CT fishermen tell harrowing tale of survival after boat capsizes in Alaska

Bengtson received fish hooks caught in his hand as he searched the sunken boat for all times jackets. One way or the other, he indifferent the hooks, and the lads have been pressured to outlive chilly Alaskan waters for greater than three hours. Throughout two of these, they have been dragged alongside the coast by highly effective ocean currents.

Tarnacki, who has written articles for fishing publications and has labored on business and constitution boats in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, mentioned the pair flew to Petersburg, Alaska, shortly after the July 4 vacation. From there, he and Bengtson traveled to a fishing lodge on Kupreanof Island, utilizing a lodge vessel throughout their first full day there.

“The fishing was really actually good” that first day, Tarnacki mentioned.

On the second day, they took out a 18-foot coated skiff to provide them shelter from drizzly and uncooked circumstances as temperatures hovered within the higher 50s to low 60s. Whereas the climate wasn’t nice, it was nice for fishing, Tarnacki mentioned. “There was virtually no wind, which is an important,” he mentioned.

The pair took the boat to a spot recognized for very large halibut, however had no luck that day. They have been on the brink of elevate the anchor and depart the spot when bother hit with out warning.

Issues take flip for worse

“The largest concern was the boat filling up with water,” Tarnacki mentioned. It wasn’t that a lot water, and a typical pump would have mounted the issue, however the pump on the boat was damaged, he mentioned. “We observed the transom of the boat getting decrease to the water,” he mentioned. The pair determined to maneuver the boat to get the water to circulation out the again, however, earlier than they may do this, three rogue waves hit.

“That’s when the boat capsized,” Tarnacki mentioned. “It took two or three seconds.”

Tarnacki was down within the boat’s cabin and needed to really feel his method out of the boat. “Inside a number of seconds, I used to be capable of get out,” he mentioned. “It was only a few seconds, however it felt like loads longer.”

The pair treaded water close to the vessel for about an hour, and struggled to climb on prime of the boat’s slippery backside. They usually have been knocked off by waves.

Bengtson, who had earlier expertise with Alaskan fishing expeditions, advised Tarnacki that they shouldn’t attempt to swim to shore with out life jackets.

One other dangerous stroke of luck struck, the lads mentioned. Bengtson misplaced his telephone when the boat capsized, and Tarnacki’s cellphone was not capable of make calls. Thankfully, Tarnacki had downloaded a map that they may use on the telephone to find out they have been a few mile from shore. 

Bengtson determined to swim into the inverted boat to seek for life jackets. He couldn’t entry them, however, whereas inside, he received two fishing hooks lodged in his hand. They have been floating within the boat and have been nonetheless tied to the poles.

“Nick was underwater with two fishing traces in his hand,” Tarnacki mentioned. “He got here up for air after which dove again down to drag them out.”

“I had one hook out, and the opposite hook was in too deep in my hand so I couldn’t get it out,” Bengtson mentioned. “I received tied to the boat with my fishing rods.”

With one hook nonetheless in his hand, he discovered sufficient slack to come back up for a breath of air then resubmerged himself. 

Bengtson used his enamel to chew partway by means of the fishing line and his palms to interrupt the 150-pound line.

‘It wasn’t our time to die’

Unable to entry the life jackets, Tarnacki and Bengtson did handle to get two brightly coloured polyballs, that are buoyant in water. That proved to be essential to their survival after they tied them to their our bodies and commenced to swim — for an extended distance than anticipated.

“These two polyballs saved our lives,” Tarnacki mentioned.

“That’s once we determined to go for it and make the swim,” mentioned Bengtson. “It wasn’t going to be simple, however it wasn’t time to die.”

“After we left the boat, my pondering was there was a superb likelihood I might die,” Tarnacki mentioned. Principally, I used to be going through dying. However I simply knew I needed to not quit. If I had an opportunity to reside, I needed to not less than strive.”

The pair estimate the swim took two-and-a-half hours. Tarnacki mentioned they didn’t discover the coolness as one would count on. “On the time, you don’t really feel the chilly due to the adrenaline rush,” he mentioned.

It was a lot tougher with the sturdy currents, he added.

