Langel, Chris

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 231
• News Mention: 25 Sep 2012; Appleton Post Crescent

Notes:

News Mention:
More than six months after a fishing vessel sank off the coast of Washington state, Kaukauna resident Rich Langel continues to search for answers about the incident that ended his 25-year-old son's life.
Chris Langel was one of four men aboard the Lady Cecilia, a 70-foot vessel that departed from Warrenton, Ore., a seaside city on the state's northwestern point, and went down March 10 about 20 miles west of Leadbetter Point off Washington's southern coast.
The U.S. Coast Guard used boats, helicopters and its monstrous four-engine aircraft to scan an area of more than 640 square miles before calling off the search. A company contracted by the Coast Guard located the Lady Cecilia on Sept. 9.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Nate Littlejohn, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, said investigators are examining the wreckage using a camera attached to an underwater rover to determine the cause of the boat's sinking.
Although what caused the vessel to sink remains unclear, Rich Langel and his wife, Deb, want to ensure that such a tragedy never happens to another National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Fisheries Service observer. Their son was working as an observer contracted by the NOAA and had been living in Oregon for only a couple weeks before the sinking.
Among other duties, NOAA observers collect data on the marine life that is caught either for scientific purposes or to inspect management of the fishery.
The Langels plan to advocate for stronger safety inspections of fishing vessels and for NOAA observers to have better communication with the shore once they're out at sea.
Federal statutes require NOAA observers to check that safety items — such as distress signals, a life raft and personal flotation devices — are on board the vessel prior to setting sail. An observer also must verify that the boat has a Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Decal, which is issued by the U.S. Coast Guard after a safety examination of the boat.
Chris Rilling, manager of NOAA's National Observer Program, said if the boat does not have a current decal, the observer will not board the vessel.
Federal legislation approved in October 2010 will require all commercial fishing vessels operating in waters beyond 3 nautical miles (about 3.4 miles) to be inspected dockside, beginning Oct. 16. The examination is currently voluntary, but boats cannot receive a safety decal without having a Coast Guard official or a third party complete the exam.
Kevin Plowman, a fishing vessel safety examiner with the U.S. Coast Guard, said examiners mainly verify that the boat has all the proper safety equipment on board. They don't inspect the vessel's structure unless there's an obvious sign that the vessel is not fit to sail.
Gannett Wisconsin Media was unable to acquire information on whether Lady Cecilia received a structural examination before setting sail. Regardless, the Langels want more thorough inspections.
"We're going to push to make sure that these boats are going to be examined better before these (observers) go out on them," Rich Langel said.
Langel doesn't have a clear plan for how to push for stronger safety inspections, but he plans to contact a local congressman to assist with the advocacy campaign.
The Langels also think observers should have a better way to communicate with the shore once they're out on a vessel.
Rilling said NOAA observers already have a way to communicate with those on land when they're out on the water, whether that's through a satellite phone, a personal cellphone or the ship's radio. Observers also are issued radio beacons that can transmit a distress signal to shore in cases of emergencies.
But Deb Langel thinks NOAA observers should carry some sort of "cautionary beacon" — a way to signal the shore when the observer has an unsettling feeling about being on the boat or are concerned about the captain's or crew's management of the vessel.
Chris Langel was the fifth NOAA observer to die while on deployment since 1990, Rilling said. One of those five deaths occurred onshore.
When Rich Langel learned the U.S. Coast Guard had called off the search for the missing fishing vessel, the grieving father said he couldn't sleep.
To pass the night hours, Langel worked on a wooden model of a fishing boat he had been building for Chris.
"I finished the boat in a week," Langel said. "It probably should have took me two months, but I had to do it for him. I had to finish it for him."
Chris Langel graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2009 with a degree in biology. He participated in a school summer program at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss.
Deb Langel said her son loved the program, which is coordinated through the University of Southern Mississippi. A memorial fund has been created in memory of Chris at the school. The Langels can choose to have the donated gifts support a student scholarship or the work of faculty and staff.
The couple hope to start a scholarship fund this year for biology students at Kaukauna High School, their son's alma mater. They also hope to create a permanent memorial for Chris, perhaps at 1000 Islands Environmental Center in Kaukauna.
The Langels said their son loved fishing and hunting. At home, a big bass caught by Chris hangs mounted on the wall. A photograph from college shows a smiling Chris holding up a furry, white-headed opossum.
"When we used to take him on camping trips … he caught snakes and frogs and bugs," Rich Langel said. "He just loved nature. That was him. He was part of nature."
Rich Langel said he might have influenced his son's love for science. The Langels own Richard's Diamonds & Gems, a jewelry store on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Kaukauna, but before he became a jeweler, Rich was a biology teacher.
The window display of the couple's jewelry store is a tribute to their son. Necklaces, watches and rings are surrounded by ocean blue cloth with wooden ships, seashells and a fishing net.
"He just loved the sea," Rich Langel said. "He just loved … doing his job."
— Kyle Daly writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton.