Two fireboats break down while battling yacht blaze in middleof Bay
 

Robinette prolly torched the old scow after he found out what a POS he
bought. Yup; insure it to the hilt and then burn it to the waterline. He
sure didn't spend too much effort in putting it out (or something...). I
bet the fireboat's pumps would be in a lot better shape if they didn't
use them up in breathtaking 'Fireboat' displays on July 4th, etc.
JR

HarryKrause wrote:
Two fireboats break down while battling yacht blaze
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer

A blackened hull is all that remains of a 57-foot yacht after two
fireboats broke down while battling the boat blaze Monday.

"It was just a freak occurrence," said Engineer C.J. Conner of the North
Beach Volunteer Fire Department, who was manning Calvert County Fire
Boat 1 when its pump fizzled out.

Annapolis' fireboat was called in to finish the job, but only lasted 45
minutes before its pump also went kaput. Anne Arundel County finally
sent out a fire boat from Sandy Point, the next closest boat available.

They had to put out intermittent flare-ups during the $250,000 boat's
five-hour tow into Herrington Harbour North in Tracys Landing.

The fire occurred in the middle of the bay, east of Calvert County.
Mickey Robinette of Newark, N.J., captain of the Nettie II, said he and
friends on five other boats set out yesterday morning from Herrington
Harbour South in Rose Haven, three days into their annual vacation on
the Chesapeake.He noticed a fire in the port engine around 11:37 a.m.,
prompting him, his wife, and two children - ages 18 and 16 - to put on
life vests and jump into the bay with their pet dog.

"Everything was very quick. Very hectic," said Mr. Robinette, explaining
they swam to a nearby boat.

No one was hurt and the Robinette clan continued on to Cambridge as
passengers on a friend's boat - leaving the firefighters to deal with
the 1977 Pacemaker.

The Calvert County fireboat was the first unit to arrive on the scene at
11:58. Engineer Conner said his four-man crew maneuvered their vessel
around the boat for about an hour, dousing the blaze with foam and
water, before the boat's pump gave out. He said most of the fire was out
when they called for help.

County firefighters battled several small fires as the hull was towed to
shore.

"It's a big vessel. There are going to be hot spots," said Battalion
Chief Ross Dinkel, who responded to the marina. "It was a lot safer to
bring it in."

Bill Conlyn of Towboat US Herring Bay said the boat was difficult to
salvage because of the continual flare-ups and damage that caused the
boat to list. It took over five hours to tow the hull the 6 miles into
the marina, about twice as long as normal.

"It wouldn't track behind us," said Mr. Conyln. "Fortunately it was calm."

Details about what exactly happened to the Calvert County boat's pump
were not available. Capt. Joseph Martin of the Annapolis City Fire
Department said a compression fitting blew off their water pump,
requiring them to shut down or risk overheating the pump.

"It's something that is fixable," he said, although he's not sure how
long it will take. The boat is still useable as a rescue vessel. It just
can't pump water.

The Pacemaker's charred remains drew dozens of onlookers to the marina's
L Dock.

"It's every boater's nightmare," said Bill Kennealy of Marlton, N.J, who
docked his powerboat, Fanny III in Tracys Landing last night.

Mr. Robinette said the boat, which he purchased two months ago, was
insured.

"We'll replace the boat," said Mr. Robinette. "We love the water. We'll
get back on the bay."


--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth