San Juan Island News

A commercial fishing vessel that sank Saturday near San Juan Island, Wash. is spilling oil, the U.S. Coast Guard said.All five crewmembers from the sinking Aleutian Isle were rescued by a Good Samaritan, and no injuries have been reported.The 49-foot vessel sank with approximately 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel and a combined 100 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lubricant oil aboard, according to the Coast Guard. A sheen has been observed spanning more than two miles and was reported to have entered Canadian waters as the vessel continues to release small amounts of diesel.At approximately 2 p.m.

FRS has acquired a majority interest in Clipper. FRS is a global ferry and shipping group, currently operating 60 vessels in 12 countries, and carrier of more than 7 million passengers and 1.9 million vehicles last year on national and international ferry lines. Clipper, operator of Clipper Vacations, is a recognized company in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, offering unique regional travel experiences, including high speed Victoria Clipper ferry services from Seattle to Victoria, and Seattle to San Juan Island.

A fisherman struck and injured by a parted line was medevaced south of San Juan Island and transported to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, Wash. Thursday morning. He is in stable condition. The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced the injured fisherman after watchstanders in Puget Sound received a radio call from the captain of the fishing vessel Mr. Wonderful at about 7:40 a.m. reporting the injury. The fisherman was wounded when a line parted, snapped back and hit him in the upper body. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Wahoo was underway in the vicinity of the incident and arrived on scene at 8:12 a.m. An aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was launched to perform the medevac.

Washington Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson issued a statement regarding the resignation of Assistant Secretary for Washington State Ferries David Moseley. Peterson's comments are as follows. After six years of service, Assistant Secretary for Washington State Ferries David Moseley has announced his plans to resign on April 15. David can be proud of his distinguished service at WSF and the many accomplishments he has made while at the helm of the ferry system. I thank him for his contributions and leadership in a position that has tremendous challenges and issues.

Black Ball Ferry Line is purchasing the business operations of the Victoria Express from Victoria Rapid Transit in a deal announced today by both companies. Terms of the sale were not released. The Harmon family formed Victoria Rapid Transit in 1990, and over the past two decades grew the ferry business to include service to Victoria, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and Port Angeles. The ferry has also offered numerous private charters for individuals and organizations throughout the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Puget Sound, as far south as Westport and even into Lake Washington. “The Harmon family has built a great company and there is a lot of goodwill among their customer base,” said Black Ball Ferry Line president Ryan Burles.

Molly Murphy Crowley, 71, of Piedmont, Calif., Crowley Maritime Corporation board member, past Portland, Ore. real estate mogul, philanthropist and competitive amateur golfer died March 21 following an illness surrounded by her family at her Indian Wells, Calif. vacation home. Mrs. Crowley was born Nov. 27, 1938 in Portland to Dorothy and Peter Murphy. She was the third of eight children, and attended grade school at St. Thomas More Catholic School and high school at Holy Child Academy in Portland, and college at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y.

Ivan Reiff learned to love the marine world with his commercial fisherman father in Florida. Like many children of fishermen he went off to school and eventually found himself working for an electronics firm out in southern California. But the sea was, as they say, in his veins. His marine memories led him to the opposite corner of the country from Florida. Up in Washington State’s Puget Sound he found little San Juan Island and around the island he found the orcas and the Western Prince II . The 46-foot fiberglass boat was a business that took people out to see orcas (killer whales) in their natural habitat. It was a better business than fishing and a better life than San Diego. This far northwest corner of the United States remains pristine and endlessly beautiful.

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island and Seattle-based American West Steamboat Company, owned by Henry Hillman, Jr., CEO of Oregon Rail Corp., have launched the newly constructed overnight sternwheeler cruise ship Empress of the North. Beginning at 5:00am on Monday, June 16, 2003, the 360-foot sternwheeler was transferred on a specially designed rail system into Holmes Harbor, where it launched at high tide at approximately 8:45pm. With the launch open to the public, an estimated 5,000 people showed up for the event. Designed by Seattle naval architects, Guido Perla & Associates, construction of the Empress of the North began at Nichols Brothers’ shipyard in April, 2002.