After putting boat on the rocks, skipper skips town

A 27-foot sailing vessel piloted by a young mariner from Fort Gratiot/Port Huron ended up on the rocks Saturday morning after the sailor ran out of gas looking for the entrance to Presque Isle Harbor. Jeffery Melvin, 30, who has plied the Great Lakes harbors and marinas in a single-masted yacht he called ?Off Course II,? found himself lucky to be alive but out of money and looking at a shipwreck of his own making. The sailor was traveling north to Mackinac Island from Fort Gratiot/Port Huron. He stopped in Tawas City last week to see a man about a dog. He didn?t know which man or which dog but he knew he had to get a dog. Someone mentioned a friend of a friend who had a dog that was part of a broken relationship. This sounded perfect to Melvin and he soon was the proud owner of a short, plump, blonde dog named ?Charlie.?

THE PAIR SAILED toward Presque Isle on Friday but didn?t reach the harbor until after sundown. Melvin motored along using a Michigan road map for navigation, according to people he talked to later. He didn?t have charts, a GPS or a radio, but he did have a cell phone, which came in handy later. He rounded North Point at the New Presque Isle Lighthouse and headed into North Bay in the dim twilight on Friday night. Realizing he must have overshot the harbor, Melvin turned around and went back closer to shore this time so he could see the harbor lights. Asked if he knew there was a lighted bell buoy at the mouth of Presque Isle Harbor, Melvin said no, which is no surprise as it would not be indicated on a Michigan roadmap and is new this year anyway. ?I heard a bell ringing when I was out there trying to find the harbor but I just thought it was some clown on shore,? Melvin said.

PERHAPS HE saw the lights of the houses on the shoreline or maybe the ghost of the Old Lighthouse was playing tricks on him. Whatever it was that caused Melvin to turn in too soon, he could not say later. As he maneuvered around to try to get to deeper water his engine ran out of gas and he knew he was in trouble. Melvin threw out his anchor and called 911. According to the Soo Sector Coast Guard Command, the East Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded with rescue equipment and took Melvin off the boat. Melvin requested to have his yacht towed into the harbor or at least into deeper water but he said they told him that was not possible due to liability reasons. The rescue squad did allow him to take some personal belongings and his dog Charlie. Overnight, the boat moved closer and closer to shore until it was sitting on sharp rocks that soon poked a hole in the hull.

BY MORNING the bow was under water and the yacht was listing badly. In time the water would wash over the cabin and the rocks would start ripping it apart like a buzz saw. Melvin said he was indigent with only $17 to his name and no insurance for boat damage. He said he was prepared to sign over the vessel in exchange for pulling it off the rocks. He was concerned the imminent wreckage would cause an oil spill and spread debris hazards to navigation, both amounting to huge fines. Standing knee-deep in Lake Huron and calmly gazing beyond the stricken craft, Melvin said, ?That?s it for me. If that boat is going to run me into the rocks, then I am done with her.? ?Besides, I have a buddy downstate who?ll give me his 25 footer, it?s smaller than this one but I will make do with it,? he continued. Jeff Farmer, owner/operator of Michigan Midwest Marine, got the call when he was still in Lake Michigan bringing another boat up from Chicago. He assembled a crew, including scuba divers, and headed for Presque Isle on Sunday.

FARMER RETRIEVED the boat and transported it to Rogers City Boat Harbor after plugging the hole in the hull and connecting the bilge pump to fresh batteries. The fact that the skipper had run out of gas meant there was very little spillage, according to the Coast Guard, which had

dispatched a helicopter from Traverse City and an observation team from Alpena. Melvin showed up at the Rogers City harbor on Monday ready to take possession of his boat but was hit with a huge salvage bill that he could not pay. A verbal altercation ensued and police were called to the scene. After investigating the circumstances and questioning those involved, the officer determined it was a civil matter and advised Melvin to seek counsel. Melvin was simply not predisposed to this course of action. In fact, he seemed to have lapses in concentration and/or logical reasoning that made it difficult to communicate.

FOR EXAMPLE, Farmer said the young man suggested to him that they tow the boat out of the harbor as if they were taking it to Cheboygan and let it sink. Farmer explained, ?I told him, ?That does you no good and it does me no good and, besides, I wouldn?t do it anyway.?? Farmer insisted he did not want the boat but had to be paid for his services as agreed upon in advance. Melvin claimed he never offered the boat to anyone but then threw up his arms and said he was leaving for Mackinac Island. He muttered, ?Everyone in this town is in this together,? as if there was a conspiracy to take his boat away from him, even though he had expressed his intention to a number of people to abandon the vessel. The proprietor of a local motel arrived and collected Melvin, Charlie and a couple duffle bags and drove them to the Indian Trails bus stop at the motel. The bus driver would not let them board and it was later reported that Melvin hitched a ride out of town heading north. The incident remains under investigation.