Mugs C Disaster Recovery Fund
On the night of June 29th, the F/V Mugs C took on water and sank with myself (lessee), Hans (owner), and Arthur (deckhand) on board. We escaped with our lives, but the financial implications for the recovery alone are astronomical ($50-$200k). The goal of this fundraiser is to help with the costs of the recovery and financial losses, and to raise awareness about the vast number of working class fishermen that find themselves in this nightmare. Please help us by hearing our story, spreading the word, and donating what you can to our Leave-No-Trace recovery of the Mugs C.
For the last three months, I have been putting together a fishing voyage to source fish for my small seafood company, Wild Pacific Foods LLC. The goal of this trip was to catch salmon and build relationships with commercial fishermen who are interested in sustainable fisheries, keeping our ocean clean, and protecting the resource for generations to come.
The last thirty days, since arriving in Alaska, has been a grind as I helped my cousin, Hans Petaja, owner of the F/V Mugs C, to get the boat in peak condition for the summer salmon trolling season. We toiled from dawn until dusk many days, and we were thrilled to see the project come together in the days before we would be headed to the outer coast.
On Tuesday, June 29th with the outgoing tide, we set out to run our load of supplies from Juneau, Alaska to Elfin Cove about 12 hours away with the intention of sleeping on anchor between the tides. Ultimately, we wouldn't make it that far. About forty five minutes into our run, we realized that there was an abnormal amount of water sloshing around on our lower "false deck". It was not any serious cause for concern, however we adjusted our cargo in an attempt to reduce the issue. Ten minutes later the issue had gotten worse, with now a couple of inches of water sloshing around.
We realized that the stern of the boat was potentially flooding in our lower lazarette compartment, and we immediately turned a hard right and started charging for shore. Unfortunately, it was too late. As we made our turn the first wave crashed over our port rail, and instantly swamped the stern of the boat. We fought it with our bilge pumps for several minutes as Hans called MAYDAY through the radio, but we realized there was nothing left to be done, so we made the call to evacuate.
An eighth of a mile from the south shore of Shelter Island, I cut the dingy loose from the top of the boat as the back of the boat submerged completely under water. Diving in after it, I was able to get the dingy flipped and Hans, and our deckhand Arthur were able to board the boat. We sat in silent horror as we watched the boat fight to stay afloat as it slipped into the depths. In less than five minutes, it was gone.
Tragically, this is not at all uncommon. Many working class fisherman around the world find themselves fighting to save their lives in storms, through fires and mechanical failures, and in collisions. So many of them like Hans have boats that are uninsured due to rates they cannot afford, or boats that are simply uninsurable. The F/V Mugs C was in fine working order, however the boat was unknowingly overloaded with cargo. That was all it took.
We are sincerely grateful that despite the tremendous financial burden that this emergency has caused, that the three of us managed to escape alive and uninjured. This outcome is often not the case. Please help us by sharing our story, spreading the word, and donating what you can to our Leave-No-Trace recovery of the Mugs C.