Stories from Alaska |
Search for the Betty Rose |
The fourth ring of the telephone brought Matt Garrett into an awakened world of darkness. Trying to focus his eyes on the clock next to his bed he became aware that it was just past six in the morning. In this part of the world daybreak would be another hour and a half away. Karin, Matt's wife and now awake, rolled over in bed to listen to Matt's side of the phone call. "Yah, Archie, you woke me up! I thought today was my day off!" He said, a tone of annoyance in his voice. As Matt listened to what Archie was saying, Karin watched Matt's back as he slowly moved his legs out from under the covers and was now sitting on the side of their king size bed. "No word for twenty six hours? . Checking pots near the southwest end of Shelifof?." Matt stayed quiet for another minute or so as Archie gave him the balance of the details, all which was known at this point. Karin got out of bed, pulled her robe on and headed towards the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She knew the signs of an emergency flight and already knew her husband would be headed down the hill to the Airways before first light. At twenty minutes past seven o'clock, Matt kissed his two daughters, Kris & Cindy, goodbye as they sat at the kitchen table munching on their cereal. They had another thirty minutes before they headed for school. Giving his wife a strong hug and kiss, Matt told her he would keep her informed of what he would be doing today. After Archie's call, he had passed on the little information that they had. The King Crab Boat, 'The Betty Rose,' has missed two radio schedules. She was known to be picking crab pots off the southwest end of Kodiak Island. The edge of a fast moving Aleutian storm had hit the southern end of the island during the last thirty hours but has now blown past. "We expect the weather to be okay on the west side of the island, Matt." Archie had told him. Matt would pilot one of three aircraft, which would depart at sunrise and search the suspected area. Hearing the news, Karin exclaimed, "Oh No! "Isn't the Betty Rose the boat Nell's son, Bobby, is on?" she asked Matt. Matt looked at her and nodded his head. "I think Bobby is crewing on it. It doesn't sound good and these winter seas are cold! Give Nelly a call and find out if he was out on the boat." Matt suggested. Karin nodded that she would. The Airways building was ablaze with lights as Matt pulled his VW Bug into one of the pilot's parking spaces. Stepping into the main terminal area he saw Archie behind the dispatch counter. Billy was checking in three passengers for the North End Mail Run. Back towards the pilot's lounge, Skipper, another fellow pilot who had been called in from his day off, gave Matt a quick wave. As he headed towards the pilots room he poured a half a cup of the Airways coffee. Archie was an ex-army Master Sergeant and, being the first in to open up the office, he also made the coffee. The joke was that you could stand a spoon straight up inside the cup. and it would stay that way! If you were still a bit sleepy upon your arrival to work, a cup of Archie's coffee would wipe away any of those cobwebs you still had. "Morning Skip." Matt said as he followed Skipper into the pilots lounge. The Airways owner was looking at a large-scale map lying on the table. Roger, the third pilot assigned to the search was standing next to his boss looking down at the chart. "Good Morning SkipMatt. Thanks for getting down here so quickly." Bob, the owner, greeted them both. "It appears that the Betty Rose might have been caught out in that blow. Archie doesn't have the weather yet but we think the west side will be good enough to get down to the search area." Bob advised. "Skip, I want you to cover from Middle Cape south to Cape Alitak. Fly low level down the beach looking for any debris that could have been washed up. Then on your return north, climb up higher and stay a few miles off the coastline looking for any sign of the boat." He continued. "Roger, you head southwest straight out seaward from Middle Cape and using the search grid fly out about sixty miles off the end of the island. Then fly northward towards Cape Providence. Work your way back and forth over this area. I suggest two thousand feet if the weather will allow that." Bob told Roger. "Matt, as you head southwest, go low level on the beach starting at Rocky Point. Check the beach for debris down past Karluk to Middle Cape. Then using the search grid, cover the Shelikof Strait at least as far as the middle of the Strait. Work your way back northeast towards Rocky Point." he