Man Overboard!!

May 26, 2010

Man Overboard! Nathan, the deckhand went on deck to check the p-line, and slipped on the slippery deck. Luckily, Allen, the cook, saw him go and gave the alarm. In the ensuing chaos, we got a buoy throw to mark the spot, had one person pointing at him as I turned the boat around, and were able to snag him with a ring buoy. While trying to figure out how to get a semi-conscious 200-pounder over the rail and into the boat (tried it lately??), the supper flamed out, causing a fire in the galley. When we finally noticed, Allen and I went in with fire extinguishers to put it out. Allen was overcome in the smoke, and I had to pull him out of the cabin. As the flames spread, we put out the Mayday call, grabbed our immersion suits from the wheelhouse, put them on as quickly as possible, and retreated to the rear of the boat. I had to give the abandon ship order, and we all entered the water. Unfortunately the wind had flipped our life raft, and we had to get it turned over. Forming a chain of 4, we paddled about 100 feet to reach the drifting raft, and crawled inside. The EPIRB and flares would help searchers find us, but in the meantime we began to discover how cramped a 4-person raft really is – how DO you go to the bathroom discretely??
Fortunately, this all took place in the Sealing Cove harbor, on the True North, as part of the AMSEA Onboard Drill Instructor’s course, a Coast Guard requirement for me, as skipper of a commercial vessel. The law requires monthly drills administered by a certified drill instructor on each boat, so I decided to take the 10 hour course. I must say, it was an eye opener! You think you are prepared, but this course actually throws you in the water, gets you up to your knees in a flooding engine room with the typical repair materials available, and exposes you to the art of thinking like a survivor.
Dug Jensen, the instructor, teaches survival to the Coast Guard, and is one of the best instructors I’ve ever been around. He makes you very aware that you, and you alone, are the only fire department, mechanic, medic, etc. in your world, and you better be able to think out of the box if you want to live. Awesome.

Lovie’s flight got her into Sitka at noon, and she walked right into the middle of this, with her typical big smile. By 8 pm, she was able to get into her survival suit within a minute, and had floated around in the 35 degree water with the rest of us. Quite a welcome! It was wonderful to see her again! I was proud to show her all the improvements made on the boat, and even enjoyed her scathing remarks about the general cleanliness and dietary plan…. I mean, Willie in a confined area is NOT a big helper for cleanliness, and M&M’s and coffee are 2 of the basic food groups…. Aren’t they?

We headed out Monday morning for a 2-day opening in Salisbury Sound, about 3 hours north. I like the place, and wanted to show her the area. It is relatively protected, although it gets swells directly in from the west. We caught 1 fish, a 27 pounder. At 4.50 a pound, that doesn’t quite pay for the fuel and expenses! We fished back in Sitka Sound for the remainder of the week, for 0 fish. Boo. Next week, same story. Long trip, 1 fish, only a 10 pounder. Worse and worse.

Last Thursday, we decided we would save money by staying at the dock and working on the boat. It was a beautiful day, and we got lots of painting, cleaning, repairs, completed. Pleasure and sport boats were leaving the harbor in droves, out searching for the salmon that are just beginning to move in toward the bays and inlets. Suddenly, a southwest wind began to blow, and increased to about 30 knots. Waves were forming right here in the harbor, which is well protected. Not a nice time to be out, unsuspecting. I turned on the VHF to monitor for emergencies while we worked inside. About 6pm, I heard a vessel calling the Coast Guard. The 45-foot troller Iron Horse had anchored just outside Cook Island, in a marginal anchorage filled with rocks. We don’t know the details yet, but somehow she slipped anchorage, struck a rock, and went down. The skipper was alone, and was just able to get into his inflatable raft in time. He was unable to get to his VHF to send a Mayday, but was able to get a cell phone call to a buddy. One boat was in the vicinity, and was searching the coastline for him – first fears were that the inflatable had flipped in the strong wind. After about 45 minutes, a searcher saw him on the beach and was able to make contact via cell phone. He was ok, but the boat is history. A neighbor in the harbor said it was a good boat, and the guy is a good skipper. One slip of time and chance, and there it goes.

The photo of the Jayhawk lowering a rescue swimmer was taken about 1 mile from where the boat sank, one day before, as they practiced. The boat was travelling at about 5 knots, the chopper approached from the rear, lowered a line, then a man, then lifted a victim off and flew away. Quite a tricky bit of flying – but I for one LOVE to see them practice!!


As time goes on, I am more and more aware that this is for real. No 911, no mess-ups, no mercy. Just raw ocean power. It’s fascinating, it’s wonderful, but it’s way bigger than any of us. I have great respect for those that live on it.

This week, a change of luck. We got a tip from a friend about a location where the salmon were starting to appear. We trolled for 2 days in relatively protected, beautiful waters, and caught 4 nice fish. There is hope! We caught one each morning, one each evening, within 10 minutes of the same time at the same locations! As one old troller told me, “Keep a logbook. Write down where you caught them, when, what you used, what the tide was doing, what the weather was doing. It’ll be your best tool over time.” I believe it!
Well, enough for now. Summer’s coming! Fish on!