Newport in mourning.

Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard

NEWPORT - Four large glass-enclosed candles burned Wednesday next to four bouquets of deep red roses atop a marker engraved with the names of more than 100 Lincoln County fishermen who have lost their lives at sea since 1900.

The tokens honored the memory of four more men whose names will soon be added to the marker inside the Fishermen's Memorial Sanctuary at Yaquina Bay State Park.

The spot overlooks the jetties where local fishing boats pass on their way to and from the sea.

"May the Creator bless the crew of the Fishing Vessel Nesika, their families and friends," read a paper left with the flowers and candles. "We mourn with you in your great loss."

Three Newport men - Robert Thompson, 40, Steven Langlot, 34, and Ben Eder, 21 - and 20-year-old Jared Hamrick of Waldport died when their 40-foot crabber capsized Tuesday morning a half-mile off Yaquina Head as it was lowering crab pots into place on the ocean floor.

The Coast Guard suspended the search for the missing men late Wednesday morning, though members of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Posse and other volunteers will continue to search the beaches for their bodies.

Their battered boat washed up on Beverly Beach north of Newport, and a salvage crew dragged it along the beach to the end of an access road, where it will be loaded aboard a truck this morning.

A search of the vessel turned up no sign of the men.

Thompson, the Nesika skipper, had been a fishermen for 15 years and was always cautious at sea, said his brother-in-law, Perry Garrett of Spokane. Garrett came to Newport to be with his sister - Thompson's wife, Patricia - and the couple's three children, Tyson, 18, Katie, 15, and Josh, 13.

"He would not do anything to endanger himself or his crew," Garrett said. "It's just something that happened."

Fishing was Thompson's life, Garrett said, and dying at sea is probably the way he would have chosen to go.

"He's still there watching us. And he's going to be watching every fisherman from now on. He's a protector."

The community also paid tribute to the lost fishermen and is pulling together to help their loved ones. Lincoln County commissioners opened their meeting Wednesday with a moment of silence.

The flag next to the commercial boat basin flew at half-staff in wind-driven rain.

Members of the Newport Fishermen's Wives Association met with grieving family and friends. Counselors at Newport High School talked with students and staff.

"This is a fishing community. Fishing is part of the culture of Newport," said Ginny Goblirsch, president of the association. "Everybody feels the loss."

Oregon's Dungeness crab fishery is perhaps the most dangerous - fishermen harvest most of the crab in December and January during the worst weather and ocean conditions that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Crews know they may miss a good payday if they stay in port - especially in the early part of the season, which begins Dec. 1.

"But no fisherman dwells on the fact that you could die, or you wouldn't be a fisherman," Goblirsch said.

Knowing the danger doesn't make it any easier for the families of fishermen who are lost.

About 20 family members and friends gathered at the Coast Guard station during the search, attended by Fishermen's Wives members and others who offered moral support and helped them notify out-of-town relatives.

"They're holding up well under the circumstances, but the pain is indescribable," Goblirsch said.

The wives group has been through such tragedies before. Goblirsch said members will offer long-term support to the families, but the association's financial resources are limited and there are no pensions for families of lost fishermen.

Newport has perhaps 50 of Oregon's 325 active crab boats.

Most of the crab fleet continued to set the large round steel-and-wire crab pots Wednesday, then headed into port. A gale is expected to keep them off the ocean for the next few days.

Goblirsch said the crew of the Nesika had a good boat, good safety gear and solid training and experience. The boat was owned by Robert Eder, the father of one of the crew members and a fisherman with a reputation for stressing safety and keeping his boats shipshape.

A wave probably hit the boat broadside as it was setting gear, Goblirsch said. And it must have happened very quickly, she speculated.

"So I guess that's a blessing," she said. "They didn't suffer."

At Yaquina Bay State Park, a gazebo-style enclosure shelters the memorial. Underneath are a few benches. The Fishermen's Wives solicited help from the community to build the memorial, and dedication is scheduled next year after completion of some final work.

The names cover two sides of the marker - the most recent on the side closest to the ocean. Dots next to some of the names indicate that the bodies were recovered.

It's a good place for people to come, sit and remember their loved ones, said Connie Kennedy, a Fishermen's Wives member whose husband is a crab fisherman.

And the number of visitors probably will increase in the wake of the Nesika tragedy.

"It's a comfort to the families. It's a comfort for the community," Kennedy said.

NEWPORT CRAB FLEET

Most recent losses:

Dec. 11, 2001 - Fishing Vessel Nesika. Four crewmen lost.

Dec. 8, 1999 - Fishing Vessel Blue Heather. Two crewmen lost.

Dec. 6, 1994 - Fishing Vessel Amber Dawn II. Four crewmen lost.

To help families: Send donations to the Newport Fishermen's Wives Family Support Fund, P.O. Box 971, Newport, OR 97365. Contributions may be earmarked for the families of Nesika crew members - all of them or specific families.

CAPTION(S):

CHRIS PIETSCH / The Register-Guard Coast Guard, state police and salvage personnel board the Nesika after it ran aground at Beverly Beach north of Newport on Wednesday. Four men died when the 40-foot crabber capsized Tuesday morning off Yaquina Head. Flowers and candles are left at the Fishermen's Memorial Sanctuary at Yaquina Bay State Park by grieving members of the Newport community. S. BARROW / The Register-Guard