Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Charter boat capsized out of Sitka

https://share.newsbreak.com/3zoq3o73

Any details? Was it a halibut charter?

Well Kingfisher Charters called in the over due boat and this is what their web site says they have for boats..

The boats in the Kingfisher fleet are ideal for fishing in the Sitka area. They're fast cruisers of 28'-32' that have enclosed cabins with heat and private bathroom facilities.

A wide beam makes these boats very stable fishing platforms, with a deep V hull for a comfortable ride.

https://www.kingfishercharters.co/

Kind of a gut punch for the fleet. I was out Sunday and it was nasty.

RIP to the 5 souls. Terrible tragedy.

Some more info here.
Sounds like they were anchor-fishing and whatever happened, happened fast.
https://sitkasentinel.com/7/2012-05-10-22-08-10/22189-charter-boat-sinks

Bad, bad deal.

Just from the cursory and unofficial internet reports I have read, including those linked here, this isn't making sense. There's more to this story.

+1

Low Island is a long way from where they were last seen fishing. I’ve only spent limited time out there but there can be some nasty rips and big waves with the wrong current and wind.

“Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”

.

4h ·
The Coast Guard suspended its search at sunset Monday for four missing individuals in the water near Sitka, Alaska.

The Coast Guard recovered one deceased individual Sunday evening and located the vessel partially submerged off Low Island approximately 10 miles west of Sitka.

The search for the four unaccounted for individuals was suspended at approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday.

Watchstanders at Sector Juneau received a phone call Sunday evening from Kingfisher Charters reporting a 30-foot aluminum charter vessel overdue with five people aboard, including one master and four passengers.
The vessel was last seen underway Sunday afternoon.

Involved in the search were:
· Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center
· Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 helicopter aircrew
· Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircrew
· Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team Sitka 38-foot Special
Purpose Craft boat crew
· Sentinel-class fast response Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman
· Sitka Fire Department
· Several good Samaritan vessels
· Hanson Maritime

Anyone with information is requested to contact Coast Guard Sector Juneau at 907-463-2890.

Coast Guard crews searched a total of approximately 825 square miles over the course of more than 20 hours utilizing both air and vessel search crews.

"Despite our best efforts and those of several partner agencies, we were not able to find the four remaining individuals, " said Capt. Darwin Jensen, Captain of the Port Southeast Alaska. "Suspending a search is never an easy decision.
We extend our deepest sympathy to the loved ones during this difficult time. Our sincere thanks to community partners and the good Samaritan vessels who rapidly responded to help in the search."

Absolutely terrible. With no witnesses I hope they have some way of piecing together what happened. My heart goes out to the victims and their family members.

That’s a commonly fished area.

If I had to guess it would be the boat got one of the engines wrapped up pulling the anchor in heavy seas and rolled. If you say anything on the radio in Sitka on Memorial Day weekend 500 boats will hear you. Had to be fast for the Capt to not get off a call.

No EPIRB in a float free location?

No PLB on anyone?

Nobody wore PFDs?

Typically people don't wear PFD's on fishing charters, they are on the boat but not required to be worn. That said, the water in AK is typically so cold unless you have a survival suit on, you have maybe 30 minutes.

I don't believe EPIRBs are required for 6 pack boats.

Just because something isn't required doesn't mean that it's not a good idea. Manual inflatable belt PFDs are so comfortable that it's easy to forget you have one on. EPIRBS and PLBs cost $350.

The cold water is a real deal. It's possible that with an EPIRB alert and PFDs, they'd all still be with us. With PFDs, even if they didn't survive, their families could have closure.

No Epirb but I expect some new regs to come out of this.


Bigger issue is going to be why the lodge waited so long to call it in. That area is well within radio range and should have good cellular service. But to be fair I don’t recall a charter boat ever going down before.

Which is why on my own personal boat everyone wears a pfd and I carry cold water survival suits. While inflatable pfd's are comfortable, they don't always work. I need to add an EPIRB.

The real question is if conditions are really nasty, why go out fishing? No fish is worth dying for.

Yeah, it was something that happened real quick.

If they'd found themselves really challenged by the winds and waves most likely they'd have put on the PFDs.

Of course I've not read anything that stated they weren't wearing PDFs just yet.

But we all know they don't save you from cold water.