told Matt. "If we find no sign on this first flight, we will cross the Strait and check the beaches from Cape Ugyak south at least as far as Wide Bay." Bob told his three pilots. "Refuel at Larsen Bay and grab some lunch there. I'll talk with the cannery and tell them you are on your way. And, I'll let you know of any changes in plan. Stay on the Cannery HF, 2512 Mhz. "Matt, you take 456, Roger, 676, and Skip 335. Stay in touch and good luck!" Bob said as he finished his briefing. Two hours later found the three Grumman Widgeon Amphibians holding a loose formation as they rounded past Cape Ugat. They were holding two thousand five hundred feet above the water and enjoying a visibility of more than eight miles. Ricky Point appeared up ahead and Matt slowly dropped down to begin his beach run looking for debris. Matt saw that Roger and Skip had eased out father into the Shelikof Strait to begin their search. Matt was now down to 200 feet above the ocean as he approached Rocky Point. He would fly just off the beach so that he could look down and view the coastline from his side of the plane. Slowing his plane down to about one hundred thirty miles per hour he settled into flying the contours of the rocky beach southwestward, looking for any sign of debris from the Betty Rose. Soon, the rocky cliffs rose higher than his 200 feet above the coastline. Small beaches were nestled in between large areas of the rocky coastline. Matt flew past a piece of green net balled up on the rocks above the waterline. Several bright orange plastic floats were near by. He knew these items were not used on a crab boat. He watched Cape Karluk approach up ahead. He would make a sharp right turn to head out around the cape, then pass by the entrance to the Karluk lagoon with its quaint village and cannery buildings sitting along side the small bay. Over his radio he heard Roger call the airways telling them that he was overhead Cape Grant and heading out over the Pacific starting his search. He then passed on the information that Matt and Skipper were low level searching the beaches. 'Operations Normal.' Matt had his grid map spread out on the co-pilots seat. Passing Cape Grant he turned northward and headed out into the west end of the Shelikof Strait. Increasing the power on his two engines, he climbed his plane up to two thousand feet above the water. During the next hour his Widgeon worked its way out into the Strait and then back towards land as he moved his plane back and forth, slowly northeastward searching for the Betty Rose. Matt glanced at his fuel gages after hearing Roger call on the radio telling of his quitting his search and that he was now heading to Larsen Bay for fuel. Good Idea, Matt thought. Doing his own fuel figuring, he saw he would be landing with about forty minutes of fuel remaining upon his arrival at Larsen Bay. All three planes would top up with fuel; the pilots could hit the john and then get a bite of lunch at the cannery watchman's house. Being winter, the cannery was closed. Checking his landing gear in the up position Matt allowed the hull of his Widgeon to sink slowly towards the light chop on the waters of Larsen Bay. Up ahead he could see Roger's plane pulled up on top of the spit of land, which ran from the cannery out into the bay. Matt would park along side Roger's aircraft, leaving enough room for Skipper to pull his plane up along side Matt's. Matt caught up with Roger at the fuel shed. He helped roll two fifty-five gallon drums of fuel up onto a four-wheeler and then the two pilots pulled the four-wheeler on out to their planes. There was only one hand rotary pump, which worked well, so they would take turns fueling their aircraft. As Matt was handing up the fuel hose they both heard the sound of another Widgeon headed their way. Soon, Skipper's plane was leaving a trail of spray behind it as it touched down a short ways out in the bay. Matt turned the rotary pump for Roger until the left tank was full. Securing the cap tightly, Roger moved over to the right tank and Matt started turning the handle pumping up the AvGas to the right tank. Soon, the first drum was empty and Matt switched over the pump to the new drum and started pumping again. Quickly, Rogers right tank was full with the drum only half empty. Skipper and Matt pulled the half full drum off the cart and Skipper headed back towards the fuel shed to replace the empty drum with two new full ones. While Roger was giving Skip a hand with the new drums, Matt rolled his half full drum over to his Widgeon and got the pump placed in and he was ready to go when the pilots arrived with