Why the 39-foot Halibut Endeavor sank five miles off Seldovia April 25 is still unknown, but an investigation of the incident is under way, according to Michael Watson, chief warrant officer with the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Kenai.
PHoto courtesy of the U.S. Coast
Passenges from the ill-fated Halibut Endeavor are transferred from the Coast Guard Auxliary's SAFE Boat to the USCGC Roanoke Island Wednesday for transport back to the Homer harbor. The 36-foot Halibut Endeavor sank about five miles off Seldovia. All 13 people on board were removed from the vessel shortly before it went under.
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"Anytime a vessel carries even one passenger for hire and has an accident, the Coast Guard investigates," Watson said.
The Halibut Endeavor, owned and operated by Halibut King Charters of Homer, was one of eight vessels participating in the Homer Chamber of Commerce's annual one-day halibut-tagging event. Vessel captains are given business-sponsored tags that are attached to halibut caught during the day. The halibut are then released and, if recaught during the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby that began Tuesday, the tags can be redeemed for prizes.
The vessel was carrying 11 passengers, plus a captain and deckhand. All 13 people were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary only minutes before the Halibut Endeavor sank.
"Nothing like this has happened before and hopefully it never will happen again," said Linda Winters, event organizer for the chamber.
Alcohol and drug tests of the Halibut Endeavor's captain and crew have been completed as required. Those results, along with interviews of everyone aboard the vessel, will be forwarded to the Coast Guard's investigating office in Anchorage, Watson said.
George Meeker, 85, of Homer was one of the passengers aboard the Halibut Endeavor.
"That's one of the worst times I've had," Meeker said.
Ed Stading, a Homer police officer, and his wife, Robanne, praised those involved in the rescue effort.
"If you were going to write a list of all the heroes today, it would be huge," Stading said after being transported to Homer harbor by the USCG Cutter Roanoke Island, a 110-foot patrol book stationed in Homer.
A cell call from Stading to the Homer Police Department resulted in the Coast Guard Command Center in Juneau being alerted that the Halibut Endeavor was taking on water, according to Lt. Heather Neely.
"We got a call from the Homer Police Department at 4:09 p.m.," Neely said. "We issued a marine broadcast to any vessels in the area to assist if possible. We also got a cell phone number of the police officer who was actually on the boat and called him, but his cell phone was dying."
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak also was in radio communication with Weldon Chivers, captain of the Halibut Endeavor, Neely said.
The first to respond to the radio request for help was a 27-foot SAFE Boat owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and dedicated for use by the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Homer.
"I briefed my crew and we headed in that direction, making about 40 knots," said Coxswain Shane Taylor of Anchorage, instructor in an auxiliary training academy that was being held in Homer.
With the SAFE Boat at full throttle, Taylor and his crew Richard Liebe of Anchorage, Ray Miller of Fairbanks and Mike Cupit, an academy exchange student from the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary plotted a course that took them to the Halibut Endeavor's location. Chivers, with the help of Stading, continued to give updates on the situation via radio during the 20 minutes it took Taylor to arrive on scene. Chivers also maintained a course for Seldovia at a speed Taylor estimated as six knots.
"He was very, very calm and gave all the right information," Taylor said. "He kept that boat floating until we arrived."
By the time the SAFE Boat reached the Halibut Endeavor, Chivers had the 11 adult passengers, all wearing life jackets, on the bow of the vessel.
"They were trying to balance it," Taylor said. "It would start listing one way, and he'd shift the people to the other side of the boat to balance out the load."
Keeping his distance from the side that would go under first if the vessel capsized concerned Meeker, who has experience on the water. He has fished locally and in Prince William Sound, and served in the U.S. Navy aboard an aircraft carrier during World War II.
Photo by McKibben Jackinsky
"At the right place at the right time," is how Coast Guard Auxiliarists Ray MIller of of Fairbanks; Shane Taylor of Anchorage; MIke Cupit, a Canadian Auxiliarist from Vancouver, B.C.; and Rich Liebe of Anchorage describe their timely response to the sinking of the Halibut Endeavor on Kachemak Bay Wednesday. The 13 people aboard the Halibut Endeavor were transferred to the Auxiliary's SAFEBoat shortly before the Endeavor sank.
