David Y. Ige

Honolulu – When the 55-foot sailing vessel Doubloon broke apart off Mission Beach in Laie, it left a 1/2 mile long path of debris.  Today staff from the DLNR Land Division and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) used trash cans, rakes, an ATV and sheer manpower to remove several truckloads of wood, plastic and other materials left after the boat became disabled and sank early Tuesday morning. The debris was so extensive and its path was so long that crews plan to return tomorrow to finish up their work.

Today eight DLNR staff walked the entire impacted beach, placing debris in piles, for placement into rubbish cans or into the bed of the ATV.  The all-terrain vehicle then made dozens of trips through a narrow beach access path to Kamehameha Highway where everything was then loaded into a dump truck.  Meghan Statts, DOBOR’s Oahu Branch Manager said, “The DLNR team is doing great work to make this beach safe again for people. We continue to encourage people to avoid Mission Beach to Hukilau Beach, as the wood from the Doubloon is full of nails and screws.  Even after the cleanup is finished it’s possible that additional debris may wash up on shore.”

The work was conducted with the U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat-Medium bobbing in the surf a half mile off-shore.  It became disabled while attempting to take the sailboat in tow.  (Please see U.S. Coast Guard news release for further details on the status of Response Boat-Medium).

The owner of the Doubloon, a 72-year-old man, was hospitalized after the stranding of his vessel. The boat was insured and DLNR/DOBOR is working with the insurance carrier to cover the state’s cost for clean-up.

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Video of today’s cleanup and interview with Meghan Statts, Oahu District Manager, DOBOR
https://vimeo.com/127782863

Photographs of today’s cleanup:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vhtl18rf3t6zjgi/AABX8Nf7uBWQ4IV19fjduRbka?dl=0

(All video & images courtesy: DLNR)

Dan Dennison
Senior Communications Manager
Office of the Chair
Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources
1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 130
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Tel    808-587-0407
Cell   808-295-8749
Fax   808-587-0390
[email protected]