Resurrection of Sea Lion II
Half sunk, the once-great Sea Lion II hung from her dock lines like a boxer trying to pull himself up by the ropes, the fight still raging within. She was down, quite literally sitting on rock bottom, and the salvagers’ chainsaws were circling like hungry vultures.
In the winds of Hurricane Irma, which slammed into Florida’s east coast in September 2017, the Sea Lion II repeatedly rocked into a set of pilings along her dock in Jensen Beach. The pounding punched three large holes into the port side. She fell below the waterline, the darkened waters of the Indian River up to the deck of the flybridge—a sad sight for anyone who remembered her as the crown jewel of the early Palm Beach fishing scene, her time in Montauk as a giant tuna hunter or most likely, as the star of the dock in Walkers Cay.
As the photos of her beatdown circulated through the boating world, men hung their heads, remembering her greatness. It appeared another extraordinary vessel would be lost forever. But Charles Orr, a Houston-based boat nut with a penchant for refitting sportfishing vessels, just couldn’t let the Sea Lion II’s legacy end like that. He stepped in just minutes before the order to destroy was issued and purchased the boat for a whopping $5. The 54-foot vessel was granted clemency, but her long journey back to the pinnacle of greatness had only begun. To reach the finish line, the project lead, Capt. Jeff Frank, would have to navigate through the shutdowns and supply crunch caused by the pandemic and a personal battle with cancer.
The boat was originally commissioned by O.H. “Hank” Ingram, an oilman who had a home in Jupiter,
