Fishing vessel Linda's Draw capsizes in storm in Gulf of Alaska. Vessel Alaska Eagle videos event and rescues 3 fishermen. Survivors brought to Cordova. www.deweywhetsell.com
I was the USCG Accident Investigator on this capsizing incident back in 1988 and Interviewed the survivors and crew of tender and flew out to Montague Island to craw aboard the Linda’s Draw after it came ashore as a total wreck. Vessel had fuel management issues, weight management issues, too much weight aloft, skiff shifted to port and loosely secured. Excellent work from Tender crew who saved the lives of Linda’s Draw crew. Vessel was heading north following the Herring Sac Roe Fishery in Southeast Ak. to PWS. This was a big money fishery back in the day before EV Spill in 1989 and then it all collapsed. I also was Lead Investigator on EV Grounding a year later.
It did look like he was dead in the water for quite a while there and took on a good deal of water. I was wondering if his engine compartment had flooded.
If you've fished for long, you are kind of ready for almost anything. We did a few rescues. We were also involved in a search for missing fisherman. It gets scary in a hurry. There were several things the Skipper on that boat could have done differently, and probably been alright, but fortunately, there were people out there to save them.
I was fishing on an identical boat as this one and had gotten across the Gulf of Alaska just a day ahead of those guys. I worked with the boat owners son who was driving this boat. I’m thankful they all made it.
Should have been towning the skiff and the boom down i was down in south east ak and took a rouge wave over the stern and rilled left almost didn't correct
@@mbwelsh65 rogues are very hard to capture - the name says it all, random, fairly rare, and *always* unexpected. Sailing on a submarine tender, headed to Adak to meet a submarine for a remote refit, we hit a storm in the Gulf of Alaska, and we were taking green water over the flight deck, some 30 feet above the nominal waterline. Weather like that, everyone stays inside the skin of the ship as much as is possible, so not a lot of cameras available to capture the moment, either.
That little boat put up a valiant struggle to stay afloat before being overwhelmed by the waves. Glad to hear the crew was rescued. That was some nasty storm.
The ocean absolutely terrifies me. Doesn't matter what size ship you are. Compared to the ocean, it is no bigger than a grain of sand. So very greatful that crew was saved. Just can not comprehend it in my mind. Miracle!
@@billrobbins5874 that's why picking your crew and the boat you work on is extremely important. So many little things add up big time especially here in Alaska. I am so thankful to work on a ship and for a company where no expense is spared in regards to maintenance and safety. We run drills all the time. We cross train so everyone knows what to do should one of us fall. Stay safe boys. Pour one out next time for the men and women who didn't make it home. We play a dangerous game and not everyone makes it out alive. Hold fast boys.
I am a trawler Skipper and that was an unnecessary event. In those waves you keep your bow headed into them as a first choice for safety, especially with a transom stern.
@Jon Davis anywhere from 100k to over 500k per year and most only actively work about 4 months a year and then can get unemployment for the rest of the year. They work hard for their money, but they do make alot of it; A fisherman's son whose dad was lost to a fishing accident in 1988 when I was only 16......
If you watch the video Linda's Draw was crossways on top of a massive roller that was breaking from both directions. The wave just picked the boat up and laid it on it's side. You may ask how I know this. I was a crew member on the Alaska Eagle at the wheel when we found them. Not only did I take the video, I threw the lines that got all three crew members onboard the Eagle. My name is Gale Hann and I worked for Ted Morehouse for four years.
I grew up on fishing boats. My family's history on the ocean goes back over 150 years. Have lost many friends over the years. What use to be caught along the shoreline you need to go out 200 miles to catch today. If you are not a believer the ocean can make you cry to God to save you. Total respect to anyone that goes to sea for a living!!
Every time we sit down to eat a chunk of fish, it's worth remembering that men go out in mountainous seas to catch that food. It truly is the last, great frontier and those guys have more balls than 90% of the rest of us!
@@yaboycoconuthead7012 Yeah, what a silly analogy. Hard working men and women risking their lives to earn a living and feed people versus reckless fools with too much money and too much time on their hands cheating death for bragging rights. Talk about a false equivalency.
Angela Falsetta Ted Morehouse and crew. On the Alaskan eagle. He found this seiner on a distress call and a rough position before the days of gps. What a incredible feat . Ted is forever a hero for this and many other rescues. He always had a standing rule , if a distress call came across the radio and you could get to them , you did . Period. He still plugs around on the Lois Anderson and island trader. Neat guy .
I am from copper center and grew up going out on a 300ft tender commercial fishing with Ted Moorehouse. He rescued a crew that capsized in the early 90s. It aired on Good Morning America. Takes an incredible amount of courage to fish our waters and rescue people.
