The Story
Going to work, and depending on your job, doing all of the things you do on a day to day basis revolving around work probably involve some sort of risk, whether you are a movie critic or a crab fisherman. People make decisions frequently about how they are going to live, trying to squeeze all the fun they can have into life before a certain age, or living each day as if it is our last. The risk may be as simple as getting into a vehicle and driving the same 30 minute commute you’ve driven for the last 10 years. Crab Fisherman though, working in one of the deadliest jobs in all industries, do have to prepare for a high level of risk each and every time they embark out to sea and sometimes even the most prepared fisherman are taken on the worst ride of fear imaginable and all they can do is wait – wait to see if they can be found, wait – holding on tightly to their comrades and wait – hoping they’ve survived.
On October 28, 2008, Captain Henry Blake III had to testify at the Coast Guard Marine Board regarding the sinking of the 93 Foot FV Katmai just a week earlier. The Katmai had 11 crew members aboard, which include survivors include Blake, Adam Foster, Harold Appling and Guy Schroder. The deceased include Jake Gilman of Camas; Fuli Lemusu of Salem, Ore; Glenn Harper and Cedric Smith of Portland; Joshua Leonguerrero of Spanaway. Two men — Carlos Zabala of Helena, Mont. and Robert Davis of Deming, Whatcom County remain missing.
The Katmai’s troubles started as the vessel was returning to Dutch Harbor from Adak Island fishing grounds with a full load of cod. The seas were rough, and by evening, a Katmai crewman had e-mailed another ship — the Blue Ballard — to report that the vessel had taken on water and lost steering, according to the Coast Guard. Survivors told Koehler that the flooding involved the stern compartment. “The crew said the ship’s pumps couldn’t keep up,” he said.
As a result, the ship lost its steering in 17-foot seas with winds topping 20 knots. Unable to turn its bow into the oncoming seas, the Katmai became trapped in a trough and rolled over sometime after midnight.
The rest isn’t just details; it includes the loss of life, the ultimate test of an individual’s survival, and then life after the Katmai. Not life only for the survivors, but what happens to the families of those who have lost a loved one? Families of fisherman know what it’s like to have their spouse, sibling, cousin, uncle or loved one away for a period of time, but are they ever really prepared for a loss of life?