Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, third from left, and his staff take a tour of the New Carissa and the Karlissa A and B barges on Friday. But you don’t need to be the governor to schedule a tour to see the shipwreck before it’s gone. World Photo by Susan Chambers

For those who want to get a last glimpse at the New Carissa — or what is left of it — now is the time.

Titan Salvage torch crews have taken a big bite out of the rusting stern since removal started in early June. The New Carissa profile from the beach may have changed dramatically, but there is still something for the curious to take a peek at.

A Spinreel Dune Buggy tour out to the New Carissa may be just the ticket to satisfying that curiosity.

Spinreel Dune Buggy and ATV in North Bend started offering tours to the site earlier this summer as Titan salvors got ready to set their torches on the wreck. This shipwreck hasn’t quite been the draw that the uncovering of the George L. Olson was this winter, Spinreel co-owner Tonya Burkholder said.

“We’ve had one to two tours a week,” she said.

Though crossing over the dunes, the tour won’t be a wild ride, like other tours Spinreel offers. Most of it will stick to the sand road on the North Spit.

“This is not really a dune-riding experience,” Burkholder said.

The most exciting part of the trip is the climb over the foredune out to the beach, Burkholder said. Once up, up over the foredune, the project will come into focus. Tides allowing, the tour will continue down the beach, where people can get a close-up view of the wreck removal site, with Titan’s two jack up barges and the cable car running from the beach out to the work site. From the beach, tour takers will be close enough to hear the rumbling of the cranes as they remove pieces and see the workers as they climb around the wreck.

Anyone wishing to take a last look should call ahead with the number of people taking a tour, the date they would like to take the tour and a ballpark time, so that Spinreel can coordinate groups into a single trip. Each truck will hold 11 people and two trucks are available for the tours.