from The Ft. Myers News Press: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/NEWS0110/702050346/1075
Captain tried to save vessel after run-in with bull sharks
By Pedro Morales
pmorales@news-press.com
Originally posted on February 05, 2007
Brian Tietz, Special to news-press.com
Capt. Roger Schmall of Fort Myers spends time on the shrimp boat docks of Trico Shrimp on Fort Myers Beach while he tries to decide what to do after his boat sank due to bull sharks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELIVERING YOUR WORLD
Subscribe to The News-Press
Place a classified ad
Printer friendly version
Email this article
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharks bounced off the shrimping boat for four days before the Christy Nichole sank off the coast of Fort Myers Beach last week.
"Sometimes the bigger ones get caught up," said Roger Schmall, a shrimper with 26 years of experience in the waters of Florida and Texas.
A bull shark, about 14 feet by his estimate, had busted the shrimping boat's tail shaft, rendering the propeller useless and leaving Schmall and his crew of two at a standstill about 100 miles off the coast.
"It's pretty scary when you're sitting there and you got all that water coming in," said Schmall of Fort Myers.
The Uncle Henry shrimping vessel would find them two hours later, at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, but the ordeal would not yet be over.
Sharks are a common sight for shrimpers. The sea creatures hound their vessels.
"That's where they get their food, when we throw our trash over," Schmall said, referring to unwanted critters caught in the netting.
"Now, they're so ferocious, they travel in such big packs," Schmall said.
Once, in Freeport, Texas, Schmall's dog jumped in the Gulf after the shrimpers dumped the extras. The dog was caught in the feeding frenzy and never came up again.
At about 3:30 a.m. on that Thursday, Schmall heard a large thud.
"The boat started shaking real bad," Schmall said.
He knew he had been hit by one of the bull sharks that had been trailing them for days. Water began to seep in.
To avert panic, he had the crew work. They began loading and stocking the goods and packing their personal belongings.
Schmall kept the pumps going to keep the boat afloat.
They couldn't see the sharks in the black water. But they knew they were there.
"As long as I kept the crew busy, they wouldn't have time to think about anything else," Schmall said. "I had the crew pretty calm. I was pretty calm and confident we would save the boat."
Nearby, shrimper Henry Gore got the call from his friend Schmall and in two hours reached their ship. The crew's eyes were wide, he said, and they seemed anxious to hop on his boat, Uncle Henry.
"I told my guys, 'Tell them they can get on our boat anytime,'" said Henry Gore.
They got out. Schmall borrowed some pumps from Gore's ships and stayed on. He hoped he could keep the boat floating while Gore tugged them to the shore. The plan worked for a couple of hours.
"The bad weather is what really did it to us," said Schmall, who said he could've saved his boat had the skies been clear.
"The weather got real bad, 6- to 8-foot seas," Schmall said. The rain began to pound the Christy Nichole and waves rammed her.
"The propeller broke loose and it ripped out the back end of the boat," Schmall said.
He abandoned ship. Just two hours later the Christy Nichole which he had owned for 12 years and valued at about $165,000 would be under water. In his haste to keep the pumps going, he never got a chance to collect his personal items.
"After 12 years of being on there you have everything (on it), clothes, pictures, equipment, supplies," Schmall said.
He has no idea what he'll do next. He's considering leaving the shrimping industry altogether.
Captain tried to save vessel after run-in with bull sharks
By Pedro Morales
pmorales@news-press.com
Originally posted on February 05, 2007
Brian Tietz, Special to news-press.com
Capt. Roger Schmall of Fort Myers spends time on the shrimp boat docks of Trico Shrimp on Fort Myers Beach while he tries to decide what to do after his boat sank due to bull sharks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELIVERING YOUR WORLD
Subscribe to The News-Press
Place a classified ad
Printer friendly version
Email this article
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharks bounced off the shrimping boat for four days before the Christy Nichole sank off the coast of Fort Myers Beach last week.
"Sometimes the bigger ones get caught up," said Roger Schmall, a shrimper with 26 years of experience in the waters of Florida and Texas.
A bull shark, about 14 feet by his estimate, had busted the shrimping boat's tail shaft, rendering the propeller useless and leaving Schmall and his crew of two at a standstill about 100 miles off the coast.
"It's pretty scary when you're sitting there and you got all that water coming in," said Schmall of Fort Myers.
The Uncle Henry shrimping vessel would find them two hours later, at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, but the ordeal would not yet be over.
Sharks are a common sight for shrimpers. The sea creatures hound their vessels.
"That's where they get their food, when we throw our trash over," Schmall said, referring to unwanted critters caught in the netting.
"Now, they're so ferocious, they travel in such big packs," Schmall said.
Once, in Freeport, Texas, Schmall's dog jumped in the Gulf after the shrimpers dumped the extras. The dog was caught in the feeding frenzy and never came up again.
At about 3:30 a.m. on that Thursday, Schmall heard a large thud.
"The boat started shaking real bad," Schmall said.
He knew he had been hit by one of the bull sharks that had been trailing them for days. Water began to seep in.
To avert panic, he had the crew work. They began loading and stocking the goods and packing their personal belongings.
Schmall kept the pumps going to keep the boat afloat.
They couldn't see the sharks in the black water. But they knew they were there.
"As long as I kept the crew busy, they wouldn't have time to think about anything else," Schmall said. "I had the crew pretty calm. I was pretty calm and confident we would save the boat."
Nearby, shrimper Henry Gore got the call from his friend Schmall and in two hours reached their ship. The crew's eyes were wide, he said, and they seemed anxious to hop on his boat, Uncle Henry.
"I told my guys, 'Tell them they can get on our boat anytime,'" said Henry Gore.
They got out. Schmall borrowed some pumps from Gore's ships and stayed on. He hoped he could keep the boat floating while Gore tugged them to the shore. The plan worked for a couple of hours.
"The bad weather is what really did it to us," said Schmall, who said he could've saved his boat had the skies been clear.
"The weather got real bad, 6- to 8-foot seas," Schmall said. The rain began to pound the Christy Nichole and waves rammed her.
"The propeller broke loose and it ripped out the back end of the boat," Schmall said.
He abandoned ship. Just two hours later the Christy Nichole which he had owned for 12 years and valued at about $165,000 would be under water. In his haste to keep the pumps going, he never got a chance to collect his personal items.
"After 12 years of being on there you have everything (on it), clothes, pictures, equipment, supplies," Schmall said.
He has no idea what he'll do next. He's considering leaving the shrimping industry altogether.
