Tragic Final Days of Royal Polaris Trip End at U.S. Shore

The fishing trip from hell finally came to an end Sunday morning.

Never were 15 people so relieved to step off a boat.

Sadly, one of them didn’t.

James “Rollo” Heyn, 39, the “second skipper,” had died three days before when a powerful explosive device he was handling blew up.

The tragedy left a tight-lipped, solemn bunch, who spent the final days of the trip with nothing to dwell on but a senseless incident and how it might have been avoided.

As the Royal Polaris approached Point Loma in the predawn darkness, there was some sense of relief among those aboard. Their 18 days at sea, which initially had been spent bringing in enormous tuna at the Revillagigedo Islands off central Mexico, was finally over.

But there were questions--lots of them--before they departed.

For three long hours beginning at dawn, the Royal Polaris sat still in the water about a half-mile from its landing, tied to a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

Taking their turns questioning passengers and crew were officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Coast Guard. San Diego’s Metro Arson Strike Team was also involved.

No media were allowed on board before or after the investigation.

An official explanation of what transpired on the deck of the 113-foot vessel Thursday afternoon--and what charges or penalties may be involved--won’t come for days or weeks, but this much is known:

Heyn and a few others had been playing with explosives made from material brought aboard by one of the passengers, an Alaska fireman and a friend of Heyn and the crew.

Heyn ended up with his hands blown apart and a hole in his abdomen, bleeding to death at the stern of the boat. It’s still unclear whether he had been holding an explosive he meant to toss or whether he was trying to launch something from a pipe and the pipe exploded.

In any event, the loss of blood was rapid. Had he been closer to home, Heyn might have been saved. But Heyn died before the vessel could reach the nearest town, San Carlos, a small port city on the west coast of Baja California, so Steve Loomis, the primary captain aboard, decided to store Heyn’s body in a freezer and set a course for Point Loma and, ultimately, Fisherman’s Landing.

Waiting for the Royal Polaris were several of Heyn’s friends, including Tim Ekstrom, 30, a San Diego captain of the Royal Star, who had coincidentally called Loomis by satellite telephone about 15 minutes after the explosion.

“All [Loomis] could say was that ‘We’ve got a real emergency here,’ ” Ekstrom recalled. “He was really, really broken up.”

Loomis, 55, a captain with 30 years of experience, had watched from the bridge while the activity involving explosives took place on the deck, according to Ekstrom.

Ekstrom said he felt for Loomis nearly as much as for Heyn, because the two were so close.

“They were like father and son,” Ekstrom said.

“Rollo even called him ‘Dad,’ ” a landing employee chimed in.

When the Royal Polaris arrived at the U.S. customs’ office, Heyn’s body was taken away by the coroner, who will perform an autopsy this week. Loomis was escorted away with his wife. Boat owner Frank LoPreste, 55, a long-range pioneer who still captains several trips each season, climbed into the wheelhouse and started for Fisherman’s Landing.

The FBI, ATF and Coast Guard would not comment on their investigation, but FBI special agent Jan Caldwell said a report would be presented to the U.S. Attorney’s office, which will determine if there is probable cause to file criminal charges.

The identity of the man who brought the explosives aboard was withheld as was the type of explosives found aboard the vessel.

“We want to find out why and how the explosives were used and how this young man lost his life so tragically,” Caldwell said. “But at this point we do not think this was a big malicious criminal act, but one horrific tragic accident.”

Back at the landing, a crowd of about 150 met the Royal Polaris with tears, hugs and handshakes.

“All I can say is that it was a quiet boat ride home,” said John Bradford, a fisherman from Salt Lake City who took top-fish honors with a 292-pound tuna.

Impending is a Coast Guard hearing, which will involve Loomis, who faces a possible revocation of his license.

One scenario of major concern to the sportfishing industry involves the Mexican government, which has the power to pull the plug on all U.S.-based sportfishers operating south of the border if it so chooses.

“The Mexican government will view this as a tragic accident, but it doesn’t appear that Mexico will view this as a significant problem,” said Bob Fletcher, 56, president of the Sportfishing Assn. of California, which represents the interests of fleets from Santa Barbara to San Diego. “They will stand by and see what the results of the investigation are and whether any action is taken on the operator or owner of the vessel--and if they feel the Coast Guard handled the situation responsibly that’ll be that.”

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, at 8 this morning, the Royal Polaris was scheduled to return to sea.