the two new drums. Roger pumped the rotary as Matt used up the balance of his drum. Twenty minutes later Matt's two fuel tanks were full. After checking his oil level and fuel caps on each engine he came down off the top of his plane and helped Skip fuel his aircraft. Roger was given the job of sweet-talking the watchman's wife into some lunch for the three of them. But, they found that lunch was ready. Bob had alerted them to the pilot's arrival. Over the next hour the three pilots visited with the cannery watchman and his wife, Telling them of the disappearance of the Betty Rose. The watchman told them of the short-lived intense storm that had passed Larsen Bay the day before. "There were some strong gusts of wind and a fair amount of rain too," he said. After they finished eating they got on the watchman's radio and called the Airways in town. Archie and then Bob talked with them as they planned the next search area. It was decided to concentrate on the other side of the Shelikof Straits and it's coastline. Soon, each pilot had his area of search identified. Thanking the watchman and his wife, the three pilots headed back to their aircraft and soon six engines were warming up as they readied themselves for takeoff. A few minutes later the watchman and his wife stood outside their house and watched as each Widgeon come buzzing close by giving them a 'low-pass thank you.' Soon the silence of a closed cannerywith just the sounds of the gulls and light wind surrounded Larsen Bay. During the radio conference they had decided that Matt would do the coastline starting at Cape Providence and work his way northeastward along the beach up to Cape Kulik. Of course he would then be checking each bay along the way in case the Betty Rose was broke down and anchored. Matt and Skipper had divided up the waters of the Shelikof Straits and southward to Cape Providence off shore. Almost two hours had passed and Matt had found nothing. He was now swinging into Puale Bay with Katmai Bay up ahead. Soon he would be finished and could only head back home to Kodiak. Suddenly, over the radio came, "Kodiak Airways, Widgeon November 28676 calling." "Go Ahead, 676, the Airways is reading you loud and clear." "676 is circling overhead an inverted hull with just a bit of the bottom and keel above water. It's a red bottom. No sign of any life or life rafts. I will buzz the hull twice to let anyone alive inside know that they have been found. The sea condition looks okay for an open sea landing in a Goose. I estimate a bearing of three hundred twenty degrees to Cape Igvak and roughly sixty degrees to Cape Grant. almost in the middle of the Strait. "We got all that Roger. We don't have enough daylight left to get the Goose out there today. We will get Guy Powell and his diving gear ready to go at first light tomorrow. All search aircraft return now to Kodiak. Airways out." Back in Kodiak Matt phoned his wife, Karin. He told her of their finding the hull floating inverted. "There is always a chance that some or all the crew are inside the hull waiting for rescue. We will take Guy Powell down to dive on the hull and see if he can find any survivors. Did you talk to Nelly today?" he asked. "Yes. And Bobby is one of the crew. The boat wasn't due back for another week or so." Karin replied. "Bob has called the families of the crew after Roger found the boat, so Nelly knows the status. Matt told his wife. "Well, lets pray that some or all of them are still okay. We need to plan for tomorrow so I will be a bit longer down here before coming home, honey." Matt told Karin. "I'm planning dinner for six thirty. Will that work for you?" Karin said. "I'll be home before six, honey. See you soon. love you!" Matt finished, hanging up. Inside the pilots lounge, Roger had placed a circle on the map where he felt he was when he found the hull of the Betty Rose. Archie reported that Guy Powell would be here before dawn with his diving gear and wet suit. Bob's Chief Pilot, Al Cratty, would have been the pilot for the open sea landing but Al was fighting a flu bug and was home sick. "Matt, you got a good look at the water out in the middle of the Straits today. Do you think you could get the Goose in and out in the sea condition you saw?" Bob asked. "If there is no change overnight we can do it, Bob. What do you think, Skipper?" Matt asked, turning towards Skipper. Skipper was another Goose pilot. Roger was newer and only flew the floatplanes and Widgeon. "Bob, we'll just have to fly out there in the morning and see how it is. If it's like today it's no problem. Matt, did you notice the direction of the