Billed as unsinkable, a tiny ship is tossed

[kickingfrog]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

 

 

 

Billed as unsinkable, a tiny ship is tossed

Ugly Too!, the successor to Lake Nipigon research vessel, sinks in summer gale, leaving its crew to spend a night on a tiny island

JAMIE KOMARNICKI

 

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

 

August 28, 2008 at 4:07 AM EDT

 

She was never easy on the eyes, but Ugly Too! was a sturdy girl with an unsinkable build.

 

For eight years, the eight-metre aluminum trawler-style vessel combed the waters of Northern Ontario's Lake Nipigon, collecting data on fish species swimming below.

 

It was a summer afternoon when a gale blew across the waters, tossing the trawler to and fro. A wave crashed through the windshield and water seeped in.

 

Three souls on board - Anders Nyman, David Traintinger, Danny Swainson - were plunged into the lake, and watched, helpless, as the vessel sank slowly into the depths, before they swam through choppy waters to safety.

 

 

Enlarge Image

The Ugly Too!, which capsized last week on Lake Nipigon. (Ministry of Natural Resources)

 

Such was the wreck of the Ugly Too!

 

The Ministry of Natural Resources research vessel met its watery fate last Friday in Lake Nipigon, said Rick Salmon, a biologist and unit supervisor for the ministry's Lake Nipigon Fisheries Assessment Unit.

 

The Ugly Too! is the successor to the ministry's last research vessel, the Ugly. The custom-built vessel was purchased from a commercial fisherman about eight years ago. Since then it's been used for MNR netting surveys to map out information on fish species in Lake Nipigon.

 

On Friday, the three ministry employees were sailing the Ugly Two! near the Red Willow Islands to try to retrieve nets before the storm blew in.

 

The $300,000 vessel bobbed through increasingly turbulent water when the two-metre wave hit.

 

"It smashed into the boat, blew out the windshield," Mr. Salmon said.

 

"It filled up the cab. The boat listed heavily to one side."

 

The three men on board weren't able to reach the marine radio before the boat tipped. They fell into the water with their flotation devices.

 

That's when the boat - which had a $90,000 engine upgrade about three years ago that was also supposed to make it veritably unsinkable - went under, Mr. Salmon said. It was all over in less than 10 minutes.

 

He praised the cool heads of the shipwrecked trio. They swam more than three kilometres through the chilly, wind-tossed water to reach the Red Willow Islands.

 

"They'd only catch glimpses of the island as they bobbed up and down in the waves," he said.

 

Once on shore, the exhausted men fixed a distress flag out of a life jacket on a length of driftwood and set to work making a shelter out of branches, moss and wood. Several hours later, a rescue helicopter spotted them, but wasn't able to land on the tiny island.

 

A water rescue team sailed two hours on the dark, rough lake, finally reaching the men at about 6 a.m. the next day, Mr. Salmon said.

 

"They were in good spirits, glad to see everybody. And hugs all around and high-fives."

 

Mr. Salmon said the team responded well in the emergency. No amount of planning could have prevented the mishap, he said.

 

"When the boat tipped to its side after the big wave hit, water likely seeped into the vents, which caused it to sink."

 

But the fate of the Ugly Too! is still murky, Mr. Salmon said.

 

"We don't know exactly where the boat is."

 

The vessel sank as deep as 60 metres below the lake's surface. Even if authorities can pinpoint where it hit bottom, salvaging the vessel could be more expensive than it's worth, Mr. Salmon said.

 

If authorities determine it will do no harm, Ugly Too! could end up a permanent shipwreck, he said.

 

Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield said she's asked for a review of safety procedures for all the ministry programs that involve water.

[Spiel]

I'm glad to hear there were no fatalities. I can tell you that's not a Lake I'd want to be bobbing around hoping for landfall.....brrrrrrrr

[Greencoachdog]

Sounds like someone was over their weight capacity with equipment!!!

[ccmtcanada]

Never call something unsinkable....cause you know what will happen!!

 

Glad to hear everyone was ok!

[CLofchik]

THAT cost $300k?!?!? I hope that included the buyback of commercial licences.

Those windows definitely look like a weak point in a busy sea.

 

[maybe]

The Ministry of Natural Resources research vessel met its watery fate last Friday in Lake Nipigon, said Rick Salmon, a biologist and unit supervisor for the ministry's Lake Nipigon Fisheries Assessment Unit.

 

Supervisor Salmon. How great is that?

 

Agreed...the windshield does look pretty vulnerable. Wonder what the manufacturers will do now.

[Roy]

Wonder what the manufacturers will do now.

 

They'll just re-name their boats "Legends".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it was a joke Legend owners. I just didn't know how to spell "Boston Whaler".

[glen]

A two meter wave took this unsinkable 8 meter, $300,000 boat to the bottom.

 

 

The Ugly Too. It should have been the called the Ugly Rock cause it sank like one.

[GBW]

Supervisor Salmon. How great is that?

 

I was thinking the same thing when I was reading it... I guess his career choice he felt was a natural calling…