Justin Ainsworth, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, inspects boat on Tuesday, Feb. 2013 that washed up on Gleneden Beach.
A 30-foot boat that washed ashore an Oregon beach on Feb. 5 has been linked back to the Japanese tsunami. The fiberglass hull, encrusted with barnacles and other marine life, was found at Gleneden Beach along Oregon’s Central Coast, due west of the state capital of Salem. According to Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management, the boat was found upended, partially buried in the sand, and 99% covered in gooseneck barnacles and wide swaths of algae. Fish & Wildlife officials rushed in to ensure the boat and its hangers-on wouldn’t harm the native species, which were quickly determined to be safe.
Based on the design and the markings, “We believe the boat was a support vessel for a commercial fishing boat,” Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department spokesman Rick Boatner told The Oregonian. And it was only logical, based on the local attitude: “We don’t lose boats on this coast,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Terry Thompson, a lifelong fisherman. “We just don’t.”