From what I read, is they contacted the coasties at 6pm. All charters I know come in no later than 4pm if they depart at 6am. 2 hours is a long time to wait if you can’t raise them in the radio or phone on a [bleep] weather day. I am sure the lawyers will sort that all out.

Another life lost on Birch Creek out of Central.

Another explanation would be steering failure at 25kts. A sharp turn in rough seas would roll the boat.

Those boats are heavy, well built boats. They don’t go down easy.

Their 32 footer looks like a Bristol Bay gillnetter.

If so, they are typically round bottomed and more so designed for running the shallow waters there in the bay.

An inherently buoyant PFD is always the best route. Some people complain that they are hot, uncomfortable, confining, restrictive etc. Inflatable belt PFDs defeat all of those excuses.

Please add an EPIRB. I'd go so far as to suggest that you put together a comprehensive ditch kit that you keep out on deck in a float free location. When you hit the water in Alaska, a fast moving clock starts ticking. Without the ability to get out some kind of distress alert, you are doomed. This is a picture of my kayak ditch kit. All of this is a drop in the bucket of overall boating expense. My handheld floating waterproof VHF radio is old. When I replace it, I will replace it with a GPS enabled radio so that I can take advantage of the DSC distress alert feature. I hope all of you have the DSC distress system on your installed radios configured. If you have 5 seconds in an emergency, that can save your life.

I'll go further and opine that no fish is even worth being miserable for, let alone dying for.

This seems so simple and common sensical, but the answer is also simple, if not also tragic: It's our modern American lifestyle. The clients likely booked the trip well before the weather conditions were known. They arranged days off from work. They prepped for the trip. The charter operation likely has the boat booked for days afterwards, making a makeup trip difficult to easily rearrange. They're trying to salvage the good time they've been looking forward to.

Being retired now, I have the luxury of just saying no. And I do, especially since I go alone more than not........another practice commonly cited as suicidal. But several of my brushes with death have been at the hands of companions. I've been shot on two different occasions while hunting.

I've almost gotten killed on fishing and hunting trips several times. I try to be careful, too. It's just really easy to get dead out there.

That was my first thought, but we may never know.
Getting pulled down by the stern is something always on my mind when I'm anchor fishing.
It's over in seconds.

Charter boats have been fishing off the cape in foul weather for 30 years without incident. No safety gear would have most likely prevented it and if boats only fished on nice days, they wouldn't fish much at all. In fact, the LAMP area in Sitka forces the charter boats to fish out in the ocean on rough days. The lodge has some questions to answer about check in times and policy for reporting overdue boats, but again, that wouldn't have likely changed the outcome. It's common practice for boats to run in pairs too should an incident arise.

Lets see if the coasties can come up with a cause for this one. They have the boat. For all we know the boat had a whale land on it.

If boaters would condition themselves to push the little red button the instant they get that "oh schidt" feeling, many of these tragedies can be averted.

Or a whale gets tangled in the anchor line. When I fished out of Sitka the skipper was real nervous when whales breached nearby. No idea how often that would happen but it wouldn't be good...

A whale tangled in an anchor line from the Raven out of Kodiak a number of years ago. Two guys sitting there eating breakfast and the boat does a handstand. A whole lot of thrashing continued for quite a while. The whale finally expired but they could not shake it free. They ended up buoying off the anchor line and coming back some time later to recover it. They had to make at least two trips before they finally got it free.

The Raven is a limit seiner, many times the size of a 6-pack boat.

A few more update tid bits from multiple sources..


The person found was less than 100 yards from the boat, no PFD, male, 50s.

The boat had no obvious damage.

Salvage Company towing the boat back to Sitka today (tue. 5/30)

It was definitely small craft advisory weather all weekend around Juneau. I will often run to the cabin (31 miles one-way) for the extended Memorial Day weekend. I did not even consider it looking at the 3-day fcst, plus I'm retired now and can go whenever I want - and that's when it's sunny and calm. There's an FAA webcam half way down. It was whitecapping every time I looked.

I'm guessing there were multiple contributing factors and the SHTF fast and furious. RIP cap'n and fishermen.

I have cold water immersion suits and Mustang work suits because I fish with family and friends and I ALONE AM RESPONSIBLE for their safety.

This is a a big gut punch! I’m torn between feeling grateful that it wasn’t my friend but that doesn’t assuage my sadness for the souls lost! May they RIP.

