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Today's New Years Cruise was marred by the sinking of Tim Mattson's 17-foot Glasspar Seafair Sedan at the Ivar's dock. The boat went down when nobody was looking, while our group was having lunch inside the restaurant...so we don't know what caused what was obviously a sudden sinking...but the bottom line is that Tim is tonight facing a substantial bill from Vessel Assist and maybe other parties.
Some of us had an informal passing-of-the-hat at the scene, but as of 4 p.m. the Vessel Assist boat had been unable to raise the sunken Glasspar, and their billing clock was running. A diver arrived shortly after 6 p.m. and just before 7 p.m. the crew got the first air bag into the boat and inflated, bringing the bow back to the surface. Tim reported that they hoped to get a second air bag into the stern area and bring the hull level with the surface so that high-volume pumps could begin to float the boat.
When the boat rolled over, it was still tied to the Ivar's float by bow and stern lines, but it quickly became obvious that there was no way to roll it upright. (It was sobering to realize how unbelievably heavy one of our boats can become when submerged. Gordon Davies, with crew help from John Nelson, attempted to tow the sunken hull toward a nearby beach, but Gordon's big Merc was unable to budge the sunken boat; it just sat there on the bottom, as though firmly anchored in place. At that point the bow line was returned to Ivar's float, where it was secured to a dock cleat.)
This is an unusual situation in our club. As far as I can remember we've never had a boat sink, or had a member face what'll probably be a substantial bill for rescue services.
If you are able to help with any kind of donation to help cover Tim's Vessel Assist bill, please send your contribution to Tim Mattson at 1446 Southwest 152nd, Burien, WA 98166. If Tim is somehow able to pay the Vessel Assist bill on his own, he will return your donation...or at least a portion of it.
Thanks, in advance, for helping a fellow club member get through a disheartening and expensive situation.
We'll post other photos and event details below, but Tim's situation is more important tonight...
- Marty
Some of us had an informal passing-of-the-hat at the scene, but as of 4 p.m. the Vessel Assist boat had been unable to raise the sunken Glasspar, and their billing clock was running. A diver arrived shortly after 6 p.m. and just before 7 p.m. the crew got the first air bag into the boat and inflated, bringing the bow back to the surface. Tim reported that they hoped to get a second air bag into the stern area and bring the hull level with the surface so that high-volume pumps could begin to float the boat.
When the boat rolled over, it was still tied to the Ivar's float by bow and stern lines, but it quickly became obvious that there was no way to roll it upright. (It was sobering to realize how unbelievably heavy one of our boats can become when submerged. Gordon Davies, with crew help from John Nelson, attempted to tow the sunken hull toward a nearby beach, but Gordon's big Merc was unable to budge the sunken boat; it just sat there on the bottom, as though firmly anchored in place. At that point the bow line was returned to Ivar's float, where it was secured to a dock cleat.)
This is an unusual situation in our club. As far as I can remember we've never had a boat sink, or had a member face what'll probably be a substantial bill for rescue services.
If you are able to help with any kind of donation to help cover Tim's Vessel Assist bill, please send your contribution to Tim Mattson at 1446 Southwest 152nd, Burien, WA 98166. If Tim is somehow able to pay the Vessel Assist bill on his own, he will return your donation...or at least a portion of it.
Thanks, in advance, for helping a fellow club member get through a disheartening and expensive situation.
We'll post other photos and event details below, but Tim's situation is more important tonight...
- Marty
Hang in there Tim!
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