Last week I stopped by wreck of the Point Reyes fishing trawler, beached near Inverness, California. I first started photographing the boat in roughly 2005, most times on my way out to the Point Reyes National Park. Early on, as you can see in the images from 2008 (below), the Point Reyes was fairly intact.

Read Schadenfreude, the original story about this image!

Read Star Trawler, the original story about this image!

Read Between Earth and Sky, the original story about this image!

By 2019 (image immediately below), the passage of time and the forces of entropy were having their way. The prow of the trawler was relatively intact, but the stern had collapsed. I called my image The Wreck of the Pont Reyes.

The next stage of disintegration was I believe the fault of a photographer, who inadvertently set the boat on fire while “playing”—capturing the trails made by steel wool spun in the air at night. I am still unhappy that this happened, and blame the photographer for negligience.

This year the Point Reyes is truly a wreck (image above), looking like it will take only a good storm or two to wash the remnants out to sea. 

All things must pass, and one can never set foot in the same river twice. Undoubtedly true, and one of the hallmarks of experiencing life. It’s nonetheless enlightening and melancholy to observe the passage of time by photographing the same subject over the course of the passing years.