Denial, especially for many male egos, is difficult to overcome in the situation, and for many reasons. But it's often easily discerned outside of the moment. And this is why it's the first of the seven steps to cold water survival taught by AMSEA (Alaska Marine Safety Education Association). But you're right. It needs to happen sooner than it often does.

It's such a tough call for the captains and the guests to make. A trip like that is often a year or more in the planning and there can be considerable expense in just getting to Sitka. You HAVE to do the right thing though. RIP.

My buddy and I took a humpback ride one afternoon and that was enough for me to be extremely cautious when a lot of whale activity is in the area. It lifted our Grady completely out of the water and then we listed hard to starboard before being set back down. The motor was shut down instantly and the outboard was raised so the whale was uninjured. It stayed by us for a few minutes as if to apologize and then continued along the coast. It was cool but not something I wish to repeat.

In the investigation, the position of engine controls ,radio knobs, PFD storage, panel switches will tell a lot.

Far fetched cause, trying to land large Halibut every one in the corner and they took a wave over the stern

I'm very surprised that a charter boat isn't required to have a life raft and epirb. None of this makes any sense. RIP

Which is why I won't set an anchor to fish in salt!

Bad deal. I don't get out on the salt much, but when I do am always amazed at how small I feel. Last time I was out the little boat was pitching around pretty hard. Kinda makes you think about what all could go off the rails. We were cruising along and a rogue wave hit from the side and we were rolling up along the trough for a ways. It was the similar deal, planned trip, bad weather, but figured what the heck, make the most of it. No halibut, couple salmon and got soaked. Awesome day, lol.

Had a humpback come up under us and lift the boat about a foot out of the water. We were drifting the Chevalle Narrows out of Seward. It came up slowly perpendicular to the boat and right about the balance point of the boat. It had been running up and down along where everyone was drifting. A couple hundred yards away from where it came up under us it breached.

Also an experience I don't want to repeat and I prefer to keep my distance from whales

aluminum boats arent as tough of some of yall might think.

Start pounding the sht out of an aluminum boat in rough water, the welds can crack near the transom, with all that twin outboard weight hanging off the back.

When that water comes rushing in, they fill up quick. No time for nothing.

My guess is cracked welds, trying to make up lost time in rough water.

Except it remained afloat and was towed in, as I understand it.

Most have flotation chambers built in, but it was still capsized. One side may have began sinking, then rough water must've overturned the boat violently enough that the folks couldn't stay with the boat.

I get where you are going, but a gambler would not likely narrow the options so quickly. Human error seems much more likely...

My encounter was very similar to yours except I had not seen whales along that stretch close to the beach but luckily my buddy and I saw it and responded immediately….it was perfect, couldn’t have been faster. Also thankfully it caught us amidship as well and I think we were between 24-36” out of the water when it gently re-floated the boat. It was quiet (motor shutdown before moments before contact) and very gentle. My buddy and I had the same instinct worrying about the fluke so we ducked below the gunnels but we were all in sync that day and now she has a cool story to tell her calf someday since none of us got hurt. 😀

I’ve been very very close to whales many times when the humpbacks teach their calves how to scrape against the rocks and shell beaches, like right alongside our boat looking at us and breathing their delicious breath but I never expected to get a quick ride. 😀

Whales are cool critters.

Very sad in any event

Took this picture of these two humpbacks while fishing myself a few years ago, about 50 yards from our boat, you gotta respect their size and power!

Humpback vs. aluminum boat, the boat loses.

Bye, Bye bait ball.

Cool pic!!!

That is seriously cool!

Thanks, gentlemen

I have to admit I got very lucky.

While we were fishing for Chinook and Coho over a Herring bait ball I noticed some Killer Whales come charging in right by our Kingfisher boat to feed on the Chinook. The salmon were attacking the bait ball, and while that was happening I noticed these two Humpbacks coming in as well, they were I suspect following the Killer Whales.

I noticed a circle of bubbles appear on the surface. Lucky for me I was watching a Nature show on Humpbacks a few weeks before on TV, and in the show, they explained that Humpbacks blow a circle of air bubbles around the Herring in order to group them tighter then they come up from below with their mouths open and swallow the Herring that are in a tighter ball. In the picture, you can see a few herring escaping.

