Triumph tows disabled dragger with 42,000 lbs of fish aboard through deep draft bar

Coast Guard uses 52-foot motor life boat to tow the boat into Astoria, Ore.

December 11, 2017 7:00 pm
PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW FISHLER | U.S. COAST GUARD A Coast Guard boat crew aboard the <em>Triumph II</em>, a 52-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, conducting a tow off Willapa Bay Sunday. The <em>Triumph II</em> is one of only four 52-foot Motor Life Boats in the Coast Guard and is specially designed for the deep water bars of the Pacific Northwest.
PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW FISHLER | U.S. COAST GUARD A Coast Guard boat crew aboard the Triumph II, a 52-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, conducting a tow off Willapa Bay Sunday. The Triumph II is one of only four 52-foot Motor Life Boats in the Coast Guard and is specially designed for the deep water bars of the Pacific Northwest.

The Coast Guard towed a 58-foot fishing vessel after the crew lost use of the main engine about 17 miles west of Willapa Bay Sunday.

A boat crew aboard the Triumph II, a 52-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, met the crew of the fishing vessel Ashlyne, a 58-foot dragger with four people and 42,000 pounds of fish aboard, and safely towed them across the Columbia River bar into Astoria, Ore.

The Triumph II is one of four special purpose crafts specifically designed for the deep water bars located in the Coast Guard 13th District. The power and stability of the 52-foot Motor Life Boats make them the preferred asset for towing commercial fishing vessels across large bars, according to a Coast Guard statement.

Station Cape Disappointment is a multi-asset unit with both the 52- and 47-foot Motor Life Boats.

Towing the crew of the Ashlyne was estimated at a 70 to 80 mile round trip and 110 tons.

“That would make it close to the max towing capacity of the 47-foot boats, which is 150 tons,” said Chief Petty Officer Bradd Beckett, executive officer, Station Cape Disappointment. “Being that close to the towing capacity made fuel consumption a concern.”

The large volume of water that moves out on an ebb tide across deep water bars such as the Columbia River bar and the struggle to operate a 47-foot Motor Life Boat in that environment was also of concern. That same environment however has little effect on the operation of the 52-foot boat due to the nature of their construction.

“Coming back, we would have had to wait for the ebb to pass if we used the 47-foot Motor Life Boat,” said Beckett. “Using the 52-foot boat eliminated all those concerns.”

PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW FISHLER | U.S. COAST GUARD A Coast Guard boat crew aboard the <em>Triumph II</em>, a 52-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, conducting a tow off Willapa Bay Sunday. The <em>Triumph II</em> is one of only four 52-foot Motor Life Boats in the Coast Guard and is specially designed for the deep water bars of the Pacific Northwest.

PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS MATTHEW FISHLER | U.S. COAST GUARD A Coast Guard boat crew aboard the Triumph II, a 52-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, conducting a tow off Willapa Bay Sunday. The Triumph II is one of only four 52-foot Motor Life Boats in the Coast Guard and is specially designed for the deep water bars of the Pacific Northwest.