|
Main Office: 360.779.4439 tel E-mail: |
m a n o
v e r b o a r d a t r u e s t o r y By Michael Jackson, founder of the Stormy Seas Clothing Company It was a normal night on the Bering Sea. We were fishing for King Crab and had been at sea for twelve days, averaging three hours sleep each day. The wind was blowing 45-50 mph and seas were 25-30 feet and breaking, frequent snow squalls reduced visibility to a few yards. This night in November began like so many others ... the dull timeless gray of day gradually gaveway to the eerie blackness of night. A darkness so complete our universe shrank to the deck of the 100ft King crabber and the small circle of boiling sea illuminated by our sodium lights. Day and night, day after day the work goes on unchanged. The 700-pound crab pots come aboard ceaselessly. Every three or four minutes another knocks on the steel hull announcing its arrival, demanding instant attention. The hydraulics that in 60 seconds drag it from the bottom 200 ft below now scream as the huge pot is jerked aboard the waiting boat. Fatigue and monotony dull the senses; familiarity with the tasks lull the crew into a false sense of security. It was in this world I suddenly found myself beside the boat. While performing a task I'd done thousands of times before, a bight of line caught a control valve and reversed the crab block. Suddenly lines and buoys were flying across the deck. Without warning I was hurled into the frigid dark water. Efforts to recover me were frantic and uncoordinated. Precious seconds were slipping by. In the confusion no one alerted the captain there was a man overboard! I turned toward the boat and desperately reached for an outstretched hand. That gloved hand reaching as far as it dare, was not within my grasp. A passing swell quickly swept me toward the stem. Pots stacked on deck prevented the crew from effecting a rescue. In desperation, I swam to the pitching giant but found no handhold as my gloved hand futilely clawed the smooth steel hull. The adrenaline that shot into my system as I entered the water was quickly giving way to numbing cold. The limbs frantically working to keep me afloat were becoming heavy and without control as the cold drained my strength. The very clothing intended to protect me from the elements while on deck had become a deadly weight pulling me beneath the waves. By now, seconds had passed to minutes. My desperation was giving way to a chilling sense of calm. The boat so near was beyond my grasp. At this moment, the skipper turned to look at the deck, anxious to get the pot back into the sea. His face turned white at the sight before his eyes. He immediately slammed the big crabber into reverse hoping suction from the huge propeller would not pull me to a certain and brutal death. His instincts were correct. I quickly slid along the side of the boat as it backed down. The skipper then ran down on deck and threw me a line, I had just enough strength left to hang on to that line as he pulled me to the waiting arms of the crew. Luck and the captain's quick thinking got me back aboard that night. I was spilled on deck like a half-dead fish. The crew stripped off my clothes and tossed me into a hot shower. I quickly recovered from the cold, pushed back the rising fear and went on deck. The job still had to be done. One hour later it was business as usual. We were fishing again, only now we talked about an overboard emergency. It could happen to us! We discussed at length over the next meal the events that led to my being pitched into the sea and what could be done to accelerate recovery of a man overboard. We defined the tasks that must be done: first the captain must be alerted immediately; second, one of the crew must try and maintain visual contact with the victim; third, one crew member must get into a survival suit and be ready to enter the water to support the victim. The personal result of this experience was that I now wore at all times the personal flotation apparatus my wife had bought me before the season started. This same apparatus was under my bunk when I was hurled overboard. I was not wearing it for the standard reasons, it's an accessory requiring extra time to put on, it's bulky and hot, and restricts movement. Even in the coldest of waters the victim's primary concern is to remain afloat. Secondly, be visible to those aboard the boat. Toward that end, buoyancy is the single most immediate consideration. Buoyancy will keep the victim afloat and by floating higher greatly increase visibility for rescue. Cold kills quickly not by hypothermia but by starving the limbs of oxygen and blood. The victim relying on swimming or water treading movements to stay afloat is very quickly in trouble. Two weeks later, aboard the same boat with the same crew on a night no different than before, another crew member was pitched into the sea. This time we were stacking the pots on deck. The torturous season was over and the pots were going on the beach at Dutch Harbor. Home only three short weeks away. While chaining down, the man whose task it is to hook up the chain on the side of the boat is in a very dangerous position. His feet are on the rail, his body cantilevers over the water. With one had he