peacock Spit.”
Ultimately, the death toll was seven: Five of the Tri-
umph’s crew drowned, as did both of those aboard the
Mermaid.
‘I
A GHASTLY SIGHT
rom The Daily Astorian, July 15, 1887:
“Road supervisor Walker, while on the beach near
the wreck of the Cairnsmore yesterday, saw a ghastly
sight, the remains of a man buried in the sand, being
exposed to view by the shifting of the loose material that
once enclosed the rude box now broken open, bones lying
around, etc. The case needs immediate attention.”
One thing is certain: The man found near the wreck
in 1887 was not from the Cairnsmore. In 1883, Capt. B.
Gibbs was sailing the three-masted British bark Cairns-
more from London to Portland, loaded with 7,500 barrels
of cement. On Sept. 26, disoriented in a thick fog, he ran
hard aground on a Clatsop beach. Heavy surf prevented
the crew from leaving the ship, so there they sat for 15
hours.
When they were ﬁ nally able to board the ship’s boats,
they were picked up and taken to Astoria by a passing
steamer. There were no fatalities, but the Cairnsmore was
hopelessly mired in the sand. She is shown, courtesy of the
Oregon Historical Society.
So, where is she now? Building the South Jetty caused
the sand to build up, so consequently, where the ship ran
aground is now inland near Coﬀ enbury Lake.
The ship was still visible even in 1914, and local chil-
dren used to play in the rigging. By now, any above ground
remnants of the ship are probably buried. (bit.ly/LewDry,
bit.ly/RFcairnsmore, bit.ly/cairnwhere)
F
SO MANY LOVE IT
REGATTA RUCKUS
hristian Lint, owner of the beloved Astoria Ferry,
aka Tourist No. 2, receives at least one phone call a
day from someone walking on the Astoria Riverwalk. “So
many love it,” he said. “They have dreams.”
Right now the historic ferry is tied up on the Astoria
waterfront, but it’s a temporary home.
“The solar and wind turbine can’t keep up with the
bilges,” he reported. “They need pumping every day.
Shore power would be wonderful ...
“The reality is moorage,” Christian said. “Where to
keep it? It’s the question of the hour.”
He’s even thinking of making up a sign for the vessel
saying, “I Need Moorage.” Or, perhaps there is someplace
she could go on land, and be used for something?
One suggestion is to make it a store and bathroom stop
for ﬁ shermen. Have an idea of where to moor it, or that
can help the Astoria Ferry? Please contact the Ear at ewil-
son@dailyastorian.com or 971-704-1718 and the informa-
tion will be forwarded to Christian.
“Let’s get everyone thinking,” he said.
C
ire rerun: The Oregon Archives posted
a “shanghai” letter on its Facebook page dated
July 29, 1891, from Darius Norris to Astorian Bill Jop-
lin. Norris wound up in London after being shanghaied in
Astoria.
The letter is at tinyurl.com/NorrisLtr. A few
excerpts:
“… I was run aboard a ship, shanghaied by (Astoria)
Chief of Police Barry … I will go over to New York, then
I will telegraph to (Bill) Edgar to send me money …
“They shanghaied me under the name of Smith. I will
come back and face the whole crowd of them that wronged
me …
“… They got $140 (about $4,200 now) blood money
on me by shanghaiing me on that ship. I got nothing. They
told me that I was no seaman, so I got abused and crippled
and got nothing, and was left here destitute by the action
of those scoundrels.
“I will meet them if I live.” (In One Ear, 10/6/2017)
D
GOING ON THE GO
f you ever wonder where to go when you have to “go,”
you can thank the North Coast Tourism Management
Network for publishing an interactive map of public
restrooms, which are now open.
For a map of 147 permanent restrooms from Astoria
to Neskowin, go to bit.ly/CoastGoMap. A photo of each
stop is shown, just in case you should somehow become
confused.
If it’s not an emergency, you can visit the North Coast’s
“most unique” bathrooms at bit.ly/CoastFunGo. In this
category, you can sight see your way through pit stops.
Astoria’s Doughboy Monument restrooms (pictured) are
featured, as are the ones overlooking a scenic view of the
Peter Iredale shipwreck.
Bookmark those maps, folks. You never know when
they will come in handy.
I
udy Atkinson wrote in with “an old
perspective of Astoria Regatta.”
Regatta .”
“Almost 100 years ago, my grand-
mother’s uncle, C. T. Vogelgesang,
Vogelgesang , who
was an admiral in the U.S. Navy, brought
his ﬂ eet into Astoria … and they were
denied leave.” She found a July 20, 1925,
newspaper clipping which explains the
kerfuﬄ e:
“Astorians were in a state bordering on
hysteria tonight over the action of Rear
Adm. C. T. Vogelgesang (1869-1927)
… in refusing to allow the midshipmen
ashore to participate in the elaborate cel-
ebration that has been arranged in their
honor.
“The admiral, apparently angered over
a message which he interpreted to mean
that dock space in the Astoria terminals
had been denied the ﬂ eet, lately told vis-
iting delegates — including Oregon sen-
ators R. N. Standﬁ eld and Charles A.
McNary, , and a host of businessmen from
McNary
Portland and Astoria — that it would be
no use to move the ﬂ eet of three battle-
ships up the Columbia River to a point
just oﬀ the city, and he upset all plans for a
banquet prepared for oﬃ cers of the squad-
ron by limiting to 35 the number of who
could participate.”
Actually he misunderstood the mes-
sage, which said one dock was closed,
but there was still plenty of room for the
warships.
“With three dances arranged, ban-
quets prepared, orchestras engaged, spe-
cial trains chartered, hundreds of danc-
ing partners brought in from Portland
and Seaside, ﬁ ve boxing bouts scheduled,
suites engaged for ranking oﬃ cers, hun-
dreds of autos waiting to take the visi-
tors where they would go, the commander
swept all aside and told the hosts that he
would decide later what part of the Tues-
day program would be carried out.”
And a ﬁ ne time was not had by all.
J
THE BLUES ARE BACK
oday (July 9) we spotted blue whales for the ﬁ rst
time in 10 years oﬀ Depoe Bay,” marine biologist
Carrie Newell of Whale Research Eco Excursions out
of Depoe Bay wrote on the company’s Facebook page. A
photo from the page is shown.
According to AnimalSake.com, adult blue whales are
82 to 105 feet long, can weigh up to 200 tons and live an
average of 80 to 90 years. They are among the largest ani-
mals to ever live on Earth.
Two blue whales were found halfway to Lincoln City,
feeding on krill. Newell also thought she spotted one near the
bell buoy. E xcursion captains saw two more heading south.
“When I ﬁ nally went out again,” Newell added, “the
blues were south of Gull Rock in 113 feet of water, and
heading south at 5-6 mph.”
She noted they appeared thin.
Hopefully the visitors were able to fatten up a bit during
their visit, as the ﬁ sh ﬁ nder revealed that the krill they
were feeding on were 100 feet deep, and the school ranged
from 30 to 50 feet thick.
‘T