swell? I think we can line up on that swell and only have a quartering crosswind and wave chop. It should work out okay if the wind stays down." Skipper concluded. "Okay. Both of you are qualified to make the trip. You decided between the two of you who will go. Lets plan for a takeoff at first light." Bob told Skipper and Matt. Both pilots nodded their heads. Bob and Archie headed out the door leaving the three pilots standing looking at the circle marking the position of the Betty Rose. "Makes no difference to me which one of us goes, Matt." Skipper said. "Same with me, Skip." Matt answered. With a grin, Skipper said, "Okay, lets flip for it." Pulling out a coin, Roger said, "To keep this honest, I'll flip the coin, and one of you call it while it's in the air." Matt gestured to Skipper to call it. Skip nodded okay. While the coin was flipping through the air, Skip called out 'Heads." The coin hit the floor, bounced and came up tails. "Looks like I get to do the honors, Skipper." Matt said. Skipper looked a bit disappointed but the choice was fair. Smiling, he said, "Just make sure you stay on top of the swell, Matt. On my last open sea takeoff I found that starting your takeoff run down in the trough of the swell worked well. Just let the swell roll up under you until you are sitting up on top." "That's the way I'll do it." Matt replied. Addressing both pilots, Matt continued, "Karin talked with Nelly today. Were you aware that her son Bobby is on the Betty Rose? We need to take blankets, containers of hot soup and hot coffee in case these guys are still alive. They are bound to have hypothermia. Maybe even a paramedic from the hospital could come with Guy Powell. Can you organize that with Archie for early tomorrow morning?" Matt asked Skipper. "I'll take care of it, Matt." Skip answered. Pulling into his driveway on Upper Mill Bay road, Matt climbed from his VW and was greeted at the door by his two young daughters. "Where did you go today, Daddy?" Kris asked. "Daddy! Look at what happened to my Dolly!" Cindy said, holding up a small doll to her Father. "I was at Larsen Bay and had lunch there, Kris. Cindy, where is her arm? Did it come off?" he answered his two girls. "Fix it Daddy! Please!" Cindy cried. Matt watched Karin enter the family room and heard her say, "Cindy. You know you left 'Dollies' arm in your bedroom. How can Daddy fix it if he doesn't have 'Dollies' arm? But, dinner is ready now. Daddy can fix 'Dollie' after we finish dinner. Both of you go to your bathroom and take turns washing your hands before coming to dinner." she instructed. After dinner, Matt did the repair job on 'Dollies' arm while Karin had both girls in the bathtub giving them their bath before bedtime. Matt and Karin sat with their two daughters while they each said their bedtime Prayers. Karin had taught each girl a simple short Prayer. Now, she was teaching Kristine a longer children's Prayer. Kris had the first part memorized. After kisses 'goodnight' the light was turned off and the door to the hallway left partly open so that some light came into the girl's room. Soon each girl would have her own bedroom. Matt and Karin had been helping a builder attach an addition to their original home. This doubled the total square footage of their original house. They were adding a large living room and master bedroom suite. A large master bath and laundry room along with a sewing center for Karin completed the addition. A new five section boiler running the new hot water heating system was now keeping their home toasty warm. The exterior of the addition was completed. Now, they were working hard to finish the interior including the built-in closets. When completed, they would own a snug, warm, tight Alaskan three bedroom two-bath home. The only area needed for an upgrade was, according to Karin, her kitchen. Matt had promised that next year they would buy new counter tops, sink and a new stove & oven. Their mortgage now stood at $18,000 with the cost of the addition paid for. The girls had been asleep for over an hour. Matt had helped with the drying of the dinner dishes and now he and his wife were sipping their last cup of coffee as they sat in their favorite chairs in the family room. "Will it be safe for you to land out in the middle of the ocean Matt? Do you think there's any chance of survival for the Betty Rose crew?" Karin asked. "I didn't see the boat, Honey. Roger found it. He made two low passes right over the hull so that anyone alive inside the hull would know they had been found and help was coming soon." Matt answered. "The water today was fine for the Goose to