Tuggin' Along

Driving along 101, we saw this old, half-sunken tugboat where the Rogue River meets the Pacific Ocean. When stopping to take pictures, we learned that this old boat had quite a history!

The Mary D. Hume was built in 1881 and served her first ten years as a coastal freighter that hauled wool, canned salmon and other goods to the ports of San Francisco from the northern coastal California towns. After that, she had a career as an arctic whaling vessel. She had a record for the biggest haul and holds the longest recorded whaling voyage of six full years. In 1909, Mary D. Hume was fitted as an ocean tugboat and happily tugged boats around for 60+ years. Her final retirement was the summer of 1978 where she sailed under her own power into the Port of Gold Beach and her final resting place was a within a few hundred feet of her birthplace. She still sits there today.

Jonah was daring enough to jump into the water for a quick swim. It was icy cold! Of course, Mango jumped right in after him and scared off the seals that were lurking nearby.