The Galapagos Discovery
She burned ... and burned ... finally blew ... and burned some more!!
October 20, 1999

Photographs by El Señor Jim

More Photographs of the Galapagos Discovery

The Galapagos Discovery was alongside the dock at the Rodman Pier when the fire supposedly broke out in the engine room. Panama Canal Commission port captains were on the scene and the decision was made to tow her to the third cut area near Cocoli and across from the Diablo Point picnic area where a bunch of bystanders watched the ship burn.

She was pushed into the third cut area somewhere around half tide. As you could see in one of the photos, the tugboats could not get close enough to her due to the ebbing tide.    At low water, the ship's hull rested on the bottom and continued to burn.

At high water, later that night, the tugs did move in closer and  extinguished the fires.    The ship was again floating at high water and was in the process of moving out into the channel when the PCC tugs were called  in to push her back into the third cut area.  She was turned around in the pushing process and therefore the bow of the ship is now facing south as she lays on her port side.

In the early predawn morning she rolled over and laid on her port side.   "Exhausted and dead tired."  End of sea story ...

CZBrats
November 14, 1999

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