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"If you're on the side that goes in first, you're in pretty deep trouble. I thought about the possibility of the boat sucking us under," said Meeker, who, like Stading, used his cell phone to alert others about the situation. The message he left for his son was, "We're in deep trouble off Seldovia."
Crowded on the bow, the passengers turned to prayer.
"Ed and I prayed that people would stay calm and that the systems there for rescue would work the way they should, that no one would go into the water," Robanne Stading said.
Feeling the unsteady boat change position, Dave Durham also began to pray.
"It seemed like a couple moments after that, the boat righted itself and I was thanking the Lord. After that, we saw the (rescue) boats on the horizon and everybody felt pretty comfortable," he said.
Taylor's first plan had been to dewater the Halibut Endeavor, but he quickly switched his course of action after witnessing the severity of the situation.
"When I saw the stern awash, I opened the door and screamed at the top of my lungs, 'Everybody's coming off now,'" he said.
With the Halibut Endeavor listing to the port, left, side, Taylor nosed the SAFE Boat up to the charter boat's bow and held it steady while his crew assisted in the transfer of passengers. All the while, Taylor kept a hand on the Endeavor so he could detect the slightest shift in its position and pull away if necessary.
"I felt it make a move just as we had the 11th person on board so I pulled away and slowed down to a stop," Taylor said.
Within moments, the Halibut Endeavor rolled onto its starboard, right, side, with Chivers and his deckhand climbing onto the exposed port side.
Two Good Samaritan vessels had arrived on scene by then, ready to assist. One of them was the Winter King, under the command of Capt. Rex Murphy.
"The rescue boat did a marvelous job getting all the passengers off the boat," Murphy said. "It was amazing to see how well the SAFE Boat handled it."
Taylor quickly pulled back alongside the capsized vessel.
"We grabbed the first mate, but his pant leg or hip wader was stuck on something and he got hung up. Our crew finally had to rip him free of whatever it was he was hung up on. Afterwards we assisted (Chivers) on board," Taylor said.
Within moments, the Halibut Endeavor was gone, descending through the cold, dark depths of Kachemak Bay.
"It's sad to see a boat go down," Murphy said. "It makes you think real hard about things. But it worked out real well. Thank goodness the Coast Guard was there. They just did a super job."
For Ed Stading, watching the Halibut Endeavor disappear was "a little surreal." His wife said she was thankful she was inside the SAFE Boat's cabin and unable to witness it slip beneath the bay's surface.
"I count that as yet another blessing from the Lord that I didn't see it go down and won't have that image in my mind for the rest of my life," she said.
Taylor is well aware of the importance timing played in the auxiliary's response.
"If we hadn't arrived when we did, those 13 people would have gone for a swim," he said.
The crew and passengers of the Halibut Endeavor were transferred to the cutter, which transported them back to the Homer harbor aboard the USCG Cutter Roanoke Island, under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin F. Strickland.
An out-of-the-water inspection of the Halibut Endeavor was conducted by Chief Warrant Officer Watson in February. Required every two years, the inspection determines the hull's seaworthiness. The shaft, rudders, propellers and through-hull fittings were examined, and then the vessel was observed after it being put back in the water. Such inspections are done for all vessels carrying six or more passengers and charging a fee, according to Watson.
"We found nothing wrong with the vessel at that time," he said.
An annual, more detailed exam done with the vessel in the water was not scheduled until later this year.
Putting the Halibut Endeavor's sinking in perspective, Durham said, "As long as I get home and kiss my wife and kids, it's a good day."
To that, he added, "I just think the crew of the boat the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Weldon (Chivers) did an awesome job."
Ed Stading also found perspective for the incident.
"I told Robanne, just like there's no atheist in a foxhole, I can attest there's none on a sinking boat. Everybody put their heads down and said a prayer or two," he said. "I know where my faith is and there was a lot of grace out there that day. It was a near tragedy. But again, the right people were in the right place. Definitely it could have gone the other way very easily."
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
