Sunken vessel believed to be All American

Efforts to raise a sea urchin dragger that sank this year in Cobscook Bay are expected to continue in the coming days. The boat, believed to be probably the All American, was located by members of the Maine State Police dive team on December 7 near Reversing Falls, Pembroke. The dive team, which includes members of the State Police and Maine Marine Patrol, was conducting a training exercise in the area, looking for the sunken vessel.

The All American, fishing out of Lubec, sank last March, with the loss of the captain, Loren Lank, 54, of Lubec, who was found, and the deck hand, Logan Preston, 19, of Roque Bluffs, who is still missing. Then on October 20, the Bottom Basher, a 34-foot dragger out of Lubec, sank, with the loss of three lives. The body of Daryl Cline, 41, of Machiasport was recovered near Shackford's Head, Eastport, while Joseph Jones, 28, of Trescott and Norman Johnson, 57, of Cutler remain missing.

On December 7, with members of the dive team assisting, two draggers tried to hoist the sunken boat to the surface. One of the vessels was manned by Roger Preston, father of Logan Preston, and Logan's grandfather, and the other was captained by David Cline, brother of Daryl Cline. The vessel was brought close to the surface, but because there began to be too much current, it had to be lowered back down. The period of slack water nears Reversing Falls is very short, and currents are very strong. The vessel is about 400 feet east of the Roaring Bull rock in Reversing Falls and about 300 feet from shore.

The dive team was looking at five areas of interest that had been identified by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey team. The team had used a high-resolution side-scan sonar from November 3 through 5 to search for the missing vessels.

The Marine Patrol's side-scan sonar also was used during the dive teams' search effort. The divers looked for a body around the boat, but the vessel was upside down, and they couldn't go inside the hull, according to Lt. Alan Talbot of the Maine Marine Patrol. Talbot says searchers are "fairly confident" that the vessel is the All American.

The site has been marked off, and a notice to mariners has been issued by the U.S. Coast Guard. Talbot says the location does not pose a problem for navigation or for scallop dragging. The scallop season will begin next week.

Bob Peacock of Eastport says the effort to recover the vessel will continue in the next few days, using a Cooke Aquaculture barge with a crane. Some members of the dive team will assist. Other fishermen have also helped, and Peacock notes that vessels did not drag in the area during the days of and before the dive, so that underwater visibility would be better.

"There's been great cooperation with all the parties involved," says Talbot. "Bob Peacock did a great job spearheading" the recovery effort.

Peacock adds, "Everyone Downeast truly appreciates the hard work of the Maine State Police and Maine Marine Patrol officers in very difficult and cold conditions to help determine the cause of these accidents."

Bottom Basher being pieced together

In other developments concerning the cause of the sinkings, debris from the Bottom Basher is being pieced together at the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety Detachment in Belfast. Lt. Jason Smilie says the RCMP provided quite a large amount of debris that they found around Campobello. District 1 RCMP officer Paul Howlette, investigator for the Campobello detachment, led searches on October 21 and 22, during which debris was found from Mulholland Point to the North Road wharf. "They've been a huge help," says Lt. Smilie.

Lt. Smilie believes they have at least half of the dragger's deck. "We'll try to piece it back together," he says. "We'll see where the stress took place and try to figure out what happened."

Lt. Smilie notes that, along with the RCMP, Bob Peacock and local fishermen have been working on finding the parts of the draggers. "Everyone came together" to help with the effort, he says. Other parts were also found while the NOAA hydrographic survey team was in the area on November 3 through 5. Debris has been found around Treat's Island, North Lubec, the Boat School in Eastport and Leighton Point in Pembroke, but some could have been from other sources.