Correction: Based on local news reports, we originally posted that water pressure from the steamer Portland‘s paddle-wheel damaged the Royaliste.  We were incorrect. The Portland clearly backed into the ketch, which was tied up  alongside the dock.  See the video below, which shows the impact.   Thanks to Captain Larsen and Robert Kennedy for pointing out our error and to Alaric Bond for forwarding the video of the collision.

Friday, June 13th, should have been a great day at the first St. Helen’s Maritime Heritage Festival for both the 55′ privateer ketch Royaliste and the 186′ historic stern-wheel steamer Portland.   Both ships were making debuts of a sort.  The Royaliste has been undergoing extensive restoration for several years and her first public re-appearance was last Friday. Likewise, the sternwheeler Portland, built in 1949 and owned by the Oregon Maritime Museum, was carrying its first passengers down the Columbia River since a mechanical failure nearly sent it plummeting over the Bonneville Dam in 2008.

Unfortunately, things did not go well when the vessels crossed paths. The Royaliste was at the dock when the Portland came backing down. The sternwheeler’s rail struck the ketch’s starboard side, opening several seams in the ketch’s planking.  (See the video below.)   The Royaliste immediately began taking on water and was saved from sinking by portable pumps provided by U.S. Coast Guard and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office marine unit.  According to its Facebook page, the Royaliste has made it back to its home port in Schooner Creek and is being kept afloat by pumps pending the arrival of the insurance surveyors.

Sternwheeler Crashes into Pirate Ship

The steamer Portland has had a troubled past.  The Oregon Maritime Museum bought the Portland for $1 in 1991. The steamer was originally intended to be a stationary exhibit for the museum, but after restoration, the Portland was put into service giving occasional tours of local waters to museum members and guest. This came to an abrupt halt when the Coast Guard learned that the vessel was carrying passengers and yet had never been inspected.

For the next seven years the Portland remained stationary while upgrades were made to meet Coast Guard safety requirements. In 2008 the vessel was put back in service. In June of that year she participated in the first stern-wheeled steam boat race on the Columbia River in 56 years.

The race did not go well.  Outside Cascade Locks, the Portland‘s steering locked up and it plowed into the bank, damaging the paddle wheel. Without power or steering, the boat drifted helplessly towards the Bonneville Dam. Until a tugboat arrived to pull it to safety, there were fears that the stern-wheeler and her passengers would go over the dam.

Another troubled voyage for Oregon Maritime Museum’s vintage sternwheeler

Thanks to Robert Kennedy, Alaric Bond and Melanie Sherman for passing along the news.