Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 2, 1994 TAG: 9401020016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
Who could come and help? Everyone, apparently.
Within an hour or so after Hicks discovered Thursday that only the mast of his Sarah D II was above water, several dozen fellow watermen and friends arrived.
About an hour or so later, the Sarah D II had been raised.
"There was a network and they all knew we needed help. It really touches your heart to see the way they come together," said Hicks' wife, Cathy. "They may argue and snipe at each other all the time, but when the chips are down, they all come together."
Having your boat sink "is a horrible feeling in your stomach. Everything is lost and you don't know if you're going to be able to bring it back," she added. "It's like your business has been burnt to the ground."
It was the second time within three months that Hicks' boat had sunk while moored.
Both times, because it was tied to the downtown Newport News pier, the boat had not settled all the way to the bottom.
To get it back up, Hicks and his friends ran lines underneath it and hooked the lines to four other boats. Those boats then headed out into the river, pulling the lines taut as they went and raising the Sarah D II.
"It's really ridiculous, because you lose all your equipment, your CBs and radar and survival stuff," Cathy Hicks said. "Sometimes you can save it and sometimes you can't . . . it gets really expensive. Wooden boats all have a certain amount that they leak, anyway, but certainly not like this."
Hicks worked feverishly to get the boat's engine started as his friends explained what happened. They believe the boat sank both times because the battery ran down, causing pumps to fail.
"I call this the `Jinx River,' not the James River," said Hicks' brother-in-law, Charles Rowe Jr. "I've been telling him he has to get out of here and get back to Gloucester. And he's going to. He told me he's had enough of this.
"He can catch a few more clams here," Rowe added, "but he told me he wouldn't mind catching a few less and not have his boat sink again."
Hicks and his friends had planned to take the day off from clam digging to go deer hunting. Instead, they spent the day cleaning and repairing Hicks' vessel.
It may be several days before Hicks determines how much money he will have to spend on repairs and new equipment.
by CNB