The HERO in...Reedsport

The R/V Hero tied up on the Umpqua River in Reedsport, Oregon; Summer 1986

In March of 1985 the Port of Umpqua (Reedsport, about 140 miles north of the California border on the Oregon coast) received the Hero from NSF after she had been declared surplus by the U. S. Government. Later that year a group of local citizens formed a nonprofit foundation to preserve and promote the Hero as part of an educational research center and museum.

I took these pictures when I visited Reedsport in July or August of 1986. I met with several foundation members, and I had an opportunity to tour the vessel. At left is a stern view, and at right is an enhanced small closeup view of the nameplate.

The photo at left is looking forward from the port side along the main deck. Note the Zodiac, which is the type of small craft used with the Hero in later years. In the old days there were wooden dories, just a bit heavier and harder to handle.

Looking forward from the wheelhouse. This is the only time I've seen the Hero. I was shown around the vessel by resident caretaker and skipper Jay Morrison, who was keeping the Hero in operational status during the 1986 summer. He also drove her on the occasional tour around the Umpqua basin. Jay had been on the crew during the last year of Antarctic service. I didn't know it at the time when I met him (and didn't know to ask), but before that he had wintered at Pole in 1980.