After they approached shore, the lads have been dragged for about six miles. “The kicker was, the currents have been so quick that, once we received inside 50 or 100 yards [of shore], we received swept previous it,” Bengtson mentioned.

Hours into the swim, Bengtson was about 25 yards forward of Tarnacki and appeared again to examine on his buddy. When he swung again round, a large sea lion was looking at him about 10 ft away, he added. The creatures have recognized to be aggressive, Bengtson mentioned.

“I began panicking,” he recalled. “I freaked out. I lastly thought, ‘That is it. I’m finished.’”

Then he felt his hand hit one thing arduous — which at first he thought was the ocean lion. “However it was a rock,” Bengtson mentioned. “I had hit shore.”

He mentioned the hours within the chilly water made his legs ineffective. “I received to face up and couldn’t,” Bengtson mentioned. “I collapsed.”

When Tarnacki climbed to shore behind him, the 2 laid there for about an hour, attempting to get well. “We couldn’t transfer,” Bengtson mentioned.

Tarnacki remembered that the damp, cloudy circumstances modified abruptly. “The second we received to shore, the solar got here out for the primary time in three days,” he mentioned. “The solar was shining down on us.”

The center of nowhere

They discovered themselves in the course of nowhere in southeast Alaska. “There isn’t any city,” Bengtson mentioned. “There’s nothing on the market.”

Tarnacki mentioned they have been on the south facet of an island that had some growth on the north finish. The island, which isn’t accessible by airplane, had treacherous, steep and rocky terrain, and was populated by grizzly bears and different harmful wildlife, he added. 

The lads started to arrange for potential rescue by drying their garments, and constructing a makeshift shelter out of logs and particles discovered on the seaside. They original a flagpole from buoys and foam boards in hopes of attracting consideration from rescuers or passersby.

That evening on the fishing lodge, a younger man grew involved the lads had not returned to the lodge for dinner. He consulted different friends and workers, however, as a result of it stays mild in Alaska till late at evening throughout summer season, nobody was too alarmed, Bengtson mentioned. 

Coast Guard rescue

Sunday morning, lodge workers carried out a search, and the younger man notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which, in keeping with Tarnacki, deployed a airplane, helicopter and cutter ship. The lodge shared data with the company about the place the pair had been fishing, however the currents that carried the lads far-off sophisticated the search, they mentioned.

Issues started wanting up on Sunday morning. “I noticed a break within the horizon,” Tarnacki mentioned. “I couldn’t inform what it was at first.” He ran a half-mile to an elevated part of the seaside and swung the brilliant polyball to attract consideration. 

Bengtson mentioned it then appeared that the boat was turning away from them, so his coronary heart sank. “I believed that was it,” he recalled. “We have been caught out right here.” 

Tarnacki stored swinging the polyball, and, “after 10 minutes, I noticed the boat heading in our course.”

Bengtson additionally was relieved to see the boat navigating towards the rocky shore. “I noticed the boat pull up, and I waded out into the water,” he mentioned. “That was the best feeling in my life — getting pulled into that boat.”

“I used to be ecstatic. … It was excessive reduction,” his buddy added.

Nonetheless fishing

The Coast Guard introduced the lads to the lodge, and, after a number of hours there, the pair resumed fishing. “We went again out on a ship that evening,” Bengtson mentioned. “I used to be afraid that if I didn’t return out instantly that I’d be afraid to do it.”

They returned once more quickly afterward. “The subsequent day, I received the most important halibut of my life,” Bengtson mentioned.

The expertise modified Bengtson. “I’ve a complete completely different outlook in life,” he mentioned. “I’m doing issues I get pleasure from and issues I don’t get pleasure from.” 

He has gone fishing a number of occasions for the reason that Alaska journey, “however nothing main,” Bengtson added. He pledged to be higher ready for boating disasters sooner or later by getting high quality communication gadgets.

Tarnacki mentioned the “good accident” has prompted him to embrace journey much more than previously. He has gone deep sea fishing “method out on the ocean” about 10 occasions since.

“You’ll be able to’t maintain on to the previous,” he mentioned. “You’ll be able to solely be taught from it. Life is brief, and we must always take each expertise we are able to since you by no means know when your final day is,” he added.