08-19-2005, 03:58 PM
Here's a interesing story from the Oregon Coast -
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — This is a story that should be told in reverse. So here's the ending: Jim Peterson is readjusting to life on land and his deckhand is getting free drinks.
Peterson, a 61-year-old fisherman, was 80 miles off the coast of Newport last week when the reverse gear seized up on him. After some frustration, Peterson managed to get the boat to shift into reverse. But only reverse.
Far from his home port of Coos Bay, Peterson and the deckhand, Jeremy Welsh, considered their options — Wait hours for a Coast Guard tow, wait for help from other fishermen or drive the boat all the way back in reverse. Peterson wasn't waiting.
"It was odd, watching the wake roll out the front windows; like watching a movie in reverse," Peterson told The Register-Guard of Eugene.
Stranger still was trying to steer the 38-foot Alice M., a 60-year-old wooden troller. It was sort of like backing up a truck towing a trailer — with some extra motion underneath.
"It can go in reverse, but the rudder isn't made for it," said Welsh, 34. "You go in a direction for 15 minutes, then you'd have to stop, zigzag around and correct yourself. You couldn't really steer while you're driving, you'd have to position the boat in the direction you wanted. It was an ordeal."
A 39-hour ordeal, to be precise. The boat goes only about seven nautical miles an hour at full, forward speed.
"I've talked to some old-timers," Peterson said. "Nobody's ever heard of anybody doing that before."
Early last Saturday, the pair arrived at the mouth of Yaquina Bay, which was closer than Coos Bay. It was dark and foggy, so the men slept a few hours before crossing the bar. With four-foot seas and whitecaps, crossing isn't an easy thing to do while traveling forward.
"We knew if the weather turned, it was going to be dangerous," Welsh said. "Definitely going through the jaws (jetties) in Newport was scary."
But Peterson maneuvered the craft to safety, despite a quick turn he had to make when a startled charter boat captain got too close. It wasn't the only strange look he got.
"One guy asked me what was wrong," Peterson said. "I told him I forgot something."
The pair made a hard landing at the docks with 13 tuna and one fish tale.
"The story is spreading," Welsh said. "I've gotten drinks bought for me in Charleston from people I don't even know, just because I was on the boat."
Peterson spent Thursday in Newport filleting his catch and working on the transmission.
"It was hard to get used to just walking on the dock, forward," Peterson said. "Things were coming at me too fast."
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NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — This is a story that should be told in reverse. So here's the ending: Jim Peterson is readjusting to life on land and his deckhand is getting free drinks.
Peterson, a 61-year-old fisherman, was 80 miles off the coast of Newport last week when the reverse gear seized up on him. After some frustration, Peterson managed to get the boat to shift into reverse. But only reverse.
Far from his home port of Coos Bay, Peterson and the deckhand, Jeremy Welsh, considered their options — Wait hours for a Coast Guard tow, wait for help from other fishermen or drive the boat all the way back in reverse. Peterson wasn't waiting.
"It was odd, watching the wake roll out the front windows; like watching a movie in reverse," Peterson told The Register-Guard of Eugene.
Stranger still was trying to steer the 38-foot Alice M., a 60-year-old wooden troller. It was sort of like backing up a truck towing a trailer — with some extra motion underneath.
"It can go in reverse, but the rudder isn't made for it," said Welsh, 34. "You go in a direction for 15 minutes, then you'd have to stop, zigzag around and correct yourself. You couldn't really steer while you're driving, you'd have to position the boat in the direction you wanted. It was an ordeal."
A 39-hour ordeal, to be precise. The boat goes only about seven nautical miles an hour at full, forward speed.
"I've talked to some old-timers," Peterson said. "Nobody's ever heard of anybody doing that before."
Early last Saturday, the pair arrived at the mouth of Yaquina Bay, which was closer than Coos Bay. It was dark and foggy, so the men slept a few hours before crossing the bar. With four-foot seas and whitecaps, crossing isn't an easy thing to do while traveling forward.
"We knew if the weather turned, it was going to be dangerous," Welsh said. "Definitely going through the jaws (jetties) in Newport was scary."
But Peterson maneuvered the craft to safety, despite a quick turn he had to make when a startled charter boat captain got too close. It wasn't the only strange look he got.
"One guy asked me what was wrong," Peterson said. "I told him I forgot something."
The pair made a hard landing at the docks with 13 tuna and one fish tale.
"The story is spreading," Welsh said. "I've gotten drinks bought for me in Charleston from people I don't even know, just because I was on the boat."
Peterson spent Thursday in Newport filleting his catch and working on the transmission.
"It was hard to get used to just walking on the dock, forward," Peterson said. "Things were coming at me too fast."
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