Crippled boat rests at dock

Dec. 04--A rough weekend on the ocean gave way to a bad Tuesday for James Lee, the Darien-based captain of the Shoal Bandit shrimp trawler.

Lee spent hours Tuesday at the Brunswick city dock, pumping water out of the stern of the disabled 58-foot boat to keep it from sinking into the East River, as U.S. Coast Guard personnel removed any hazardous materials from it as a precaution should the vessel sink.

But trying to keep the boat afloat was nothing compared to what Lee and several other people aboard Shoal Bandit faced Saturday.

After several days aboard the boat with his brother-in-law, Keith Geiger, and five children, ranging in age from 2 to 15 years old, Lee and everyone else had to be rescued when the boat's engine died amidst a roiling sea near Amelia Island, Fla.

It took a Coast Guard helicopter and a boat from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to rescue everyone before the shrimp boat drifted too close to shore and could have capsized by running aground.

After the harrowing rescue, the owner of the Shoal Bandit had it towed to Brunswick, where he planned to fix the engine, Lee said Tuesday.

Without power, however, the boat's outriggers could not be raised, making it impossible to tie up the vessel parallel to the dock. Instead, it sat with its bow wedged firmly into wood pylons that separate the concrete deck of the dock from boats that moor there, while its stern sank low into the river, until the outrigging could finally be raised.

The Shoal Bandit was not in imminent danger of sinking.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Lt. John Nee, senior investigating officer with U.S. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville who was looking into weekend rescue, said it would not be possible to know if the boat had a hole in its hull until all of the water was pumped from the stern.

Although he said the boat had a decent chance of not sinking, a Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit arrived to monitor the situation, as a hired contractor pumped all the oil, fuel and any other hazardous materials from the boat to reduce environmental problems should it sink.

Brunswick Code Enforcement Officer Len Schmauch said he allowed the Shoal Bandit to be towed to the city dock, which has a monthly rental fee, because it had been brought in as a rescue situation.

He had his fingers crossed Tuesday that the boat would stay afloat, because removing a sunken shrimp boat is quite costly.

The city needed the help of grant money in 2012 to remove the Bossy Betty after it sank at the city dock. The owner of that boat had no insurance and could not remove it himself. Boats that dock at the city dock must be insured.

It was unclear Tuesday if the Shoal Bandit is insured.

-- Reporter Michael Hall writes about public safety, environment and other local topics. Contact him at mhall@thebrunswick news.com, on Facebook or at 265-8320, ext. 320.

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