land. If there is no change in the morning it will be okay. As for their survival? I would think that it would be really cold inside that hull. Also, though there is enough air to keep the hull afloat, the survivors will be using up that air. So, who knows what Guy will find tomorrow morning." "Be careful, Matt. The girls and I want you around for a long time to comeunderstood?" Karin told her husband. Matt stood up, grabbed his wife's arms, lifted her up out of her chair and swung her around and down onto the couch beside him. Pulling her into an embrace and tight hug, he whispered into her ear, "I plan on chasing you around the bedroom for many more yearsdon't worry love I'll be really extra careful tomorrow. Now, I need to get to bed. Sorry, no games tonightI'm up early tomorrow morning." he finished, giving her a wet tongue kiss in her ear. She ducked her head and pulling away said, "Stop that! I'll clean my own ears, thank you!" Trying not to laugh and look mad, she ordered, "Get to bed and get a good sleep. You need it for tomorrow. I have some sewing for the girls I need to work on. So, get going!" she told him as she pulled him up off the couch. They both enjoyed another warm embrace and long kiss before they broke apart and Matt headed for the bathroom and bed. Floodlights lit the parking area. Matt's Grumman Goose sat in the glow of the lights. Rescue equipment, blankets, hot liquids etc. had been placed in both the bow and stern baggage compartments. In the cabin Guy Powell, in his rubber diving suit, had his diving equipment stored and secured under a cargo net. Dale Wilde, one of two medics based at the local hospital, would make the trip with Matt and Guy Powell. His emergency medical kit was also secured under the cargo net because of the possible hard open sea landing, which was ahead of them. Three seats had been removed and a stretcher secured to the floor. This left five seats in the cabin and the two up front in the cockpit. Matt had checked his oil and fuel, did his preflight on the plane and with everyone aboard, was ready to start his engines. Using his flashlight, he looked over his pre start checklist. Then, the ritual started. Seatbelt tight. Wobble pump fuel to prime each engine. Check the magnetos on, mixture full rich, props forward. Press the starter button for number one. Nothing rumbles to life like a radial, with it's slowly turning blades, several puffs of blue smoke, cylinders coughing as they wake, and with a rumble and shaking, the Pratt & Whitney 985 comes to life as it picks up rpm to idle speed. Generator on. Matt gives the battery a two-minute charge before starting the number two engine. The same routine and number two was now turning. Waiting for his oil temperature to rise into the green, Matt allows his engines to warm up. Soon, with the temperatures and pressures normal he ran each engine up to 1500 rpm and checked his magnetos and exercised both of the propeller's pitch control. After all checked out okay he called for the wheel chocks to be pulled. He allowed his plane to start moving forward then checked his brakes with a tap before turning towards the ramp, which leads down into the bay. He can just begin to see the water ahead as the dawn light becomes stronger. Reaching the top of the ramp he stops for a moment and checks that the two cockpit side windows are closed. Releasing his brakes, the Goose picks up speed as it trundles down the ramp and with a large splash sinks into the water and becomes a boat. Placing the gear lever to UP, Matt both hears the electric motor working hard and feels the main wheels retracting into their wells. Checking that his flight controls are full and free, and with enough light to now see ahead, Matt looks for any debris floating in the bay, which might hinder his takeoff. Working both power levers slowly forward, he allows his taxi speed to increase, which raises the bow of his plane. Spray is now starting to fly past the windows and hit his windshield. Now, with both big Pratt's pounding out their full power the three men inside the Goose feel the noise as much as hear it. Slowly, in a shower of spray, the aircraft slowly pulls itself up onto its stepgoing from a displacement hull into a planning condition. Up on the step, with much less drag from the water, the Goose picked up speed quickly. Using his elevator to keep the balance and angle of the aircraft bottom correct to the water, Matt watched his airspeed pass 60 mph and continue climbing on up to 80. Applying a bit of back-pressure on the wheel he felt the Goose about ready to fly. A tad more backpressure and the hull