Shifting Sands Reveal History -- and a Problem

The remains of the shipwrecked steamer Catala could easily have stayed buried forever and forgotten beneath the surf of this coastal fishing town.

But shifting sands have brought the 229-foot ship back into view, and its emergence has renewed interest in the ship’s past -- and future. The recent discovery of oil inside the ship has complicated the issue.

As local historians try to piece together the steamer’s epic journey from Scotland to the Pacific Northwest, government officials are scrambling to make sure that the estimated 2,500 gallons of oil don’t spill onto the pristine coastline.

Visitors to the beach can see the ship’s rusting hull sticking out of the sand just off Damon Point State Park. It is a chance for many to view a curiosity and a piece of local history. For others, it is a relic from their own past.

“I was all over that ship as a kid,” said Carol Noel, 37, a Seattle resident who remembers visiting the site with her parents in the mid-1970s. That was before local officials decided to bury the ship’s remains to protect the public.

The S.S. Catala was launched in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1925, and soon after became the “queen” of the Union Steamship Co.’s fleet in Vancouver, Canada. The steamer transported tourists, loggers, miners and cargo from Vancouver to as far north as Alaska.

Catala Passage, near Price Island, halfway up the British Columbia coast, was named after the ship, which, according to historical records, was the first European vessel to officially undertake the passage.

“It was considered a treat to travel on her,” said Gene Woodwick, curator of the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center. She is writing a book on the Catala. “People who couldn’t send their children on a grand European tour would send them to Alaska on the Catala instead.”

Woodwick said the ship was “like a miniature Queen Mary in its day.”

In the late ‘50s, the steamship company took the Catala out of service and planned to sell it as a fishing barge, Woodwick said. A group of investors from Ocean Shores stepped in, refurbished the ship and brought it to Seattle to use as a floating hotel during the 1962 World’s Fair.

Afterward, the Catala was moved to Ocean Shores, where it served as a base for a fleet of 15 charter fishing boats. The boats tied up to the ship, which could hold as many as 80 overnight guests.

On New Year’s Day 1965, amid wind gusts of up to 70 mph, the ship was driven ashore and permanently beached. It remained intact but aslant on the shore, and visitors climbed and played on its massive hull for years.

In 1980, a woman hurt her back exploring the wreckage and sued the city of Ocean Shores. Although the city wasn’t held liable, town leaders decided the Catala had to go.

“It was cut down to the sand,” said Woodwick. “Winter storms were moving in, and they covered what was left completely. You couldn’t see where it was at all.”

The Catala eventually came to be buried under as much as 5 feet of sand. In the winter of 2002, tidal erosion unearthed part of its hull. This year, a windstorm in early February revealed more of the ship.

“Before [the storm], it was just a couple feet of the hull,” said state park ranger Jim Schmidt. “Now we have as much as 5 to 6 feet exposed on the one side, and you can start to see some of the superstructure through the sand.”

Today, visitors must hike about three-quarters of a mile through the park to get to the ship wreckage. The site, which isn’t marked, sits at the end of a channel, protected from the pounding surf.

From a distance over the dunes, jagged, rusty fins rise from the sand, and it is hard to make out exactly what is left. From the water side, however, it’s easy to envision the shape of the ship.

In mid-April, some beachcombers reported oil at the site. It was just visible through a hole in the ship’s deck. They used driftwood to reach several feet inside the wreck and touch the mucky surface.

The Washington state Department of Ecology and the Coast Guard confirmed the finding. Schmidt, the state park ranger, said there were about 2,500 gallons of oil.

“We’re still doing our assessment,” said Ecology Department spokeswoman Sandy Howard. “Right now, we think we may have anywhere from a few hundred to 2,000 gallons of oil on board.”

Howard described the oil as “very thick, like asphalt on top and molasses below that.” The department doesn’t know if it is fuel or bunker oil. Either way, said Howard, it will have to be removed. A plan is being drawn up to do that, she said.

The Coast Guard sealed off the hole, which is above the high-tide mark, and the state Parks Commission plans to put up signs warning people away from the wreck.

“Back in the ‘60s, there wasn’t so much concern about ships that ran aground like this,” Howard said. “But it is a huge concern for us now.”

Damon Point is home to many shorebirds, including endangered western snowy plovers, which currently are nesting in nearby dunes. Howard said the Ecology Department would hire a private contractor to complete the assessment and develop a plan to remove the oil.

She expects the plan will be ready by the time the nesting season ends in early June.

Meanwhile, no one knows what the future holds for the Catala. Ranger Schmidt said the decision ultimately lies with the state Department of Natural Resources and the state Parks Commission.

In early April, before officials put up the warning signs, 12-year-old Jeremy Tomlin explored the wreck with his brother Jimmy, 9. The Tacoma boys, on spring break, climbed over the low side of the rusty hull and traced the outline of the ship in the sand.

“It’s really cool,” Jeremy said. “It’s like finding a pirate ship.”