The HERO in Bay Center 2011-12
 Antarctic friend and fellow Boulder resident Seth White visited Bay Center in July 2011, here's the first of his photos (SW). His comment, "...seems like the locals think the owner is content to let it just sit and rot. I think they're right...." | |
 His view of the bow, with a bit more growth and rust stains (SW). |
 A look from the stern (SW). |
 Looking at the starboard quarter...(SW) | |
 ...and the starboard bow (SW). |
 A closeup of the top of the mainmast and the crow's nest (SW). |
Another HERO fan, Jay Morrison (JM), stopped by in February 2012. Jay wintered at Pole in 1980 and later was a Hero crew member. He also visited the Antarctic Peninsula on a couple of other boating ventures, including this one in 1988. He was the caretaker aboard the vessel in Reedsport in 1986, I met him there when he gave me a tour. Jay's comment, "For 15 minutes I looked to see if she was afloat. She never budged. It looked like she was grounded in the Washington harbor mud." In August of 2012 I was interviewed about the Hero--its past, present, and perhaps questionable future--by Portland (Maine) magazine... the article with photos was published in November. They also included this page of extra photos on their website. | |
 The Hero in February 2012 (JM). |
 Jay's HERO shot (JM). |
|
14 December update...Polie/Palmerite/Hero veteran Dick Wolak made contact with the owner, who agreed to meet with him to have a look at the vessel. Things didn't sound good. First of all, a recent storm had broken some of the railing on the rickety gangway--it and the railing and the electrical feed were lying in the water (they pulled it out). The interior of the ship looked pretty grim. The owner believed that the neighbors were complaining about the condition of the Hero; in fact, the Coast Guard had been there earlier the same day. The details aren't clear, but the owner said that he was going to take immediate action (this week!?) to get things in motion to scrap the ship. | |