From 1968 to 1984, the R/V Hero was used for research in Antarctica. The aging vessel sank after a storm in March 2017 and became an environmental nuisance in Bay Center.

BAY CENTER — The defunct Research Vessel Hero has plagued the Nemah River since its mooring in 2008 and sinking in 2017. Due to subsequent deterioration, it is expected to be demolished sometime this year, but its long legacy will be remembered thanks to the Antarctican Society.

Director Charles Lagerbom and the society reached out to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, which took ownership of the ill-fated vessel, hoping to preserve and curate items from it.

“Items from the vessel would be salvaged and temporarily stored by DNR, and the Antarctican Society would then take possession of them with responsibility for arranging packaging and shipment of them back to Maine, where Hero was built and launched in 1968. It was built in South Bristol, Maine, one of the last wooden vessels built by Harvey Gamage at his shipyard,” Lagerbom said.

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‘It was the U.S. flag and presence and face in the [southern] region. Time and again throughout its history, Hero has become an interest, a quest, or object of admiration and hope.’

Charles Lagerbom

Antarctican Society director

A list of items and salvage materials was sent to DNR by the society with hopes some of the items will be salvageable enough to be placed in a museum in Maine. But that isn’t a done deal, Lagerbom said.

Initially built as a wooden trawler, it became a research vessel after a request by the Antarctic researchers steered the design in another direction.

“[It] was constructed by a team of about a dozen ‘oldsters’ — old school masters of wooden shipbuilding; the ship’s caulker was 86 years old. Hero had a great working career, a promising retirement and a sad ending. We are currently producing a manuscript about the history, science and fate of the vessel,” Lagerbom said.

One issue for Lagerbom and the society is how the salvaged items will make the cross-country journey.

“Depending on size, weight and the number of items that come from this salvage effort to the society, we are considering a wide range of transportation options, such as by truck, rail or by sea. It is a logistics challenge, but through fundraising and donated business services, we are hoping this can be successfully accomplished,” he said.

“Several former Hero crew members have stepped up to help, some visiting the vessel and reporting on its condition, often sharing photos. Those in the region have expressed interest in being our eyes and ears on the ground during this process,” he added.

The vessel has a revered history, including countless trips to Antarctica on research missions and ventures worldwide.

“There is a reverence and appreciation from those who spent time on Hero and its many missions in its 16-year service career. During those years, it performed yeoman service for the National Science Foundation as a floating wooden science platform throughout Tierra del Fuego, Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn, Chilean Canals, Drake Passage, and the Antarctic Peninsula,” Lagerbom said.

“It was the U.S. flag and presence and face in the region. Time and again throughout its history, Hero has become an interest, a quest or object of admiration and hope. The vessel seemed to do things its own way, so it is no surprise that Hero’s life has had its ups and downs, its successes and challenges, including this current one,” he added.

The vessel’s demise became an eyesore for many Bay Center residents and a complaint of many shellfish farms along the Nemah River, but beyond its deterioration are years of stories, historic ventures and the tales of legend.

Lagerboom and the society hope that there is still enough left of the vessel to salvage to remember its historical past, including its Antarctic legacy.

“Hero did it all pretty much on its own terms, as a hero should. So let’s save what we can,” Lagerbom said.