8
eZ
Ik.
St(N~II ~ : :; Avalon Bay.~ By the time it Was~
From page I over !ess than 12 hours later,,
two men were dead, at least ~six
direction of the winds, which left yachts were destroyed in Avalon
Avalon Bay completely exposed.
The fact that such storms--includ-
ing last week's--can occur sud-
denly and without warning only
adds to the danger.
Trouble began in the early eve-
ning when winds--initially out
of the north--maneuvered unex-
pectedly around to the northeast
and east, barreling straight into
Bay (with several destroyed out-
side the harbor), along with the
destruction of countless skiffs
and other full-sized yachts up and
down the coast. Wreckage littered,
Pebbly Beach and two new 25-foot
Parker powerboats were destroyed
at Toyon Bay. A custom 36-foot
landing was also damaged and
left high and dry on the beach. At
Campus By-The-Sea just east of
Toyon, a pier was partially dam-
aged along with two service craft
used by the facility.
Tragedy struck around 11 p.m.
when the 65-foot charter scuba
boat the King Neptune broke
loose from its mooring and was
driven toward Step Beach.
Harbor Patrol Assistant
Timothy Mitchell was aboard the
Neptune attempting to not only
save that craft, but also to prevent
it from dragging other boats with
it towards the beach. Some of
those other boats along its trajec-
tory had people on board and their
lives were potentially saved by
Tim's actions.
As the King Neptune was roll-
ing dangerously close to shore,
witnesses said Mitchell attempted
to leap from the boat to the cement
seawall and to safety: But owing to
a freak roll of the King Neptune,
Mitchell's timing was thrown off
and instead of reaching safety, he
fell into the surf between the boat
and shore. A subsequent wave then
thrust the King Neptune against
the seawall.
Despite valiant attempts to res-
cue Mitchell on the part of sher-
iff's deputies, Harbor Patrol and
other bystanders, he was killed
in the incident. His body was
recovered the following morning,
Mitchell not only worked with the
Harbor Department, he had been
a reserve firefighter with the City
of Avalon for the past five years
and had been a scuba instructor on
the Island--including aboard the
King Neptune--for 10 years.
At roughly the same time as
Mitchell's tragedy, another agoniz-
ing scene involving Bruce Ryder
was playing out at the Marlin Club
on Catalina Avenue.
Ryder's pet dog Pretty Boy
entered the bar soaking wet
Pretty Boy and Bruce Ryder enjoying a bright Catalina Island day. (Courtesy photo)
and shivering. Bartender Randy
Jackson immediately felt it odd
that "P.B" would be wandering
around without his owner and
called Bruce's cell phone. There
was no answer.
In the maelstrom of the storm,
no one was sure about Ryder's
whereabouts until early the next
morning when his body was
found in the bay. The remains
of his demolished powerboat,
Ocean Ryder, were found later
not far from the ruins of the King
Neptune.
Most other vessel owners in
the harbor were able to cheat fate,
including Clint Palmer, owner
of the 36-foot Fishin' Funatics.
Palmer's Vietnam-era steel-hulled
boat was on a mooring that posi-
tioned him between shore and
the Epic and King Neptune. "The
Epic broke loose and then the
King Neptune just broke loose,"
he said. "Both of them were on
double cans and they still broke
loose."Although the Epic was
saved, the King Neptune contin-
ued to bear down on his boat.
"(The King Neptune) got the
boat next to me and then that's
when I dropped my lines and
drove outside the harbor," Palmer
said. After some effort, Palmer
located an outside mooring can
and spent a rough several hours
with his electronics screaming
alarms at him all night. Although
the move cost Palmer his little red
Zodiac skiff, his actions quite pos-
sibly saved his life.
As of press time Wednesday,
Jan. 7, much of the debris and
beached boats had been cleared
from Avalon beaches.
At Step Beach, the location of
the remnants of both Ryder's boat
and the King Neptune, divers were
busy clearing submerged debris.
A number of wreaths, votive
candles and flowers sadly mark
the spot of two tragedies.
A memorial was scheduled to
be held yesterday for Mitchell at
the Casino Dive Park followed
by a flotilla to Little Farnsworth
Bank off Pebbly Beach for the
scattering of ashes. Greg Bombard
of Catalina Express scheduled a
special cross-channel ferry--at
no charge to passengers--specifi-
cally for those wishing to attend.
A "Celebration of Life" for Ryder
will be held tomorrow beginning
at 11 a.m. at the Marlin Club. The
tribute will be potluck-style and
all are welcome to come share
their stories of Ryder.
Harbor Department
From page 1
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"He died as he tried to save
the King Neptune, a boat upon
which he had also served as a
dive instructor here on Catalina
Island for approximately the past
l0 years. Nearly 40 years old, Tim
was a native of New Zealand, but a
recent United States citizen.
"He held joint degrees in reli-
gious studies and sociology, and
was an accomplished musician,
playing multiple instruments.
"Tim recently joined the Harbor
Department in May of this year.
However, he had served the city
for the past five years as a reserve
firefighter. In addition to his city
family, Tim also enjoyed a close,
extended family at ScubaLuv--
home of the King Neptune--where
he worked as a dive instructor, and
was looked up to by all of his
peers. He was a 'second father' to
Bob and Tina Kennedy's children
(Bob and Tina being the owners of
ScubaLuv, of course).
"Tim leaves behind a mother,
father, two brothers and Michelle
Rodriguez, his girlfriend. He
will be missed by all those who
knew him. Our condolences to
Tim's family--both biological
and extended. Please join me in
acknowledging the tragic loss of
one of our own family members--
this hero, Tim Mitchell--and his
ultimate sacrifice in serving the
City of Avalon.
"Thank you, EVERYONE, for
your prayers and condolences. For
donations to the Mitchell Family,
please make checks payable to
the Avalon Harbor Employees
Association, PO Box 1085, Avalon,
CA 90704."
2~i Friday, January 9, 2015 THE CATALINA ISLANDER
