How the Moonlight Maid met her demise

Here's a marine accident brief from the National Transportation Safety Board on the sinking of the salmon tender Moonlight Maid.

The boat was transiting from Seward to Kodiak in heavy seas on Sept. 20, 2012, when she "sprung a plank and began flooding," the report says.

The crew of four abandoned ship into a life raft, and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoisted them to safety.

The NTSB report says "inadequate maintenance of the aging wooden vessel," a former Navy subchaser built in 1942, contributed to the hull failure.

A very interesting report here, with excellent photos.

Moonlight Maid goes down

We lost a special boat with the sinking of the Moonlight Maid last week south of Resurrection Bay. Fortunately, the Coast Guard rescued all four people aboard. Clayton Paddock, who said he captained the vessel during the salmon season but had been off the boat for about a month, sent these photos. The mermaid was painted on the stack. The 110-foot wood-hulled boat was built in 1942 as a Navy subchaser, and was among a very few still afloat. More details here.

Four rescued from raft south of Resurrection Bay

The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued four men from a life raft Thursday night after they abandoned the fishing vessel Moonlight Maid more than 30 miles south of Resurrection Bay.

"The crew reported that the vessel was sinking and they were donning survival suits and entering their life raft," the Coast Guard said.

Here's the mayday call.

A helicopter out of Kodiak located the raft at 10:51 p.m. and safely hoisted the fishermen and took them to Seward.

Reported weather conditions at the time the vessel sank included winds of 20 to 30 mph and 13-foot seas.

The Coast Guard planned to conduct an overflight to check for debris and pollution.

The state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission lists the Moonlight Maid as a 110-foot wood-hulled vessel, built in 1942.