Aftermath and Legacy of Rescue

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Some elements, including dialogue may be invented Everything is based on research This is Theen see reated we are booarding Rogers Station commommander Ted Lefver hovers over his communications officer at the Coast Guard Air Base station in Sitka, Alaska trying to make out reports from his helicopter rescue crews But it's almost impossible to understand anything over the static It's ten thirty PM on january thirtieth, nineteen ninety eight, three and a half hours since the Coast Guard received a signal from an emergency radio beacon or ePRb about sixty miles off the coast Since then, they've dispatched two helicopters onene of which is now returning to base because of low fuel Lever thought the first helicopter said that there were people in the water, but wasn't able to rescue them The fever still isn't sure why The eperb signal is coming from a place called Fair Weather Ground a notorious dead zone for radio communications The few transmissions they've picked up have been garbled Now, as the first helicopter gets closer to base, Le fever is able to make out some of what Mission Commander Bill Addocks is saying Dt survivors Rogue waves We seventy five knots. Weaves seventy feet. L fever frowns Did Adicts say seventeen or seven D The first number doesn't explain why they had to abort, but the second number doesn't seem possible In all his years in the Coast Guard, L fevers never heard of seventy foot seas He asks the Cals officer to have Adds repeat himself And this time, the number comes through loud and clear seventy feet addicts is not one to exaggerate Le Fver looks at his Cs officer callall in another crew We need to launch the third helicopter is backup Le fever strides from the operation center out to the main hangar to make sure ground crews are readying the third helicopter The base only has three It's common for one of them to be down for maintenance at any given time. He's gratified to see tonight Gotten lucky third H sixty jhawk is up and she's running When he returns to the operations center, he finds the COMs officer looking at him I've got that third crew picked out Wh's in it Lieutenant Steve Torpy, petty officer Mike Fish. Pety offfficer Fred Colt The Cals officer hesitates Uh and you M. There's no one else left The fever feels his blood run cold As commanding officer, it's been years since he's flown a rescue mission himself. His only flight experience in Alaska has been on patrols and training exercises. The Cals officer must see the alarm on Lfver's face. He tries to sound reassuring Of course be Mission Commander and navigator, sir. Lieutenant Torpi will be the pilot that is unless no That sounds fine. Torp's a damn good pilot. With that, Liffver heads up to his office to change into his flight suit His mind is racing When was the last time he flew on a rescue crew can't remember exactly, but he does recall his most challenging mission piloting a jayahawk in a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico He's proud of that accomplishment That was over a decade ago He's forty six years old now Can he still handle himself and conditions that extreme Then again This storm can't possibly be worse Hurricane Canon? I heard a rumour that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly at the World Cup in nineteen seventy. Sounds crazy? I'm an investigative journalist on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter these Sovians This is Foul playay, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies and family secrets. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or early and ad free on Audible I'm Mike Cy and this is Aainst the Odds Three and a half hours after their fishing vessels sank off the coast of Alaska, the crew of the Laconti still had not been rescued. One fisherman, Dave Hanlin, had already been swept away by the mountainous waves Four others remained together by a nylon rope and protected by neoprene survival suits Captain Mark Morley's suit was leaking is becoming hypothermic in the near freezing water One Coast Guard helicopter had tried and failed to rescue them. Now a second chopper was on the way, with a third being deployed as backup All flying in one of the worst Alaska winter storms anyone seen This is episode three Hanging on The soil pops to the surface, coughing up seawater, and grabs the rope that's tied around his waist. He hopes that his skipper, Mark Morley, is still attach too. By now, Bob is too weak to hang on to Morley each time a wave hits them Morley's survival suit began leaking not long after the abandoned ship. Now, hours later, he's in worse shape than Bob or the other two survivors tied to the rope Mike Dcaapua and Giggy Mork. Bob thinks back to his Coast Guard training. Morley has stopped shivering, which means his core temperature has dropped below eighty five degrees, the threshold for profound hypothermia. blood flow to his extremities has almost stopped. He could lose fingers, toes, even a leg or Good die What Morley needs, what they all need is to get out of the water But there's no chance of that anytime soon After trying and failing for hours to rescue them, a Coast Guard helicopter flew away moments ago, leaving them alone amid the towering waves Bob reaches Morley, who's floating on his back, limp as a jellyfish Bob pulls him close, propping the skipper's head on his chest But seconds later, Bob feels himself rising caaught on the face. yet another wave way it breaks, slamming Bob and Morley underwater Bob resurfaces and suddenly he's not in the ocean anymore. He's behind the wheel of his old car He's on a winding highway, green hills rolling by. His wife is in the passenger seat, laughing is in her hair has to be a dream It seems so real I can feel the sun on his face He's just about to turn to his wife and ask if he's dreaming. The scene changes Now it's night the hills are covered with a million twinkling fireflies. there's a car coming towards them, with his high beams on. He's blinded. He tries to hit the brakes, but nothing happens. The high beams get brighter and brighter as the other car barrels towards him. An another wave hits him, and he snaps out of it. He realizes he was hallucinating The green hills were waves. The fireflies were ocean spray, lit up by the glow of flares left behind by the Coast Guard The oncoming headlights were the flashing strobe of the EPERP Bob realizes that he's in worse shape