Billy Bob Faulkingham's Fishy Tale of Rogue Wave
On Sept. 15, 2023, the GOP leader of the Maine House of Representatives Billy Bob Faulkingham claimed a rogue wave capsized his 40 foot lobster boat and seriously injured his sternman. The truth: Faulkingham was messing around in the breaking surf to get pics and vids for his social media. 

The vessel is named "51," Faulkingham has said, after a deceased cousin's basketball jersey number. "51" shown here in a social media post from 2021 showing off new paint job.

(Listen to Faulkingham tell his tale here: https://crashbarry.com/episode/disinfomaniacs-episode-12-maine-lawmakers-fishy-tale-about-rogue-wave-capsizing-lobster-boat-his-rescue-by-god-and-angels) The following photos of Faulkingham were snapped around 11:48 a.m. on the day he sank the 51 by a photographer visiting Schoodic Point, Maine. The images were taken about 20 minutes before (and about two miles from where) Faulkingham claimed a rogue wave capsized his lobster boat. In the first photo, Faulkingham (sans oil clothes) and his sternman are taking photos or vid of the waves breaking off Schoodic Point.

The photographer told the Disinfomaniacs podcast, "I took the pictures, showed them to everyone, even sent some to the Billy Bob (I don't think he was amused).  I have photos of both guys taking pictures making me wonder if a driverless boat was safe in those waves.  But I'm not a boater.  It was the ONLY boat I've ever seen in that area when there was a surf warning. Definitely the only one out wave watching that day."

When Faulkingham retold his rogue wave tale for the print, radio and TV reporters, he neglected to mention his wave watching and social media content generation at Schoodic Point. Instead, he told the media he'd been watching the waves,  just off Turtle Island Ledges on the way home to Winter Harbor after a short day of hauling traps ahead of a pending hurricane named Lee. Faulkingham played in the surf despite the Coast Guard's warning to coastal Maine mariners to stay away from spots with breaking waves and surf. Like Turtle Island Ledges.

Turtle Island Ledges are a well-known danger zone for locals like Faulkingham. Below is the Bangor Daily News report on the deaths of Ralph Byers and his son Kenneth while hauling traps near the ledges in 1973. The senior Byers was respected and known Down East as an experienced fisherman, for being on the select board, fire chief, former harbormaster and more. So it was big news when he died back in 1973 and the annual lobster boat races in Winter Harbor are named for Byers. And Faulkingham has raced in and attended the Ralph E. Byers Memorial Races for his entire life.

Faulkingham told WVOM-FM that just before the "rogue wave" hit, he was in 50 feet of water, stopping for a bit to watch the waves hit the ledges.  "And waves just don't break in that amount of water," he said,  "that far from shore where we were." Which would probably put him somewhere in the black oval we've added to the chart below Turtle Island.

According to wave mechanics, there is no way a wave could break where Faulkingham claims to have been watching the waves break on Turtle Island Ledges. Simply put, a wave needs a trigger to break, like a ledge or a rock or a shoal. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is that the wave remains a swell and doesn’t break until its height exceeds the depth of the water. (Some say it’s three-quarters of the depth of water, but we’re quibbling here.) Taking Faulkingham at his word that he was in 50 feet of water, that meant in order for the wave to break, it needed to be somewhere between 37 and 50 feet tall. For reference, that’s a wave about the height of a four story building. If Faulkingham is to be believed, it meant somehow, a giant wave the height of a four story building escaped the notice of all the fellas still lobstering offshore, and the people on shore, taking pictures. And this huge wave made its way up the Mt. Desert Narrows and only hit Faulkingham’s boat. And, as of yet, nobody else reported seeing the giant rogue wave.

Also, the generally accepted definition of a rogue wave is a wave twice the height of the average waves surrounding it. So if Faulkingham's alleged rogue wave actually broke at 40 feet tall, the average wave action in Frenchman’s Bay, at the time, would have to be 20 feet tall chop. And we know from the photos from minutes before, over at Schoodic, and from the word of other fisherman and Faulkingham himself, the weather was nice and the sea calm, unless you were in among the breakers. Besides, no lobster boat would be out in a 20 foot chop in the bay.

So if Faulkingham's tale is scientifically impossible, what caused his boat to capsize and seriously injure his sternman? Winter Harbor lobstermen tell a different story.

Upon request, this fisherman sent Disinfomaniacs an annotated google earth image. The boat image (not 51) is where the locals say Faulkingham really was when his vessel capsized. And the red oval is the approximate area of 51 being recovered.

Transposed onto the nautical chart, the red rectangle signifies the site of the vessel capsizing. The red circle signifies the approximate area where the boat was recovered from.

Not only are the Turtle Island Ledges clearly marked on the chart, there are two asterisks on the chart just outside the ledges. (On a nautical chart, the asterisk is the way the map denotes a rock that’s exposed at low tide.) And, in all likelihood, that’s where Faulkingham was. Just inside those two rocks and just outside the actual Turtle Island ledges.

This is a very narrow split of ocean, surrounded by known dangers, with a hurricane approaching.  And, if Faulkingham was side to the surging ocean, getting ready to snap an action photo, it’s totally possible, even probable, that a breaking wave as small as 15 foot, in theory, could flip over his lobster boat, since 51 has a 15 foot beam.

Or, had a 15 foot beam. Here's a photo from Facebook showing a submerged 51 under tow after being floated. The hull, in this photo, was still submerged below the surface, attached to the fenders and airbags used to raise the vessel from the briny deep. 

Here's another image of "51" at the ramp in Winter Harbor.

Yes, that is a US flag painted on the starboard bow of the boat. Painted backwards, though, like it’s flying in the wind. On the port side, he painted, also backwards, the Marine Corp flag, because Faulkingham served as a Marine Corp reservist for 3 years. Painting an American flag on the bow of a vessel is a flag code violation. According to flag code, American flags are to be flown from the stern of a vessel in port or aloft underway. Not painted on the side. A flag code violation, though, is the least of Faulkingham's worries.

On Nov. 9, the sternman posted a fairly gruesome photo of his face on Facebook. All stove up, to put it mildly. It appears the picture was taken in the hospital, just after being rescued. The injuries look painful, real painful. And, obviously, these are just the surface wounds and we can’t see the impact of the broken bones and head injury. 

The sternman made a single terse comment to accompany the post of his photo. "Shouldn’t have happened.” He didn’t respond to questions from his friends asking what happened and declined to be interviewed for the Disinfomaniacs podcast. Word from his pals, though, is that the sternman has retained an attorney, due to Faulkingham's apparent lack of P and I insurance that covers crew members from accidental injury.

There’s another strange aspect to this tale. Both Faulkingham and his sternman, who also worked as a legislative aide at the statehouse, according folks in Augusta, would both likely have had health insurance coverage through their jobs as legislative employees. However, in the days following the capsizing, an on-line fundraiser was set up, according to the listing, by someone claiming to be the "Maine House of Representatives." Whoever organized the campaign had high hopes to raise $25,000. However, only $3,547 have been raised via 47 donations, with the money being donated to Faulkingham directly. And the cash isn't the only charity the leader of the Maine House Republicans received.

No word on if his sternman received a new backpack.

A final word from the photographer. And the last known photos of the F/v 51 before sinking.