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Captain Dean's Comments

This event of losing my ship has been the worst catastrophe that has ever affected our lives, it's been very much like losing a child. Although, anyone who has really lost a child, God forbid, is truly suffering more than us.

I want to thank West Hawaii Today for covering the story but I also want to take this opportunity to correct a few minor mistakes. The Spanish Main was registered in both the fishing fleet and the passenger fleet but I was not going to start up a fishing business; rather, I was planning to take passengers on historical cruises along the Kona Coastline.

The Ahuena heiau is just around the point from where the boat came ashore. I feel glad and lucky that it didn't land there since I would have hated to cause any damage to this heiau or any others. I've learned quite a bit about Kona's early Hawaiian history and I had hoped to raise monies to start restoring the various heiaus along the Kona coast.

The surf and tides carried pieces of the boat into Kailua Bay and beyond. I made several trips in my dinghy, as did Captains Ray and Cindy from the Robert's Hawaii Captain Beans' Dinner Cruise boat. Almost all of the debris was removed from the bay during the week-long salvage operation. At the site of the grounding, many arm-loads of shattered wood were removed from the surf and hauled away.

One of the helpful on-lookers was Richard King, he helped me decide whether to tow the vessel to the harbor for repairs or cut it up where she lie. Richard got prices for me on materials, labor and marine and land equipment rentals to do the job. My pocket book could only handle so much so I had take the heart-wrenching less expensive method of removal. It cost me $30,000.00 to have the boat cut up and removed. If I would have been able to afford to move the boat to the harbor and repair it, I would have but the costs would have been $150,000.00 or more by the time the boat was ready for service again. Thank you Richard, I truly wish I could have saved her.

The boat was not insured however getting her insured was in the works. The boat went up on the rocks on Wedensday night or Thursday morning, on Friday the insurance company came to me with a quote. The old phrase comes to mind, "...a day late and a dollar short..." Damn.

Throughout this event, I have been absolutely amazed at the outpouring of sympathy and empathy regarding the loss of the Spanish Main. Many, many people came to pay their respects to this fine ship and to me. A lot of people came to relate stories of their own woes and the losses of their own ships and boats. Through this mishap, I've come to know the true hearts of the Kona people and I've started to feel like an accepted member of the community.

While going through the mending and healing process of this huge event, I would also like to thank Captain Carl Devoe. He is the owner of the Maritime License Center in Honolulu and conducts the Captains' Course here in Kona. I am one of his instructors and he jumped on the band-wagon right away. When Carl heard of the Spanish Main's demise, he donated to my cause AND sent letters out to all the Captains that went through his classes asking for their support in the form of donations of time, money or loan of equipment. I thank Carl very much for his part in the healing process as many Captains did come help and/or make donations. I thank each and every one of you very, very much.

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