You know the crew of the boat that capsized must have felt like their time had come. I've been out in heavy swells but never in seas like this in a fishing boat. The feeling of biting off more than you can chew and trying to survive is something that makes my.heart go to this crew and the crew that rescued them.
that is exactly how it feels, I got caught in 70 knots and 15 meter seas and made my peace with god survived due to luck, seamanship and a bloody strong boat rig
When the weather gets ugly, and the waves get too high, you literally start questioning your life choices. Out to sea, there have been a few occasions where I literally asked myself what the hell I was doing out there. The VAST majority of the time, though, it's a great place to be and an amazing experience. Of course, walking on the bulkheads, wondering if the ship was going to roll upright *this* time, is pretty amazing too. Just, not in a fun way.
Nothing is more scary than the ocean. I can't imagine being stranded in the middle of it. Especially at night. Second fear is lost in the forest. It is also not fully explored.
Have you actually went down because unless your like 90 then it’s extremely rare for a navy ship to sink these days. So the whole navy part doesn’t really matter
Our seiner was in the same storm, heading into Prince William Sound for the Herring season. Actually saw the video in Cordova on the Alaska Eagle when they got into town. The main reason it was floundering so bad was because the seine (net) was in the fishhold without the bin boards in, causing it to shift weight over to port. Also the skiff had shifted to port creating even more stability issues..
The year was very good for fishing industry in Alaska. I was in college and got information about fishing in Alaska in needed seamen, it said for few months the season you could eared $50K or $70K. Very attractive ads, but my father said your education would last longer for future earnings. Beside, we have five big fishing vessels in South Vietnam before 1975. Our family had been in fishing business for very long time. Very difficult works and extreme environment when bad weather at sea.
I fished and skippered in AK in the 80's and 90's. This boat is a seiner, probably 58', the same type I worked. I also took that boat through the Gulf geared for blackcod and halibut off Seward and Kodiak. It's pretty obvious that they have lost most of their main engine power - there's a little prop wash showing, but not enough to maneuver in those conditions. I don't know how they got themselves into this situation, but I see some major mistakes on the part of the skipper/crew. 1 - it's common in fair weather to haul the skiff up on deck for travel, but when the weather starts looking shitty, you get the skiff off the deck and tow it to lower the center of gravity. I'd guess an average skiff weighs a couple of tons. Like I said, I don't know the circumstances here, so I don't know why it was still on deck. I notice also that it's shifted to port like it wasn't tied down good enough to begin with. It's making the whole boat list. 2 - Another strategy in a seiner when you know you're about to get your butt kicked is to lower the main boom and the block down to the main deck and winch it down tight, further lowering your center of gravity. I wouldn't guess the weight of the boom and block, but your're talking a huge chunk of thick steel tube and a heavy block all the way at the top of it. AK seiners have combinations of lead, concrete, and steel in the keel that makes them like Weebles. Remember the old kid's toy? Weebles wobble but they don't fall down? Same concept. Although lowering the boom can make the period of righting quick enough to be uncomfortable for the crew, it keeps you away from laying over so far for so long that any subsequent waves can pound you down. Two more things I wonder about - It looks like they have two (either picking or stabilizer) booms that are still up. No matter what they are, they should be down also, and rigged tighter, not flopping around. The other thing is that they seem awfully high in the water. Don't know what fishery they were doing, but "if" they had a seine, it should have been in the bottom of the hold and not on deck before they left for a trip in the Gulf. Also by '88 many boats had been converted from the old dry-holds to refrigerated wet-holds, where the fish hold is filled with refrigerated sea water. This boat is one of two things - running an empty wet-hold or one of the old dry-holds. Been there, done that, so many times I can't count.
You commentary ties in with what we "landlubbers" can observe in the video; and your years at the helm are valuable in teaching even experienced boat-men how to plan their voyage when a storm warning is issued. Do you actively mentor young crewmembers, or teach seamanship? Might save some lives if you did, and that would be a good thing.
+dav snow - I've long since left the AK fishing fleet. Fish prices bombed in the late 80's and early 90's and I opted out. Not sure if that was a smart move or not, but it is what it is. During my years in fisheries that seem to be related to this video, we did a lot of transitions from safe water to dangerous water. My original comment just outlines the things we did to be safe on this type of boat. (Or maybe just did so we could get the the next fishery and make a lot of money, lol). Thank you for your reply dav.
