Deadliest Sea (16 page)

Federal fisheries observer Gwen Rains was the only woman of the forty-seven people aboard the
Alaska Ranger
on March 23, 2008. She boarded the ship for the first time just four days before the disaster occurred.
Photograph courtesy of Gwen Rains

Alaska Ranger
processor Julio Morales (
far left)
and his younger cousin Byron Carrillo (
far right)
were raised together by their grandmother in Guatemala after their mothers both left for the United States. Neither man had ever worked on a fishing boat before they joined the crew of the
Alaska Ranger
in March 2008.
Photograph courtesy of Julio Morales

David Silveira normally sailed as the captain of one of the FCA’s long-liners, the
Alaska Pioneer
. He’d agreed to step in—temporarily—as the
Alaska Ranger
’s first mate.
Photograph courtesy of Celeste Silveira

Chief Engineer Dan Cook had been working on fishing boats since he was fourteen years old, but had only been on the
Alaska Ranger
for a couple of months.
Photograph courtesy of Ed and Cindy Cook

Bering Sea fishing boats are required by law to carry a neoprene survival suit for each man on board. If the “Gumby” suit is a good fit and worn properly, very little water should leak inside.
Photograph by Henry Leutwyler

Just hours before being called to rescue the men on the
Alaska Ranger,
several of the air crew members aboard the Coast Guard’s cutter
Munro
participated in an eating contest. (
Left:)
Rescue swimmer Abram Heller. (
Center:)
Pilot Greg Gedemer gulps down a spoonful of cold baked beans.
Photograph by Greg Beck/USCG

As part of their training, federal fisheries observers practice swimming in their survival suits in a pool in Anchorage. They are taught how to link together in the water and form a “pinwheel” to signal to a potential search plane overhead.
Photograph courtesy of the author

The Coast Guard’s 6566 Dolphin helicopter was deployed on board the
Munro
during the ship’s March 2008 Bering Sea patrol. Here, the forty-five-foot aircraft lands on the flight deck on the morning of the rescue.
Photograph courtesy of cutter
Munro
/USCG

The ship’s corpsman, “Doc” Chuck Weiss, displays the litter used to carry some of the
Alaska Ranger
’s crew members down onto the
Munro
’s mess deck, which became a temporary infirmary.
Photograph courtesy of the author

The crew of the 6566 Dolphin pilot Greg Gedemer, Aircraft Commander TJ Schmitz, flight mechanic Al Musgrave, and rescue swimmer Abram Heller
(being held)
.
Photograph courtesy of USCG

Julio Morales is helped across
Munro
’s deck after being lowered in the rescue basket from the 60 Jayhawk. The larger helicopter is too big to land on the ship’s deck.
Photograph courtesy of cutter
Munro
/USCG