Coos Bay, OR : Two shipwrecks on Saturday, January 28th 2017

The three pictures that I am sharing this week tell the story of two dramatic rescues ... one which ended without loss of the life, and the other which did.

This is a sneak preview of the "shipwrecks" program to be held Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Bandon Historical Society Museum, which will feature the man who played a big role in helping to rescue 11 men when the 127-foot sea-going tug Elizabeth Olson struck the north jetty and capsized on Nov. 30, 1960.

Bob Fisher, who has spent most of his life in Bandon and is now in his 80s, will be at the museum to share his story. But I will tell you a bit about what happened because I was on the scene as reporter for both events, which were recorded in the pictures I am sharing, taken by my uncle, Lou Felsheim.Bob was the deckhand on the tug "Rebel," which was skippered by A. T. "Red" Pedersen of Coos Bay. The tug had entered the harbor only minutes before the Elizabeth Olson and was standing by with radio communication between the two skippers, when the big tug went aground. Ten of the 11 men on the Elizabeth were saved by the heroic efforts of Pedersen and Fisher, who plucked them one by one out of the water. The 11th man was able to swim to the north jetty.

But tragedy struck almost four months later (March 27, 1961) when the Rebel was hit by a wave and flipped over as they attempted to enter the Bandon harbor. Deckhand Fisher was saved from the raging waters by friends and Moore Mill employees over an hour after the crash. He had clung to the upturned boat for more than an hour before he was washed into the sea by a huge wave, as onlookers gazed in horror from the shore. Red Pedersen's body washed ashore about two weeks later.

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Two shipwrecks