+dav snow - Did some Googling. Here's the scoop, mostly just reinforces what I gathered from the video. From www_ dot_soundingsonline.com/dispatches/290900-fishing-boat-capsizes-sinks: "There was never a mention of engine trouble, running on auxiliary power, or not having sufficient power to maintain steerage. (Ok I could have gotten that wrong, hard to tell from the video) The transom of the seine skiff and the seine net had shifted to port, depressing that side. (Noted in original comments) The boat had an empty hold, except for the net. (Noted in original comments) The seine block had not been lowered to the deck to reduce the center of gravity. (Noted in original comments) The boat was not designed to handle those conditions. (Well, that's hard to definitely state. Yes, an AK limit seiner is likely to be a bit small in the Gulf; But - If hardware-outfitted properly, then set up, and skippered properly, it's not a big deal. There were many days in the Gulf that I was thankful for having a little boat. Because of the wave period and height, I watched many larger boats just simply get their ass kicked with some of the storms. Bang, Bang, Bang, I saw them getting hammered and felt sorry for all on board, but on my little boat, we just bobbed like ducks). The owner of the boat (in Cordova) had called the skipper and urged him to cross the Gulf of AK from Icy Bay to Prince William Sound, even though the weather conditions were bad. The rest of the seine fleet decided to wait out the weather in Icy Bay. The skipper hand steered for many hours and was exhausted. He turned the helm over to an inexperienced crew member who decided to engage the auto pilot, and within a few minutes the boat broached and went over."
+deadfish86 I just read that page - made a small correction in the URL and found it - thanks for that, and hope young folks watching this avoid similar dilemmas on the oceans.
I remember watching an original copy of this video on VHS as a kid. I believe the Linda's Draw was leaving the Sitka Sac Roe herring fishery for the Togiak Sac Roe fishery in March. I think it was a combination of poor fuel allocation and the skiff broke loose putting the weight on the port side. That line, "Okay, start picking people out of the water!" has been in my head since I was little.
Crazy stuff. Have a friend who ran a skiff off Kodiak through the 70s and 80s. Has all sorts of crazy stories of living there all year round. Thanks for sharing and stay safe out there :-)
yeah i'm guessing they're on one engine instead of two, and they've taken on water. you can see that the boat has power but it's either intermittent or very low. miracle anyone survived.
I was on a 53ft ketch in a gulf storm with seas far bigger than that in 1980. The boat behind us lost 2 overboard never recovered. I love the comment the crew mate said about not being on a sail boat. A strong 40-50ft sail boat with a good skipper would have been fine in those seas. That skipper needs to have his certification pulled.
Dear God. I grew up on lake Erie. One man's heavy seas is another's typical day. That video made my eyes tear up. Wow, such power in our oceans and great lakes. God bless those who find themselves in rough seas, be it in a 14ft Utility boat on an inland lake, or a 180ft Trawler.
The Great Lakes aren’t shit compared to the sea conditions that are faced in the oceans and gulfs. Ships sink in the Great Lakes due to inexperienced capts and shitty designed vessels
Cool kettle of fish there, good job on saving your buddies. I guess the capsized ship had lost its power for some reason, getting hit sideways by those mothers of a wave sucks big time.
Every time I've seen this, I always wonder, Why weren't they jogging? Even "tanked down" (fish holds flooded to to provide weight and raise metacentric height), both of those skippers had to know how prone to surfing and broaching a purse seiner can be. Linda's Draw seems to be taking these seas on her quarter, the worst possible direction. The boat will surf, become uncontrollable as she exceeds her hull speed, then "head up and broach". The nautical term for that situation is, "Fucked".
I respect any man or woman dare go out in those seas to work in order to provide for their families. When that ship capsized I can only imagine how helpless that feeling must be. I hope they all survived and are still enjoying life... -Godspeed!
This footage really gives a more truthful depiction of how violent the water surface is.. it's waves from every which way and the amount of movement on the filming vessel is conveyed too.
This happened just outside of the entrance to Prince William Sound. Boat was bound for Cordova. I'm from there and from what i know about this incident (just things I heard from my Dad and other fishermen) the owner of this boat had his son running it. The guy was scared (of course) and kept too much power on. This is not unusual. You want to just get inside shelter and out of the storm. Hard to deny adrenaline and slow down. Many times if you just pull back on the throttle in deep sea conditions you reduce risk considerably. Also, they had the jitney on deck, and it filled up with water, plus they had the boom up with the power block on it. This all caused too much weight too high on the vessel, reducing stability. This is just what I've heard. The video seems to confirm this, but I wasn't there so I may be wrong.
My brother was on the Loch Lein which sank in the Tasman Ocean in 1988 in similar sea's ... FV being operated by Simunovich out of Auckland at that time .... dangerous job .. good result.
Do you find that generally your not very solid? I have a few friends like that and it really limits their abilities. Hopefully you have a solid group of friends around you
Fuckin A.... As a guy who grew up on the water, former EMT and prior service Coast Guard this video hits home. It happens so fast. Makes my heart race. Good video, thanks for sharing. Sorry about the boat, glad your friends made it home.
Honest hard working people like these fishermen working in extreme weather conditions risking their lives for an honest living n to help feed the world get paid peanuts in comparison to crooked fininciers bankers n shares dealers, doesn't this make any dissent man sick to his bones?
wow...it's that easy for a ship to go over....i thought it would take a bigger wave..no wonder it's the most dangerous job in the world....these guys are john wayne of the seas...and the way the guy was so calm on the radio,like another day in the office..they have my respect fully....and i'm a roofer and i have had some hairy times doing that profession but this takes the cake.
