An 83-foot motorboat, remembered as one of the first refrigerated sardine carriers from Maine’s sardine industry peak, faces demolition after being salvaged from the ocean floor. The Jacob Pike succumbed to a storm last winter, marking a grim chapter in its storied history.
Sumner Pike Rugh, the 21-year-old great-great-grandson of the vessel’s namesake, dreams of preserving the historic wooden boat as an educational platform. He even founded a nonprofit to achieve this vision. However, the U.S. Coast Guard lacks the authority to transfer ownership of the vessel, and any new owner could be liable for up to $300,000 in environmental remediation costs.
Rugh acknowledged that the vessel’s fate seems sealed, despite his hopes of collaborating with the Coast Guard. “It’s an ignominious end to a storied vessel,” remarked his father, Aaron Pike Rugh.
While Maine is globally renowned for its lobster today, the state was once peppered with sardine canneries. The first U.S. sardine cannery started operations in 1875 in Eastport, fueling American workers and supporting allied troops. John Steinbeck’s 1945 novel “Cannery Row” immortalized sardine canneries on the country’s opposite coast in Monterey, California.
Launched in 1949, the Jacob Pike featured a motor and a refrigeration system that allowed it to haul tons of herring for canneries. When the sardine industry declined, the vessel transitioned to lobster hauling. Its glory days, however, were far behind it when it sank off Harpswell during a fierce storm last winter.
Despite a recent resurgence in interest for tinned fish, the Jacob Pike was already lost. Sumner Rugh, a senior at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, was on a tanker off South Korea when he heard about the vessel’s loss. Driven by his passion, he established the Jacob Pike Organization with a board that includes a former owner, hoping the Coast Guard would transfer the vessel without the financial burdens of environmental cleanup.
With that outcome proving impossible, Rugh pivoted his ambitions towards preserving documentation and key components for potential reconstruction. The Coast Guard, tasked with environmental remediation duties after the current owner couldn’t or wouldn’t, removed fuel, batteries, and other hazardous materials to prevent ocean pollution, explained Lt. Pamela Manns from Maine.
Salvage crews managed to lift the vessel using airbags and pumps, towing it to South Portland. While empathizing with Rugh’s aspirations, Manns stated the Coast Guard’s priority is clear: to mitigate pollution threats. Regrettably, the Jacob Pike fell under that category and is slated for destruction. “I can appreciate the fact that this boat means something to him, but our role is very clear,” she said. “Our role is to mitigate any pollution threats. Unfortunately, the Jacob Pike was a pollution threat.”
