Results tagged “alaskaranger”

Either there's some serious Heisenberg Effect happening on Discovery Channel's Alaskan fishing Reality show The Deadliest Catch, or the producers are giving us a severe whitewashing. If you're like us and everything you know about Alaskan fishing comes directly from the show you might think that while there are some hard dudes around they are mostly serious professionals interested in carrying out family traditions safely and effectively under the watchful eyes of benevolent and all-powerful captains.

Shortly before 3am on Easter Sunday, the Alaska Coast Guard received a mayday call from the Seattle-based, Alaskan Ranger. The fishing trawler was flooding, taking on water in its rudder room. The ship sank en route to Mackerel grounds in a stormy Bering Sea, with 20-foot waves and 30 mph winds. Four crew members, including the captain, died of hypothermia when the ship sank. Forty-two members of the crew were rescued, plucked out of the Bering Sea by Coast Guard helicopters and rescue ships. Some of the survivors had been in the Bering Sea for upwards of four hours before being rescued.