broke loose of the water and, leaving a trail of spray, slowly lifted into the early morning sky. Leveling a few feet above the bay he allowed his bird to pick up speed. Dawn was well established as Matt started his climb to 8,500 feet. With only some high Cirrus clouds above him, he could fly in a straight line towards the search area, overhead the mountains of Kodiak Island. Dale Wilde sat in the co-pilots seat. He had received his initial medical training in the U.S. Navy and had first come to the island being stationed at the Kodiak Naval Air Station. Soon, he became an Alaskan lover enjoying the best hunting and fishing of his young life. After his discharge, he attended a school to upgrade his medical skills and received his civilian medical certificates as a qualified Para-medic. As it was his desire to return to Alaska, he applied to hospitals around the state. Surprised and pleased, he accepted a position back in his old home of Kodiak where he became a member of the Kodiak Hospital staff. Now, with his young wife and their child, he felt he was one very lucky young man to have been able to make his goal come true. Sitting in the cabin was Alaska Department of Fish & Game Biologist, Guy Powell. Stationed at the Kodiak ADF&G office for a number of years, Guy was known as the expert on the large King Crab found in the local Alaskan waters. In order to study the habits of the King Crab it had been necessary for him to learn to scuba dive. Though a few others in town had followed Guy, becoming divers, Guy was acknowledged as being, by far, the most experienced diver around. Now, he sat looking down at the snow-covered mountains below and wondering what he was going to find inside the hull of the Betty Rose. If it was still afloat. With his trailing HF antenna strung out behind his plane, Matt transmitted, "Kodiak Airways, Kodiak Airways, this is November Eight Seven Uniform calling, over." "Kodiak Airways here. Go ahead Matt," Archie answered "Eight Seven Uniform is overhead Middle Cape starting our decent into the search area, over." "Roger that, Matt. Give us a call before landing, Kodiak Airways out." Archie said. "Wilco, Eight Seven Uniform clear." Matt replied as he eased back his power levers and started a five hundred foot a minute decent towards the ocean below. Ten minutes later Matt and Dale were scanning ahead looking for the hull and keel of the Betty Rose, which hopefully, was still floating. Matt knew he was in the general area in which Roger had found the boat yesterday. The Goose was two thousand feet above the sea as it turned, so its crew could search another section of the suspected area. After another five minutes of looking, Guy Powell poked his head through the door from the cabin and called into Matt's ear. "You realize that it's a strong possibility that the boat sunk during the night, don't you?" Matt nodded his head 'yes' as he continued to scan the waters off the left side of the plane. Suddenly, "I've got it!" yelled Dale, pointing out and down to his right. Matt immediately banked the Goose to the right and the three men looked at where Dale was pointing. The Betty Rose was still afloat. She lay slowly riding up and down with the swells with waves lapping the small part of her hull, which rose above the water. Matt's attention immediately turned to the sea condition below him. Eyeing the swell direction he noted the wind direction and the size of the small wind waves atop the swells. With his antenna still trailing behind his plane, he quickly called the Airways, telling them of their finding the Betty Rose still afloat and that conditions were okay for landing. They would call again when airborne. Reaching up, he then reeled in his antenna, loosing his ability to talk with the world. They are now on their own. After checking his landing gear in the up position Matt selected half flaps as he reduced power and allowed his bird to start settling towards the sea below. Carefully, he lined up on the swells and now saw that Skipper had been right in his call of having a quartering right crosswind across the direction of the swells. Now, with full flaps selected, the Goose slowly lowered itself towards the sea below it. Matt was holding eighty-five mph as he came closer towards the top of the swell he had picked out to land on. Using tiny inputs on his rudder he kept the top of the swell below him as his keel reached for the water. 