HI HI - Hauula, 'Barnacle Bill' UP6909, 19-25, SCUBA suit bought In Tacoma, Nov'82

[Laughing]

Possibly Sean Phelan

An inch taller than official estimate, but he had brown hair. Sean has been known to hitchhike from SoCal to Washington state.

Known to work on the ocean?

 

[HmmMysterious]

Known to work on the ocean?

I have no idea. His NamUs doesn't mention any work involving water.

 

[Laughing]

Just a bump for our Barnacle Bill, the floating sailor.

 

[JaneGaGa]

Laughing, did you ever hear anything?

 

[Laughing]

Laughing, did you ever hear anything?

I await a reply.

 

[DS2021]

So they only have dentals and his body was cremated without DNA collected?

If this person was reported missing and their dentals weren't collected back then, what's the chance of their dentals being preserved elsewhere?

 

[Laughing]

So they only have dentals and his body was cremated without DNA collected?

If this person was reported missing and their dentals weren't collected back then, what's the chance of their dentals being preserved elsewhere?

Possibly if the person was military -- but then what are the chances of accessing that record?

imho, we'll never know.

 

[LucyOso]

Bump

 

[Off-to-Sea]

(Welcome back member Magnum P.E.)-the unidentified
person is more likely to be that which member JaneGaGa
suggested;
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Missing Person / NamUs #MP73779 Richard Jack Cobler .

Given that the R/V Wecoma was a proper ship, no doubt
with a quartermaster and a requirement for records to be
kept regarding the safety equipment on board, there exists
the possibility that the University of Oregon may have
records from that period detailing purchases and listed
inventory of the R/V Wecoma - i.e. possibily had Bayley
Suits with notations as to serial numbers.
Some information as to which Offices or which personnel
were involved in the administration of the R/V Wecoma
during this century are noted here;
------------

Hi @buyerninety , I think I may be able to shed some light on questions regarding standard operations aboard the R/V Wecoma, having been a part of research vessel operations. Under SOLAS regulations (particularly Chapters II-2 and III), the ship was required to perform drills within 24 hours of leaving shore – particularly, fire and abandon ship drills. On a vessel with non-crewmembers onboard (the science party) a safety briefing is also required. In my experience aboard vessels like the Wecoma, it’s common to have the crew perform a fire and abandon ship drill every single departure to stay in line with requirements.

Learning how to don an immersion suit as part of the safety drills is a common practice, however that includes the entire science party putting on suits under crew supervision. After the suits are experienced they are, again under the supervision of qualified crew, returned to their containment bags and properly stowed for use in an emergency. Along with that, onboard a response to an emergency wouldn’t be called a drill and immersion suits in the event of an emergency are only donned when given the specific direction of the crew at muster stations when it is fully believed the ship is going down.

Although my experience with research vessel operations is confined to the 21st century, these requirements and practices would have been in line with the Wecoma’s operations during that time period.

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

So they only have dentals and his body was cremated without DNA collected?

If this person was reported missing and their dentals weren't collected back then, what's the chance of their dentals being preserved elsewhere?

I've long been tortured by this thought, but the recent identification of Grand Bay Jane Doe through DNA left on her dentures, years after her body was cremated, has me hoping they can do SOMETHING for poor Barnacle Bill. I wish we knew what evidence, if any, has been preserved.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Supposedly they kept his thumb. No one has located it yet.

 

[Laughing]

Just a bump.

No cheesy lyric...today.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Bumping for Barnacle Bill.

Thank goodness we have finally got everyone to realize that an exposure suit is not a dive suit and can’t be used for one. That subject was beaten into the ground so hard that I think it bounced off the Earth’s core.
The fact that he wore cutoff jeans makes me wonder if he was a solo sailor who had to abandon ship somewhere between the west coast of the US and Hawaii. A surprising number of privately owned boats are lost every year, with the crew simply never seen again.
Unless we can find the sales/warranty records of the Bayley company, we will probably never know who he was…..

 

[branmuffin]

Bumping for Barnacle Bill.

Thank goodness we have finally got everyone to realize that an exposure suit is not a dive suit and can’t be used for one. That subject was beaten into the ground so hard that I think it bounced off the Earth’s core.
The fact that he wore cutoff jeans makes me wonder if he was a solo sailor who had to abandon ship somewhere between the west coast of the US and Hawaii. A surprising number of privately owned boats are lost every year, with the crew simply never seen again.
Unless we can find the sales/warranty records of the Bayley company, we will probably never know who he was…..

I think it's possible he's already been identified as lost at sea from some fishing boat or some other type of ship. Like you said, there are losses every year of seaman lost either through sinkings or accidents aboard ship.

 

[JaneGaGa]

Perhaps during the safety drill he had to use the bathroom or got sea sick.. with poor visibility in the suit he fell overboard. Wish we had more details from the other folks on board that day.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I think it's possible he's already been identified as lost at sea from some fishing boat or some other type of ship. Like you said, there are losses every year of seaman lost either through sinkings or accidents aboard ship.

There are a ton of 'Lost at Sea' death records on Ancestry and cenotaphs on FindAGrave. Truly a staggering number. I wouldn't be shocked if Barnacle Bill was among them.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I came across this guy and thought maybe he could be BB

3876DMCA - Michael Charles Causley
View attachment 120608
Michael Charles Causley
Missing since May 11, 1979 from Los Angeles County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: June 22, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 16 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7"; 150 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; brown eyes.
Dentals: Not available
DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Michael Causley was involved in a boating accident in the ocean between Redondo Beach and Catalina on May 11, 1979.

I hope nameus updates their description of his eyes. They are quite blue. moo

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Bumping for Barnacle Bill!

 

[LucyOso]

I think it's possible he's already been identified as lost at sea from some fishing boat or some other type of ship. Like you said, there are losses every year of seaman lost either through sinkings or accidents aboard ship.

Absolutely. I have always thought this as well. Lost at sea, people grieve and move on. No one was actively looking for him.

 

[carbuff]

Absolutely. I have always thought this as well. Lost at sea, people grieve and move on. No one was actively looking for him.

There are a number of bodies that have been found on the Massachusetts coast near me that are probably the same situation--people known to be drowned so not listed as missing.

There are a couple of registers for people "lost at sea". I was shocked how many there were just in the northern Atlantic coastal areas. Dozens every year, mostly fishermen and casual boaters.