Hail Mary II (1/3)

Hail Mary reef
The good side - the other side looks a lot worse
Type:
artificial reef, trawler
Built:
1993, Duyen Van Tran, Gautier MS USA as St. Martin IV
Specs:
( 63 ft ) 79 tons
Sponsor:
Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association
Sunk:
Saturday November 4, 2006 - Axel Carlson Artificial Reef
GPS:
40°02.641' -73°59.218'
Shinnecock Inlet
Shinnecock Inlet, showing the commercial docks at the upper left

The Hail Mary II capsized about 30 yards from the Soleaus fishing dock in Shinnecock Bay, January 4, 2006. It is thought that rough seas in the inlet caused her 30,000 pound catch of squid to shift in the cargo hold, unbalancing her. As the vessel approached the docks at about 5AM, the captain retracted one of the heavy "bird" outriggers or booms, unknowingly increasing the unbalance to the point where the boom on the other side, still extended, caused the vessel to roll over.

All three of the crew were safely rescued, but the Hail Mary was swept out by the tide, by noon coming to rest just inside the tip of the west jetty. At this location, almost completely submerged, she was pounded against the rocks by the stormy sea. By the time a salvage could be mounted four days later, the vessel was too far gone to be repaired and was subsequently "reefed" in New Jersey since New York state's own reef program was snarled up in paperwork and permitting issues with the ACOE at the time.

Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary II sunk in Shinnecock Inlet
Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary reef
Getting hauled back in
Hail Mary reef
Hail Mary reef
Dewatering and salvage

The salvage was handled by Gladsky Marine:

A commercial fishing vessel loaded with 30,000 pounds of squid sank in rough, winter weather as she approached the dock. The currents swept the vessel out of the bay, through the inlet, and into rough coastal waters by the time the Ovus arrived. These currents further complicated the job by making it hard on divers and adding strain to the tow. Two tugs towing in series were required to move the Ovus and the wreck. We hooked up the Hail Mary 2 and towed her into calmer waters, set her on the mud, and then re-rigged and fully raised her. Hundreds of residents watched the operation from the jetty.

https://gladskymarine.com

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The proper way to fill a scuba cylinder is very slowly so that the heat generated by the filling process can be bled away as it happens, and the tank does not become overheated. That's a great theory, but in real life, nobody does it that way. Most tanks are "hot-filled", that is to say, that they are filled too fast to prevent them from heating up during the process. If they are filled directly off a compressor, then they will receive a very hot fill. You would be surprised how warm the surface of a tank can get. This is not much of a safety issue, though, as it is well within the thermal limits of the material, either aluminum or steel.

The real issue here is that eventually ( after a few hours ) the tank will cool down, and as it does, the air inside will contract, and the pressure will drop. This typically results in about a 10% loss of pressure. At this point, you could top it off to the rated pressure again and have a truly full tank. Most of the time that's not an option. Therefore, if the shop hot-fills your tank to 3000, you will end up with 2700. To get 3000, you need to fill the tank to about 3300. While this is verboten, it is well within the 5/3 overpressure of the hydro test, and realistically there is no danger. The slight overpressure may wear out your o-rings a little faster, but o-rings are cheap - get a dozen of them at the hardware store for a buck.