grasps a crab pot while the other hand fumbles to hook up the chain.All the while the boat is rolling in heavy seas. The crab pots not yet chained down slide and slam with the motion of the boat. It was in these circumstance that John made a near fatal mistake. A mistake brought on by fatigue and over-familiarity with the task. John had placed his arm holding the crab pot in a position where the shifting pots would pinch it. As the boat rolled and the pots shifted his arm became pinioned between two 700 pound pots that held him in place. The roll of the boat finally caused the shifting pots to release him. I was on top of the stack and heard a cry of pain from John. The sight that met my eyes made time stand still. John was in the water 18 feet below me. The boat now traveling at seven knots with seas dead astern was pulling away leaving him engulfed in total darkness. In this situation, where seconds could make the difference, I was the only help that could get to him in time. John was not wearing any flotation and I was certain he had been injured by the sliding, slamming pots. I was able to swim to him through the towering seas as the big crabber slipped away leaving us in cold and terrifying sea. We were together now bobbing in 25-30 ft seas, able to glimpse the boat only when on the crest of a passing wave. After a brief hopeful, glimpse, we were again cast into the trough of the monstrous seas, But, like the ultimate roller coaster, once again we were on the crest and saw the big crabber starting to make her turn. She seemed to be going faster now, and I glimpsed frantic figures silhouetted against the powerful lights. This hopeful sight was again taken 'from our eyes as we slid into the trough of the passing wave. As the seconds ticked by I could feel the growing weakness of my arms and legs. Again, we were lifted to the chilling vista. Our eyes were greeted by the sight of the big crabber charging headlong into the breaking seas at full speed. One of the silhouetted figures was pointing in our direction. Again, our field of vision was replaced by a towering, breaking sea and the cold, complete darkness as we slid into the trough. The view of the boat had given us hope. Now, if they could just get to us in time. Suddenly from the nearest wave top 25 feet above our heads appeared the charging boat. The awesome sight of the big crabber towering above us, balanced on the crest of that wave made my heart stop. Certainly as she fell off the wave and into the trough where we so helplessly waited, she would come down and brutally smash us. At that moment, she was not the savior we so earnestly hoped for. Spray glistened against the blood red bottom paint, giving her the appearance of a great frothing beast. The barnacles along her bottom were like hundreds of razor-sharp teeth poised and waiting. Fortunately, the man behind the wheel knew exactly what he was doing. The boat crashed into the trough ten feet beside us. The big diesel roared as she backed down and came to a stop. Our rescuers a few yards away worked together, determination etched in their faces. A grappling hook arched over our heads, the line fell cleanly between John and I. We both grabbed hold and within a few minutes we were safely back aboard the boat. Another tragedy had been averted largely due to the quick thinking and coordinated efforts of those aboard the boat. A coordination that only weeks before we did not possess. Talking about it in detail over the galley table had given us the edge. The edge we needed to survive. Buoyancy had once again demonstrated its vital importance. John had not been injured by the slamming pots. He was a big man and able to keep himself on the surface without my help. But, due to his lower profile in the water, the crew and captain lost visual contact with him. The breaking crests drove him under water and he did not surface until he was in the trough and out of sight. Both John and I were together within a few feet, because of my higher profile, the result of flotation, they were able to re-establish visual contact with me every time I rode the crest of a passing wave. The breaking crests still engulfed me, but I quickly popped up and I was the only one of the two of us that could be seen from the boat. Three weeks later we were home, the season was over. Boats were lost, men had died or suffered injuries that would stay with them the rest of their lives. But, we had returned whole. The injuries suffered, by the grace of God, were not the kind that maim for life. The scars both mental and physical, quickly healed and the hell of the Bering Sea drifted behind the veil of time. Following this experience and the loss of several friends to Man-Overboard situations, Michael Jackson founded a company called Stormy Seas. A company and a concept based upon one simple fact. People should not die simply because they fall overboard. The Stormy Seas products are an innovative approach to an age old problem. Stormy Seas has become a leader in the field of inflatables and currently offers the largest collection of inflatable garments in the world. Vests, Jackets, Windbreakers, Foulweather Gear and One Piece Suits. One of which is a common denominator on your equipment list. |
