Word: sound
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...longer waves to his neighbors in Huntington Bay, N.Y. Instead, his head sagging, he hurries back indoors to the lonely anguish that has engulfed his life since the early morning of March 24, when his tanker, the Exxon Valdez, struck a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and leaked 11 million gal. of crude oil into the pristine waters...
...Aside from the question of Hazelwood's drinking, there is a dispute over the key issue of the Valdez accident: Was Third Mate Gregory Cousins qualified to be in control of the vessel as it headed out of the sound? Though the Coast Guard emphatically stated after the wreck that Cousins was not so qualified, the matter is far murkier. Federal regulations governing "pilotage endorsements" in the sound have been altered so often that Cousins may have met the standard that was in force at the time. Shortly before the accident, Congress was considering legislation that would have eased federal...
Hazelwood's special joy -- and gift -- was sailing. Fellow members of the Sea Scouts, an advanced Boy Scout group for teenagers, remember with awe the time they were sailing a 65-ft. schooner across Long Island Sound, and a violent storm blew out the mainsail. "Some of the boys were crying or vomiting," recalls one sailor, but Hazelwood volunteered to climb the 50-ft. mast to haul in the sail and its hardware. "Jeff related to sailing like a pro golfer who swings a club for the first time," recalls Sea Scout Ralph Naranjo, who today runs a local yacht...
Beyond the issue of Hazelwood's sobriety, there is the question of whether Cousins was qualified to be in charge of the ship while it was in Prince William Sound. The answer hinges on "pilotage endorsement," a certification from the Coast Guard that entitles a licensed officer to steer ships in certain federal waters. In 1977, when the Alaska pipeline opened, such approval was required all the way down to the entrance of Prince William Sound -- past Rocky Point, Busby Island and Bligh Reef. But since then, the rules have been liberalized several times...
...Coast Guard, anticipating that Congress would soon ease the rules, issued a directive stating that, provided visibility exceeded two miles, pilotage endorsements were no longer mandatory after a vessel passed a certain point in the sound. But the point at which the new rule applied is unclear. The Coast Guard argues that only certified officers could command ships down to the Bligh Reef area, where the Valdez ran aground. Hazelwood's attorneys insist that the point of freedom was the established pilot station at Rocky Point, some seven miles north of the reef. Hazelwood's position appears to be bolstered...