When I saw the circle of bubbles I grabbed my camera and held it in the middle of the circle of bubbles, when they breached I snapped the picture. The timing was perfect and my Captain told me that it was the best picture of whales that he has ever seen and he has been fishing and guiding for 35 years.

Gotta love fishing in the Pacific and one thing is for sure, everything in the water is eating another type of prey. Eat or be eaten, unless you are a whale and even the humpback calves get eaten by Killer Whales.

I was pretty happy to have taken the picture since I am in no way a professional photographer. This is the picture taken of me when we got back to shore that day, I caught all the fish in the picture myself, fun times.

Great picture!

Couldn't wipe that excremental grin of KB's face with a Brillo pad

😂

I can’t blame him though. 👍🏼

Not even with an electric power sander lol

Just in the process of booking my trip for June, Prince Rupert here I come!

No whale is a benign creature if they tangle in any lines. We had nothing larger than a mature beluga get wrapped in the lines of a subsistence salmon set net years ago. It balled everything up and dragged the whole mess several hundred yards from where it had been set. It was choppy when I went to check it and had a bit of a time locating it. I pretty much knew what to expect, so when I found it, I immediately tied it to the rail on my 19 foot skiff. I was a bit surprised when that big white ghost appeared out of the murky green water and expelled the lightest puff of breath. Darned thing was alive, if barely, or so it seemed. Since I was less than 1/2 mile from shore, I figured I'd just motor in to the beach and we could dispatch it and take care of it. However, once the motor was fired up and the prop turned, that whale decided it was having none of that and proceeded to dragged the whole business toward an old barge anchored offshore in spite of 90 HP of ineffectiveness trying to counter his "tired" efforts. There was little else to do but shut the engine down, get on the radio, and request firepower. Even a "nearly dead" little whale is nothing to trifle with.

That does NOT sound like fun. The power of nature is amazing!

Alaska State Troopers have identified the five people on a fishing charter boat that capsized in rough weather in the sea off Sitka as four visitors from Hawaii and California, and a local boat operator.

One person’s body was recovered Sunday night. Troopers on Wednesday identified the person as Maury Agcaoili, 57, of Waipahu, Hawaii. Agcaoili’s body was found in the water near the boat.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a search for the four other people missing from the boat on Monday night after covering about 825 square miles over 20 hours.

Still missing are:

• Danielle Agcaoili, 53, also of Waipahu, Hawaii.

• Robert Solis, 61, and Brandi Tyau, 56, both of Canoga Park, Calif.

• Boat operator Morgan Robidou, 32, of Sitka.


On Wednesday, efforts to recover the partially submerged boat were “ongoing,” troopers said in a statement. “Conditions on scene have been rough seas and strong wind.”

So much for the report that the boat was in tow to Sitka.

I thought the same thing

Weather can spoil the best of plans.

That was called a Nantucket sleighride back in the Whaling Days

I fear for the charter company. Going out in weather that bad then having all the clients die. I can only imagine the circling group of attorneys waiting to strike.
This didn't end well for the clients and driver, and it won't end well for the charter company.

Worse was the huge lag in reporting an overdue boat... not that it would have saved lives, likely, but more bodies would probably have been found.

The two females were sisters, their brother, mother and father were out on another boat from the lodge fishing.

I saw one photo that showed the bow about 6-7 feet out of the water. Possibly a CG photo.
The poor soul above was probably trying to stay with the hull until hypothermia did him in.

“The bodies of two women were recovered Wednesday from a Sitka fishing charter boat that capsized Sunday night in the deadliest incident in the Alaska charter industry in decades.

The 30-foot Awakin had five people aboard when it capsized in rough seas near Low Island, about 10 miles west of Sitka. Two men remained missing as of Thursday.

Searchers on Sunday night found the body of Maury Agcaoili, 57, of Waipahu, Hawaii, in the water less than 100 yards from the boat.


On Wednesday evening, divers recovered the bodies of sisters Danielle Agcaoili, 53, also of Waipahu, and Brandi Tyau, 56, of Canoga Park, California, from inside the partly sunken vessel, Alaska State Troopers said.

Agcaoili and Tyau were on a trip to Alaska with their husbands and other family members, the Associated Press reported.


Passenger Robert Solis, 61, of Canoga Park, and boat captain Morgan Robidou, 32, of Sitka were still considered missing.

On Wednesday, the seas were calm enough for divers to enter the vessel while it was still submerged, said troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel.


