Adak sitrep update
Well, I’ve held off posting about the status of the Adak out of sensitivity to the meetings we’ve been having with the city of Sitka, its attorney, its administrator, and the harbormaster. No more.
Sitting now in the salon on a Sunday morning, rocking gently in the lactation chair, as the dog snores on the settee, and Rachel and Haley snooze topside. I’ll try to sum up this rat’s nest with the boat as best I can. Meanwhile, we’ll include some cute baby pics just to sweeten this otherwise dry post.
To recap, for those unfamiliar with the situation. On August 2nd, while I was at a wedding in Seattle, the Adak started taking on water. Turns out there was a gash in the starboard side. The leak was repaired. Instead of joining Rachel and the baby on the east coast, I flew to Sitka, and worked with the Coast Guard to get the fuel off the boat.
On August 5th the city announced it was impounding the boat, arguing the Adak was an imminent danger to the docks – but they allowed it to remain on the docks. On August 11th the harbormaster suggested having an “informal discussion” with the city, which turned out to be a “pre-impoundment hearing,” which actually turned out to be a “post-impoundment hearing.” In the meeting I took exception with what was going on, especially because the city administrator, who was working (by his own admission) at the behest of the harbormaster, was put in the position of judge. It was a kangaroo court. The process was pre-determined. The boat is “impounded, in a manner of speaking,” said the city attorney, stomping out of the room. So that’s where we were. The boat was impounded but the impoundment was stayed, said the city, which meant they could, at any moment, take possession of the vessel, giving us 72 hours to get off.
A diver, hired by the city, announced that the boat was not going down “next week, next month, or next year,” due in large part to its 3” double-planked hull, its 12×12 keel. The shipwright who directed the replanking in 2006 supported this. Everything below the waterline was addressed, and it was solid.
Still, the city insisted on action. Allen Marine, an outfit here in town, said they would dry-dock the Adak. An agreement was made that this would be done by September 15th. Then Allen Marine backed out, for reasons unclear. We were back to the drawing board. Rachel, my partner, filed an appeal to the impoundment of the boat on September 11th, arguing that the city didn’t follow its own process for the impoundment. Meanwhile we worked on the boat, examining problem spots on the hull, waterproofing, making damn sure the boat was safe enough to live on, despite the city’s fretting.
On September 14th we had another meeting with the city, at which the harbormaster and the city administrator were present. Oh, and Ms. Haley Marie Jones, who listened politely while her father did his very best to do the same. Especially when the city administrator said, under Sitka’s general code, the harbormaster could accuse the Adak of trespassing, and cut the lines at any moment. This did not make us feel very secure. Both continued on to say that the boat actually was not impounded, and that initial post-impoundment meeting had, in fact, been an informal discussion. I know, right? Moreover, the city said they would contact Dave Allen to see if the haul-out could take place.
We left the meeting in high spirits. But then, the following day, we were alerted that there would be no meeting with Allen Marine, and, in an upcoming meeting, the city would be presenting us with a plan to remove the boat from the docks in seven (7) days. Oh no, we thought. Oh no. Keep in mind that, through this all, the Adak is in fine shape, not taking on a drop of water. It became increasingly clear that the harbormaster had been gunning for years to get the tug out of the harbor – and he saw this as his opportunity, regardless of reality.
On September 16th the plot thickened. Rachel received a call from the city attorney requesting a “professional courtesy meeting.” In that professional courtesy meeting, the city attorney suggested the possibility of sinking the boat on the way to Wrangell, something to make the whole problem disappear, and said a few other things that I will not, for now, repeat. Only to say they were awful.
On September 18th we had a meeting with the three powers-that-be, prepared to hear how they would remove the boat from the docks. Instead they made it clear that they wanted to see another survey, wanted us to continue to press Allen Marine, and begin thinking about moving the boat. We were relieved, if confused.
And that brings us up to this past Friday, September 25th. Rachel and I flew back from Juneau. We were worried, because the sister ship to the Adak, the Challenger, had sunk in dramatic fashion in Juneau just a week before. The city attorney mailed us footage of the sinking. Except that boat was out on anchor, with no pumps working, abandoned.
The survey came back well, as we expected: the planks were of sound integrity. The work we had done on the hull, using epoxy, roofing cement, and foam, made them even more solid. We had called the diver, who reiterated that the boat wasn’t going down in the next year.
And slowly, in this Friday meeting, we saw the tide starting to turn. We typed up a list of things we had accomplished, and suggested, if Allen Marine still refused to dry dock us, going instead to Wrangell – but we wouldn’t be able to do this until April. The city attorney was ok, the city administrator was ok, but the harbormaster still fretted about the liability. We suggested tarping the bottom of the boat, to stop any potential leaks. He still wrung his hands – to be clear, we understand that if the boat went down he would be stuck with a huge salvage bill. But fretting about hypotheticals isn’t a reasonable reason to kick a boat off the docks – the city’s own statutes require that they present actual evidence that a boat is actually and presently dangerous.
And then the city attorney gave us the golden ticket. If we move the boat, the city doesn’t really have much of a case for impoundment. A judge, should it come to that, would likely see the boat as seaworthy. After the survey, the diver, and the moving of the boat, things would be pretty bulletproof.
So that’s where we find ourselves now. Preparing to get the old beast running for our jog down the channel. And to get these folks off our backs, to allow us to just settle in. Friends, as always, have been amazing through the ordeal. The baby, who should be the subject of these blogs, goes silent whenever she sees fog. She’s got a favorite purple leopard fleece with two wee ears, and enjoys our walks in the morning with the dog up and down the docks. I’m loving teaching my nature writing course with Stanford, the students are razor-sharp, and Rachel is picking up law work in town (with clients, unlike me, who actually pay. I told her this probably won’t be the last time I’ll need to depend on her good services … ). And, finally, the edited book is with Houghton, the ARCs should be arriving the 21st of October.
I’ll tell you one thing. I’ve got some great characters for my next book, which will be nonfiction.
Sure glad I’ve been taping these meetings …
