By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
One of two men aboard a small boat died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack while the boat was about a mile west of Cape Edgecumbe, the Coast Guard reported today.
The nearby commercial troller I Gotta made the VHF Channel 16 call to the Coast Guard when the boat with the stricken man approached the I Gotta seeking help. A number of other good Samaritan vessels, as well as a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, responded to the call.
The Coast Guard said the helicopter returned to Sitka within one and a half hours of the Channel 16 call, but the man did not survive.
The name of the man was not released.
Lea LeGardeur, a deckhand on the I Gotta, told the Sentinel she was the first to see a small gray sport boat approach with a man aboard waving his arms.
“We had just thrown in our gear and were trolling and it was pretty foggy, we were just outside the mile line of where we can fish. A little sport boat came up behind us on our starboard side... There was a guy who was yelling on their bow, waving his arms yelling, ‘Call the Coast Guard! Call the Coast Guard!’” LeGardeur recalled. He was performing chest compressions on the stricken man, who was unconscious.
Eric Jordan, skipper of the I Gotta, made the radio call.
“I immediately called the Coast Guard and said that there was a person in distress and gave them our location,” Jordan said.
The USCG received the initial distress call at 9:54 a.m. and dispatched a helicopter from Air Station Sitka as quickly as possible, Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Lauren Dean told the Sentinel. The chopper was on the scene at 10:52 a.m with a rescue swimmer and a Sitka EMT on board, and returned to Sitka with the patient at 11:34 a.m.
During the rescue, communication with the small boat was difficult, Jordan said, because the I Gotta couldn’t come to a halt with the gear down.
Two charter boats soon arrived, and one passed over a defibrillator, LeGardeur said.
Jordan said someone on one of the charter vessels helped pilot the boat with the stricken man to St. Lazaria Island, where the helicopter conducted the rescue.
Jordan, a longtime commercial troller, said he was inspired by the effort of so many good Samaritans, as well as the Coast Guard.
“For me, having been involved in emergencies over years, it’s always really inspiring how everyone when there is an emergency at sea steps up to help... Even though it was a tragedy, it was also inspiring how everyone is doing their best in an emergency,” Jordan said.
Coast Guard chief petty officer Dean offered her condolences to the family of the dead man.
“It never gets easier, it’s tough and we see a lot of tough cases throughout the district. Our deepest condolences go out to the family,” she said.