Previously, the “sea state was too intense to get inside the boat,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Ian Gray.

Efforts to refloat the boat and tow it to Sitka are ongoing, Gray said. The Coast Guard is investigating what led the boat to capsize.”

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/202...kage-of-fishing-charter-boat-near-sitka/

I’m still thinking they got too close to the shoals and got rolled by a bmf wave.

That would be a good bet.

One thing is for sure, if you are in the drink in the Northern Pacific, it does not take long to be dead from Hypothermia.

Tragic, RIP to all on Board

I had been wondering if the other victims were cabbed up when the accident happened and could not get out. Hopefully they got knocked unconscious before drowning.

I had the same thought. 😬

I was reading about the Defiance fishing team and their experience rolling a 29’ Guadalupe in the surf break. They were all ok but the skipper had an auto-inflate PFD and it inflated almost trapping him in the cabin.

Last time I went fishing in AK there was a group from MN on the plane by me that fish with Kingfisher every year.

Lots of hits on YouTube with a "Kingfisher Charters Sitka" search.

Many of their clients post their video memories of fishing with them.

Not to be confused with Kingfisher Lodge out of Craig AK.

The rumor up here is that he got too close in to the rocks and got caught by a breaker. If that’s the close, total Captain error. I used to fish/surf in that exact area and there are some big breakers on those rocks.

If the electronics survived, forensics can establish how much time the vessel dwelled in that area.

Update:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/3-dead-2-missing-family-053521708.html

"Coast Guard investigators are working to determine the timeline and cause of the incident. The area was experiencing 6-foot to 11-foot (1.8- to 3.35-meter) waves, a Coast Guard spokesperson said."

Not my kind of fishing weather

I've had a steering cable snap while underway. Luckily on a river and not in a bad spot. I can only imagine out there in those conditions. Also had one snap on an airboat and we hit the bank and all were ok since we were not high speed at the time. Its a bit interesting when you all of a sudden have no control on direction.

Rumor I’m hearing now is I would have lost that bet.

Some of the early speculation appears to have been correct - if the most recent rumors are confirmed.

Sad as hell.

Anchor tangled? Everyone ran to the same corner and swamped the boat?
? ? ?

Former.

Ouch!

Are the Charters at Sitka mostly independent owner/operators that the lodges direct their guests to?

The missing Captain, Morgan Robidou has images on his Instagram site he posted last October and his comment posted with this image insinuates he'd just became the owner of this boat.



Just curious as to how the Charters and Lodges operate out there.

Mix of both. Depends on the lodge. In this case, I have read that he was an independent contractor.

You heard it was from pulling the anchor?

I have heard the breaker and whale theory.

Tough deal

Are there witnesses to what happened? Or are the rumors just speculative guesses?

The best evidence would be the anchor location, and how much was in the prop. Skipper is outside setting it when he goes overboard.

Just hard to imagine wanting to set the anchor in seas like that... or did it happen long before and the weather changed?

Everyone died.
No witnesses.

We'll have to wait for an updated CG report or a salvage company report for any possible clues as to what happened.

So I got a question for you Calvin.

You operate two charter boats now, right?

If you were heading out in rough weather, would you split up or stay in visual proximity? I understand splitting up on a calm day would give better odds of finding the fish and "the bite" on a given day.

Commericial guys I know speak of "coding partners" - which I believe means fishing buddies that are in the general area you are. If SHTF, you have help nearby.

Yeah 2. We stay close when it's nasty and offshore and I definitely err on the side of caution. Sitka is a lot different than my area though. Those guys are forced to go offshore in bad weather because of the LAMP area. No fishing for halibut or lingcod in sitka sound by charters. We have a pile of islands to get behind. Force the fleet outside in bad weather and something was bound to happen eventually.

There's going to be some questions about why they waited so long to alert the CG, that's for sure. The seas were not that big though. Boats anchor in that stuff all the time and this was a commonly fished area pretty much in sight of sitka. This is the first charter mishap that resulted in loss of life on this scale that i can recall. I bet operations will start rethinking things a little bit.

The Majestic Explorer hitting a rock by Brothers Island in I believe in 82 , with a Woman being killed when she was struck by a Life Raft being deployed is the last one I recall .

Was it just the skipper and the 4 customers?

I would have thought there would be a second man aboard to help the skipper.