WEEKEND #14, 2006
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
TUG AND CARGO VESSEL ALMOST COLLIDE OFF CAPE HENLOPEN
"Go starboard, go starboard," radioed the captain of one of two vessels headed on a collision course early Friday, followed by "It's going to be close."
The close call happened as the Jade Arrow, a 180-meter vehicle carrier, approached Cape Henlopen around 1 a.m. It was headed to the pilot boarding area to take on a pilot from the Pilot Boat Lewes. That's when the vehicle carrier crossed paths with a tug, the 32-meter Frederick E. Bouchard, which had a barge in tow.
Below is the ShipPlotter chart showing the tug Frederick E. Bouchard in gray, and the vehicle carrier Jade Arrow in white just as the vessels passed. While the images overlap on the chart, the vessels did not collide. The yellow vessel to the left of the tug and vehicle carrier is the Pilot Boat Lewes.
POLICE NAB BEACH-BAG BANDIT
The suspected beach bag bandit struck again early Monday afternoon and was captured by a Dewey Beach police officer who had been assisting Rehoboth Beach police.
Cpl. Det. Scott O’Bier said after the youth was captured in the area of Third Street and Oak Avenue, police returned with him to the scene of the thefts in the Deauville beach area so the victims could positively identify him.
The suspect is being held in the marked patrol car (below). After the thefts, Det. O’Bier said the suspect put on sneakers and jeans over his shorts, but wore the same shirt and hat. The theft victims and witnesses made a positive identification. One beach visitor chased him after Monday’s thefts.
Police were called to Hickman Street around 3:25 p.m. on Thursday when the beach patrol had called police to report a theft. Police arrived and nabbed a man who was positively identified by the man operating the beach chair/umbrella rentals.
BOY SCOUTS LEARN ABOUT WATER SAFETY IN DEWEY BEACH
"Our Fifth Annual Beach Scout Safety Weekend went very well." writes Susan Johnson, one of its sponsors. She said this was Josh Basile's first visit to a beach since his surf accident. Basile, now a paraplegic who lives in Potomac, Maryland, was a special guest for the Boy Scout water safety event. He broke his neck when he was struck by a wave at an unguarded beach near Bethany Beach on August 4, 2004.
This past week articles/pictures appeared in the Cape Gazette, Coast Press and Montgomery Gazette about the Scouts and Basile's visit to Dewey Beach.
Below: Basile, using a PowerPoint presentation, speaks to the Dewey Beach lifeguards and Scouts, telling them how his life changed, and what he'd like improved at the Delmarva beaches to help prevent accidents similar to his.
Dr. Peter Hartsock, a veteran lifeguard and U.S. Public Health Service officer (in red), and Mark "Woody" Mardenwald, also an experienced lifeguard, wheel Basile from the Dewey Beach headquarters using the town's beach wheels (below).
Basile and Boy Scouts from Troops 495 and 1083 (of Wheaton, Maryland) participated in this Fifth Annual Water Safety Event under the direction of the Dewey Beach Patrol. This program is arranged by the Johnsons in memory of their son, Michael Johnson, who drowned at Rehoboth Beach on August 23, 1998.
Basile has formed a foundation (Determined2Heal.org) to further his beach safety goals.
Photos courtesy of Susan Johnson
SATURDAY'S ROUGH SURF
The sign boat continued its advertising despite choppy waters.