On March 10, Larry Roggasch negotiated the purchase of a commercial salmon boat in Fort Bragg then thought about being back out on the Pacific all the way home to Shasta County.
While he was on Interstate 5, a tsunami surge sliced off the end of C dock, less than 10 feet from where “his” new Kay Bee was moored.
Would Roggasch back out of the deal to buy the troller?
Not a chance.
“I sold my fishing boat in 1989 and have regretted it every minute since,” said Roggasch.
The wave traveled more than 5,000 miles before it surged into the mooring basin of Noyo Harbor. The docks proceed alphabetically as one drives along Basin Street toward Dolphin Isle Marina. More than 20 berths were destroyed or severely damaged, but no boats were lost, said Harbor District Assistant Manager Jeanie Mokma.
The tsunami left shore hugging A dock untouched, before the churning waters slowly chewed up the far edges of B, C and D docks.
The action can be seen online in a MCTV video at:
http://www.mendocoasttv.org/FirstTsunamiSurgehitsNoyoHarborMarch112011.html#featured.
Most of the wave power had dissipated after D dock, with the remaining alphabet docks appearing OK at first glance. But big telephone pole piles are tilted; many docks literally had the stuffing ripped out of them. Styrofoam pads and dock flotation parts were still visible, piled or floating two weeks after the tsunami. The hardest hit appears to be C dock, which simply vanished just two berths west of the Kay Bee”s berth. Early estimates indicated total damage of about $4 million in Noyo, far less than Santa Cruz and Crescent City harbors. Mokma said the dollar damage is still to be determined. She said divers need to examine the underwater pilings to see how bad the damage is. As of this week, the water was still too murky for divers to work, she said.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency in Del Norte, Humboldt, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties on Friday, March 11, the day of the devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. Mendocino County was passed over, but Brown later added Mendocino and San Luis Obispo counties, following efforts by local representatives.
The next step is to determine a detailed estimate for repairs and submit an application for state emergency funding. The application will come after divers hit the water.
Damage to boats was likely avoided thanks to quick action by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard called Noyo Harbor Manager Jere Kleinbach, who was in the office by 2 a.m. and called Mokma. The Coast Guard sent up a chopper and gave evacuation warnings at Dolphin Isle and the harbor district called boat owners. About two dozen boats left the harbor for the safe haven of offshore waters, Mokma said. A tsunami is invisible in deep water and rises when it comes into shallow waters. Most of the boats went out between 5:30 and 6 a.m., she said.
Roggasch was cooking dinner on a rainy Monday afternoon this week on his new hook-and-line troller boat, which he purchased from Ben Platt.
Isn”t it a little crazy to get into the salmon business right now?
“I”ve heard people say that. I missed the ocean so much and can”t wait to get back out there,” he said.
Predictions are for more than 700,000 king salmon returning to the Sacramento River system, which is where most of the big pink fish caught off Fort Bragg are headed.
“I think it”s going to be even more fish,” said Roggasch, remembering days when salmon returns numbered over a million.
Email Frank Hartzell at frankhartzell@gmail.com.
