Goodbye, "The Point Reyes"

Like a lot of others, I've photographed The Point Reyes, and I'd hoped to do so again. But . . .


"Inverness locals burned up over fire that damaged iconic fishing boat" (Marin Independent Journal)
http://www.marinij.com …O/20160222/NEWS​/160229942


"Iconic Point Reyes Shipwreck Destroyed by Amateur Photographer"
http://www.7x7.com …oyed-amateur-photographer

...The iconic shipwrecked fishing boat in Point Reyes ... was severely damaged by a fire on Tuesday morning, likely due to the shot of an unidentified amateur photographer.



Here's one of mine from last fall:

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …/in/photostream​/lightbox/

Boat's Bow

Crying shame.

"likely due to the shot of an unidentified amateur photographer."

Um,. what? I don't get this. What exactly could a shot by a photographer have to do to set a fire? Unless they actually started a fire for the shot, or something equally stupid.

abacus022 wrote in post #17926951
"likely due to the shot of an unidentified amateur photographer."

Um,. what? I don't get this. What exactly could a shot by a photographer have to do to set a fire? Unless they actually started a fire for the shot, or something equally stupid.

Read the 2nd article.

Someone did a photo on the back of the boat with steel whool on fire with long exposure, sending hot metal all over. It caught fire. The photos are on the article showing this in action. It's pretty idiotic since anyone who has ever done the steel whool thing, knows that stuff will melt your cloths off, let alone set fire to old rotten wood.

Pretty much sucks that someone didn't think about what they were doing and now a piece of history is burned up. Typical.

Very best,

That sucks.

I hate reading about these "@*$&%" who have no regard or respect for anything.

+1 ^^ Ive had it hit my driveway and melt the asphalt

Hope they catch the genius.

JM45ACP wrote in post #17927069
That sucks.

I hate reading about these "@*$&%" who have no regard or respect for anything.

+1 ^^ Ive had it hit my driveway and melt the asphalt

Hope they catch the genius.

They're not even looking for the person who did it. The press release states that there is no criminal act associated, the ship was not owned or official considered anything more than garbage basically. It was just iconic and historic, but not officially supported or guarded. So they cannot pin anything on anyone. All we can do is mourn the loss. If anything, maybe some awareness to others to seek out ways to put historic significance onto some things so that there is consequence or at least some kind of way to protect things that we don't want "up in flames."

Same thing happened here in Florida to one of our oldest trees, a bald cypress, it was burned to the point of having to be taken down and it was discovered that a 26 year female was the blame--she was arrested & sentenced (nothing harsh though). This was a 3,500 year old tree by the way, and a living thing.

There's more consequence for getting burned by coffee, than what people do to everything else. It's truly a tragedy. An unowned boat doesn't stand a chance.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #17926962
Read the 2nd article.

Someone did a photo on the back of the boat with steel whool on fire with long exposure, sending hot metal all over. It caught fire. The photos are on the article showing this in action. It's pretty idiotic since anyone who has ever done the steel whool thing, knows that stuff will melt your cloths off, let alone set fire to old rotten wood.

Pretty much sucks that someone didn't think about what they were doing and now a piece of history is burned up. Typical.

Very best,

Aw geez Louise, are you kidding me??

I expect that there are several images of The Point Reyes on POTN, but here's one in particular that I've admired:

Point Reyes Boat Wreck star trails

Because it was mostly the stern that went up in smoke, my shot posted above would still be possible, but I think Adam's would look singed in the hindquarters.

There's apparently a bit of a tempest underway on Instagram and elsewhere over the boat-burning incident.

Common sense: don't play with burning objects while standing on or near a wooden surface.

MalVeauX wrote in post #17927108
They're not even looking for the person who did it. The press release states that there is no criminal act associated, the ship was not owned or official considered anything more than garbage basically. It was just iconic and historic, but not officially supported or guarded. So they cannot pin anything on anyone. All we can do is mourn the loss. If anything, maybe some awareness to others to seek out ways to put historic significance onto some things so that there is consequence or at least some kind of way to protect things that we don't want "up in flames."

Same thing happened here in Florida to one of our oldest trees, a bald cypress, it was burned to the point of having to be taken down and it was discovered that a 26 year female was the blame--she was arrested & sentenced (nothing harsh though). This was a 3,500 year old tree by the way, and a living thing.

There's more consequence for getting burned by coffee, than what people do to everything else. It's truly a tragedy. An unowned boat doesn't stand a chance.

Very best,

I was last there at night with a flashlight intending to do some long exposures and light painting, but someone had placed a light of some kind in the cabin, almost certainly for photographic purposes, and left it there. The light was so bright that I couldn't take the pictures I'd planned, and I was too much of a landlubber to wade over, climb into the cabin, and turn it off.

I guess the picture-taker before me was practicing the motto Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but your light source.

That wasn't destructive, but it did strike me as maybe kinda-sorta just a wee little bit rude.

Aside from the photo that was posted then removed around the same timeframe, is there anything else that points to a photographer rather than partying/mischievous kids being the cause? I've seen firsthand how some kids destroy places of scenic beauty.

bumpintheroad wrote in post #17927310
Aside from the photo that was posted then removed around the same time frame, is there anything else that points to a photographer rather than partying/mischievous kids being the cause? I've seen firsthand how some kids destroy places of scenic beauty.

no...the steel wool image was also done on saturday night...the fire started monday early morning...so it may not have had anything to do with it...

from reading articles and everything you'd think it was burned to the ground...but it's really not that bad...i mean at the end of the day it was already a decomposing boat that had been left to rot...i'd say it's still pretty photogenic...one side is bad, but that side has always been bad because of some graffiti

these were taken the friday after it burned:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/E5xr​B1

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/EwR2​NH

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/E5Eb​nj

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/EwNq​Cg

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/DYjK​Tc

I have fairly strong doubts that the spark wheel photo had anything to do with the fire, because: A, the reported times don't really match up, and B: while the sparks are bright and look hot, they also don't actually carry a whole lot of thermal energy and can be hard to get something to ignite off them.

I don't consider fire spinning to be strictly safe, and care must be taken with it, but it is not nearly the fire hazard many people make it out to be. Setting damp rotting wood on fire with one? eh, sure it is possible, but far from an easy task. A far more likely cause of a fire in a case like that is someone trying to build up a fire enough that it could catch and sustain itself, either with an accelerant or by building up a base for the fire to catch off of. Starting a fire from sparks and going straight onto burning full sized boards? ehh...