The captain of a capsized fishing boat jumped into 47-degree water near Kodiak, Alaska, and swam 50 yards to pull one of his crewmen back to safety. The crew of a Coast Guard helicopter, sent to rescue all four men from the capsized boat, recorded the captain’s heroic effort (see the video below).
The problems began about 3:25 on Monday afternoon, when the Coast Guard received a Mayday call. The fishing boat Grayling, with four men on board, had taken on water and capsized. The Coast Guard diverted a Jayhawk helicopter, already in the air on a training mission, for the rescue.
Meanwhile, on the water, the Calista Marie, fishing nearby, had seen the Grayling taking on water in the stern and had tried to tow it to safety, but a quarter mile from shore on Raspberry Island the Grayling capsized, sending all four men into 5-foot seas.
The Calista Marie picked up one man, while the Grayling’s captain, Christian Trosig, and a third man climbed into the Grayling’s skiff. But the fourth crew member was missing. After 20 minutes Trosig saw him and dove into the frigid water and managed to bring him back to the skiff. The helicopter flew the man to Kodiak, where he was suffering from hypothermia and inhaling diesel fuel.
“Chris was a hero,” said Dale Pruitt, captain of the Calista Marie. “He saved that guy’s life.”
For more and the video: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/07/25/boat-captain-rescues-crewman-after-their-boat-capsizes-in-alaska-waters/
