Survivors recall fighting for lives
Published 10:12 pm Tuesday, October 28, 2008
JUNEAU, Alask — The investigation into the sinking of a fishing vessel off of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands resumed Tuesday with more testimony from surviving crew members and Coast Guard rescuers.
Harold “Ryan” Appling and Guy Schroder, shipmates from the vessel Katmai, spoke before the Marine Board of Investigation in Anchorage.
The men recounted details of working on the 93-foot, Kodiak-based vessel that sank in a severe storm Oct. 22.
Also testifying were helicopter rescue pilot Lt. Zachary Koehler and Petty Officer 1st Class Dave Coats, who was lowered into the water and helped four survivors into the helicopter.
The Katmai took on water early that morning, and only four of the 11 crew members survived. They wore survival suits and were rescued from a life raft after 17 hours.
Investigators will continue to hear from personnel who last examined the boat and previous crew members on Monday in Seattle.
Rescuers found four survivors and five bodies. Two of the crewmembers were never found.
The crewmembers who survived were found wearing survival suits and in a life raft. The five bodies that were recovered were in survival suits but floating in the water.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard suspended the search for the two missing crewmen, Carlos Zabala, 30, of Helena, Mont., and Robert Davis, 49, of Deming, Wash.
The five bodies that were recovered were identified as Jake Gilman, 22, of Camas, Wash.; Joshua Leonguerrero, 19, Spanaway, Wash.; Cedric Smith, 38, Portland, Ore.; Glenn Harper, 35, Portland, and Fuli Lemusu, 44, Salem, Ore.
The four crew members who survived, included Schroder, 50, and Appling, 30, both of Anchorage; Henry Blake III, 40, of Worcester, Mass.; Adam Foster, 23, Shoreline, Wash.
On Monday, Blake, the ship’s captain, talked about the rescue.
Blake and six of the Katmai’s crew initially made it to a life raft after the processing vessel lost steering and began to take on water during a bad storm.
Crewmen were on either side of the life raft, trying to secure the canopy and it started to tear. With every gust of wind or wave, “it started to tear a little bit more,” Blake told the board.
Blake said a big wave rolled the raft several times. He said when he came out from under the raft three men were missing. The canopy and survival gear were gone.
The ship was owned by Seattle-based Katmai Fishing, Inc. Operations manager Martin Morin told investigators of the ship’s past inspections, recent trips and recent repairs.
The board is comprised of both Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board members.