'Hiss'. a light jolt. A small movement of the elevator and rudder as the keel again kissed the top of the swell, this time staying in the water. Airspeed started to slow as the Goose hull, being jolted by the small wind waves, settled deeper into the top of the swell. Matt, using his rudder was keeping the top of the swell underneath his plane as he quickly brought his throttles back to idle. Some heavier jarring from the wind waves shook the crew as the came off the step and slid off the side of the swell in a cloud of spray. In just a few seconds the Goose now became a boat slowly rising and falling in the swells. They had completed their landing run about fifty yards away from the Betty Rose. Dale gave a thumbs up to Matt and untapped his seatbelt. Pointing back into the cabin he said, "I'll give Guy a hand getting his gear on. How close will you go to the boat?" "I want to keep the engines running so we will be moving slowly through the water. I can get in fairly close so that Guy won't have to swim too far to the boat. Then I plan to just circle the boat from a safe distance until we see Guy surface. Then we can come back in and pick him up. Tell Guy that we can have the portable steps in place when he leaves and returns to the plane. You help him with that and after he's in the water, bring the steps back into the cabin." Matt advised. Matt had made two slow circles around the Betty Rose before Guy was ready to go into the water. Dale yelled that Guy was ready. Matt, using his two engines for his directional control headed in closer to the hull of the Betty Rose. Putting his left wingtip about twenty feet or so from the hull he looked back into the cabin and watched Dale help Guy onto the outside steps and then saw Guy disappear with a splash. Increasing the distance from the hull Matt heard the noise of the portable steps being brought back inside the cabin and then Dale closing the door hatch. Soon, Dale was climbing back into his seat as Matt kept his engines turning at six hundred rpm's. Both men could do nothing now except wait. The minutes dragged by. They both watched the water around the Betty Rose waiting for Guy's head to appear above the surface. It was twenty minutes before they saw Guy rise to the surface and wave. Matt headed in towards Guy as Dale opened up the outside hatch and placed the ladder out in place. As the Goose came in close, Guy kicked and angled over to catch the ladder and with Dale's help pulled himself up onto the ladder and into the cabin. Taking off his fins, Guy came forward and stuck his head through the cockpit door. "I found two bodies Matt. No sign of the other three. I checked the engine spaces first. That's where the air is trapped. No one was there. I found one in the bunk area and the other in the galley. I guess both were trapped and drowned when she rolled over. I looked everywhere I could get to and found no one else." Guy reported. "Guy, can you handle each body out of the boat and up to the surface by yourself? Dale can help pull them into the plane. But, it's your call. Up to you as to what you want to do. We will leave them if you say so." Matt asked. "Yeah, I have enough air. Let me try and see how I do with the first one. If we can I would like to bring them both back to Kodiak. How about their weight?" Guy asked. "Their weight won't be a problem during takeoff as we are lighter now because of the fuel we burned coming down here." Matt told Guy. "Okay then. I'm off to get the first one." Guy said as he headed back towards the rear hatch. It took Guy just twelve minutes to surface with the first crewmember. Soon, Dale had him lying on the stretcher covered with a blanket. Another fifteen minutes passed before Dale was lifting in the second crewmember and laying him on the floor. "I have enough air left to make another check of the area where the air is trapped. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I don't want to miss anyone." Guy told Dale. The Goose continued to circle the Betty Rose as Guy Powell made his last check inside the hull. When Guy's rubber encased head popped up above the water Matt headed back in towards the hull to retrieve him. Dripping, Guy Powell stood in the rear of the cabin undoing his straps and taking off his air tanks. Dale had covered up both bodies with blankets and used the stretcher straps to tie the bodies down for transport. "On this last dive I looked all through the boat and there is no one else aboard. Those others must have washed or jumped into the sea when the boat overturned. They are gone. The whole crew is gone!" Guy told Dale, shaking his head. "It had to be ice which caused them to capsize." Guy continued. Matt called from up front. "How soon will you both be ready for takeoff? I want to get out of here soon. I think the wind is starting