These guys were under pay and under rated. I don't know how if a person can get spotted floating in that condition. I saw a guy got picked out or spotted out in the Malacca Straits when his boat got roll and sink plus he lost his father in that mishap. I can't see a thing between the waves but a crew from another boat spotted him in the sea. The water on the straits are walk in the park compared to Alaska waters. Wow!! Balls of steel for sure
I spent three days Hove To, in the Gulf of Alaska, in the same weather conditions, in my sailboat a Ingid 38' "Solitude." Helm tied over, storm jib. She'd sail up, then fall off. Perfectly content, like a duck, sleeping with it's head between it's feathers. That was in 1993 or 94.
shakein it up like that, fuel filters clog....been there,done that....yep, engine conked out in big storm.......quickest fuel filter change i ever did, scared the crap out of me the whole time while below decks, definitely put me in survival mode .....and yes, why was the skiff picked, i never like having the skiff on board in big weather
I just knew this guy was going to miss the money shot all the way through. Pleased to see he “just” managed to capture the moment but barely. Glad all crew were rescued. Incredible scenes.
I was a commercial fisherman out of Kodiak and Dutch harbor for 6 years..pot-fishing is all I did. dam that sainer is lucky that bigger boat jogged by there side
my props to you Miguel for risking your life out in the ocean like that because there is nobody to rescue out there if you were in that water for a minute it would be safe to say that you would die of hypothermia and I was curious to know Miguel how big was your ship and what was the worst storm you were in and how did your captain
+John Tuttobene the worst was 127 knot winds 35 foot swells. we were not suppose to be out there. it was all hands on deck. I've never seen a captain so nervous in his life. we all called our loved ones one final time via our satellite phone. when we got to.seattle from dutch harbor. the coast guard was waiting for us to give us a certificate. showing facts about the storm we just pass and for surviving it.
Add me on Facebook homie. Miguel Angel Angulo. Got plenty of video's and pictures of my struggle here in Alaska to make ends meet. Am not retired. I retired from fishing. I work.for the state of alaska now. Still doing tough work. I can't retire young homie because am from Mexico.the day I retire means I no longer have poor family there. I work for them. Am getting close.
The power skiff should have been in tow and the power block lowered to the rear deck in these conditions...IMHO. It even looks like the skiff started to move around to the port side of the boat just before it capsized (fished a purse seiner for 10 years).
The skipper was messed up. The seiner was listing to the port side because the seine skiff was further to the port side. The skipper should have cut the skiff and saved the seiner.
In conditions like that, it's a challenge even to stand up - you need to hold on with both hands. I've sailed in the Gulf of Alaska, and was always too busy hanging on to even think of filming anything. This guy did a good job just filming at all.
From my experience you can handle huge seas if you point the bow into the sea and throttle back and slowly go into it. To fast to dangerous and if you get side on you are in trouble. So this vessel had either none or very little power and the skiff should have been let go and the boom lowered. I have been in some very angry seas and if the vessel is not stable you are in trouble. I think a lot of things went against this vessel, poor management being the number 1.
Problem is if you point the nose into the waves with enough boat speed to maintain control you end up getting further away from home, but these guys might have been wanting to get home, not head out into the middle of the ocean....
@Kingseiner Did you notice the power block was hoisted way up in the working position instead of being lowered to the deck and dropping the center of gravity?
The Roof Man L I moved an hour inland 10 years ago...against my will...and haven’t even taken a day trip back, it’s too depressing, I don’t want to leave!! I love the ocean, there is nothing like living near it...but there is a little fear mixed in with my love. I have been through some pretty rough weather living in houses on the water, with 80mph+ winds. I can’t even imagine being out on the water in those conditions.
7150285 I simply checked the Alaskan ship/boat registry and there were only two with that name. One was a fishing boat, the other was a passenger/tour boat. Now I don't think they would be out giving tours in those seas but a fishing boat would be out there. Took about a minute and a half to do a little research.
fortunate they had a traveling vessel on the same path, i know how it feels, i was on the copasetic when it capsized outa seward in 2011!!, keep ur carma up!!
The crew had no chance to save the vessel. It can be seen from the beginning they were taking on water and struggling tremendously in the underpowered boat to keep turning into the waves. They did a good job keeping her afloat awhile. But it looked inevitable there were going to capsize.
I grew up around the off shore commercial fishing and shrimping industry in Florida down to South America. Now I live in Alaska. You couldn't get me on a boat up here. Rite there, just this easy. Most of the people that die in the water don't die of drowning or hypothermia, the die of a heart attack from the shock of the cold water. That price you pay for those fish is CHEAP.