When Skip Strong, the captain of the
688-foot oil tanker Sherry Valley received the call, all he knew
was that the oceangoing tug J.A. Orgeron with five men aboard was
in distress off Florida's east coast. Caught in a powerful storm, the
tug's engines failed. With winds at over 60 knots, and the sea in a
frenzy, the tug and her barge were in danger of being swept ashore.
Strong also knew without a doubt that he
would follow the tradition of the sea, and come to the aid of the tug, in
spite of the dangerous conditions and his hazardous cargo, ten million
gallons of oil. One mistake and Strong would be responsible for an
ecological disaster on Florida's beaches that would surpass that of the Exxon
Valdez.
What Strong didn't know was that the Orgeron's
tow was a huge external fuel tank for the space shuttle, worth millions of
dollars, and that his action was opening the door on a dramatic legal
struggle over the salvage rights.
Skip Strong was given his nickname when he
was born. His father, taking one look at him, said '"He is going to
be the skipper of his own boat by the time he is thirty five." At
thirty-two he started sailing as captain of the Cherry Valley. Now
a ship pilot in Penobscot Bay, Maine, he still works on large ships, but
gets to stay close to home. He lives in Southwest Harbor with his wife and
two children.
Twain Braden has been a navigation
instructor and captain aboard traditionally rigged sailing vessels from
Maine to the Caribbean. He now runs the wooden schooner Bagheera
out of the Old Port in Portland, Maine. He was Managing editor of Ocean
Navigator and maritime casualties editor of Professional Mariner,
and still writes for both magazines as well as other publications. He
lives on Peaks Island in Maine with his wife Leah Day and their three
children.