to pick up." "Almost ready!" Guy called back. Guy Powell came forward and took the co-pilots seat. Dale strapped into a forward seat in the cabin. "Guyswe might get a couple of good bounces on this takeoff but we'll make it okay." Matt called out. Quickly going though his takeoff checklist, Matt scanned his instruments and satisfied that all was, as it should be, waited until the Goose was settling into a trough before feeding in full power to both engines. Heavy spray flew around the front of the plane as Matt felt the hull being raised up towards the top of a swell. His goal was to work the Goose up onto the step about the same time he reached onto the top of the swell. He would then have good rudder control to keep himself scooting along atop the swell. This was the technique he & Skip had discussed. The three men were feeling the jolts now from the wind waves as Matt watched his speed increase. Reaching up, Matt selected takeoff flaps. This would help them become airborne quicker. A few more jolts and the amphibian bounced airborne for a moment but it wasn't quite ready yet WAM! Another jolt lifted the plane higher. This time, Matt was able to get enough lift so that, with a small tiny jolt, it just kissed a wave top before Matt was able to keep his bird flying just above the water trailing a line of spray. Breathing a sigh of relief, Matt had never liked sitting out in the middle of the ocean in a seaplane, never any longer than necessary that is! He always felt relief when he was up off the water and on his way. Reaching up he retracted his flaps and started to unreel his antenna in order to call the Airways and give them the bad news. Matt reported Guy Powell's findings and that Guy had suggested, that the Coast Guard issue a hazard warning about the floating hull. Guy was asked if he knew the names of the two men they had aboard. Neither he nor Dale recognized either of them. They were probably up from Seattle. They would let the State Police go through their pockets and check for identification. Because the weather was holding good, Matt again climbed up, this time to nine thousand five hundred feet where he leaned out his two engines to cut down on his fuel burn. He calculated that they would land in Kodiak with about thirty to forty minutes of fuel on board. Their return trip was smooth but all three were feeling sad about the outcome of their search. More loss of life. Another boat lost. That night Matt held his wife close to him as he recounted the day's events. Nell's son, Bobby, was one of the three missing men. Karin reminded him of the two pilots killed during the previous eighteen months. "Matt, everything up here seems to be dangerous! Flying, fishingeven working in a fish cannery. People get hurt and killed each year. How many more years do you want to stay here?" she asked, looking into the eyes of her husband. "You just say the word, Love. I know what the doctor told you. I have been doing lots of thinking as to where we might move. You need a warmer climate, the Doc said. At the end of this year we will have put in eleven years on this island. Logic would say we need to move to another islandtropical, that is! Somewhere warm with sandy beaches and warm water to swim in. How does that sound?" He asked giving her a squeeze. Her smile and her actions contained her answer. The end. --------------- The story you have read is based on true facts. Names have been changed though Guy Powell is as the author depicted him. (See photo) Matt and his family did leave Kodiak after eleven years, moving to a tropical island twenty-one miles long and eight miles wide. Oh, it had the beautiful beaches and warm water too! The life of a crab fisherman is rough and dangerous and the hardships are many. The crews of the crab fleets venture forth in the world's most treacherous waters during the stormiest months of the year. The indomitable courage which these men must possess is attested to in the tragic loss of lives and boats in the wild waters of the Pacific each winter. (1) These hazards and hardships make these crews some of the world's biggest gamblers. They gamble with death on the stormy waters of their homeland; they gamble with hunches that might or might not lead them to profitable crab grounds. These sturdy men of the crab fleets are rugged individualists whose hard way of life has taught them that nothing worthwhile comes easily. They face up to the hardships of their work each year with the indomitable courage of true frontiersmen. (2) (1) Koniag to King Crab, Yule M. Chaffin (2) Alaska's KODIAK ISLAND, G .C. Ameigh, Jr. & Yule M. Chaffin |