than he thought 's been so focused on helping Mark Morley that he hadn't noticed that his own suit is now taking on water too. barely feel his legs He's more tired than he's ever felt. probably been drifting in and out of consciousness without even realizing it He sees Morley floating a few feet away and swims over to help him Once he has the skipper's head propped on his chest He slaps himself on the cheeks a few times. He has to stay alert or a skipper for himself for all of them Another helicopter must be on its way Ted Le Fever gathers with his helicopter crew in a side room just off the main hangar at Sitka Air Station Everyone is ready to go Under their flight suits, each man wears a polar fleece dry suit On their backs, they carry a pair of scuba tanks The tanks and the dry suits are precautions in the event of a crash A scenario L fever tries to put out of his mind He's about to order his men into the hangar to begin their pre flight checklists, when pilot Steve Torpy speaks up Sir I don't think we can leave yet The fever is stunned. It's now eleven thirty five PM Those survivors have been in the water for four and a half hours. They can't afford to waste a second. Can't leave yet. What are you talking about, Steve Well, sir, we don't have any night vision goggles Corpy explains that every pair of goggles is currently out with the first two helicopters It's so rare for all three helicopters to be deployed at once, especially at night, that no one noticed the shortage until now L fever swallows his frustration is right. Without the goggles, it will be dangerous to fly at night, and next to impossible to spot survivors in the water The helicopter has a powerful floodlight, but its beam is narrow and really only useful for maintaining visual contact with survivors after they've been found They have no choice but to wait. Still That doesn't mean they can't use their time constructively By now, first helicopter commander Bill Addocks has been in clearer radio contact with the base, so they have a better idea of what they're up against L fever asks his men to start throwing out suggestions Mike Fish, the rescue swimmer, says they should bring extra flares Colt, the flight mechanic, offers up some strategies for the rescue basket that he'll deploy He orders a maintenance man to attach fluorescent green glow sticks to the basket to make it easier for the survivors to spot. then he goes off in search of something that can be used to weigh the basket down so it won't flap around so much in the wind. When Colt returns, carrying two fifty pound shop bags, Torpi makes another suggestion Hey Fred Adx recommends we bring a second flight mechanic looks taken aback to flight mechanics Why? I guess Witherspoon got pretty overworked by the conditions They could have used the second guy to help with the basket. The fever can see Cult is skeptical and jumps in I agree with Fred I think it's a good idea But ultimately, it is your call Colt stands a little straighter and looks the station commander in the eye I can do this Ctain. I don't need any help L fever nods At the end of the day, he trusts his men to know their limits When the helicopter is loaded with supplies and ready to go, Lefver and his team climb aboard and take their seats Out on the runway, they see blinking lights in the distance. It's Ads and his crew returning on the first helicopter And then, at ground level, they see more lights Flashing red and white an ambulance. L fever watches as the first helicopter lands, and two paramedics rush over to it wheeling a stretch They reach through the cabins side door and lift someone out. Flight mechanics Sean Witherspoon body is lim. They load him onto the stretcher strap an oxygen mask over his face. wheel him into the ambulance Over his headset, Le fever hears Colt's voice Hey, Captain Maybe having a second flight mech isn't such a bad idea after all Minutes later, flight mechanic Lee Honnold dashes across the tarmac to join them At last, they have everything they need. including those Night vision goggles, handed off from the first helicopter L fever, orders Torpi to take them out Bob Doyle watches as the second helicopter tries yet again to lower its rescue basket suuccess A gust of wind blows it sideways before it can reach the water. From somewhere just behind him, Bob hears Mike DCapua shouting. This is pointless. They're never gonna get us out of here with that thing. Over the roar of the waves and the helicopter's winding engines, Bob shouts back. They will. They know what they're doing. I swear But the truth is, he's beginning to think that Mike is right. He's not sure how long this second helicopter has been hovering over them, but he suspects it's running low on fuel by now soon they will be forced to leave Like the first one He knows the Coast Guard base in Sitka has a third helicopter But it's rare that all three are available at once The first jhawk has to refuel and come all the way back They might be stranded out here for hours Mark Morley. doesn't have ours He's barely conscious Bob keeps holding him up, speaking words of encouragement into Morley's ear. But he can't tell if the skipper can even hear him anymore Still, Bob has been thinking about what he needs to do if, by some miracle, the rescue basket comes down close to them He's determined to get Morley into the basket first But the basket can only hold one person Maybe to if they really squeeze And because all four men are still roped together, that means that before he can drag Morley to the basket, he'll have to cut the rope Bob has a knife in a sheath that's tied around his neck with a piece of fishing line But it's under his survival suit So when the basket gets close, he'll have to unzip the suit Get out the knife, cut the rope, and then swim for the basket with Morley in tow, and he'll probably have just seconds to do all of that before the next wave comes crashing down on them. As he's going over all of this in his mind, he hears Giggy Mork Bob, Bob, look, the basket. It's behind you. Bob turns, and sure enough, he sees the rescue basket come splashing down nearby. It's the closest it's ever been. No more than thirty feet away. Does he dare risk it Bob starts to unzip his survival suit, but then he sees a massive wave barreling down on them. There's no way he and Morley can reach the basket before it hits them. ob resurfaces, the basket is gone. He looks up and sees that the second helicopter is starting to leave Deapua calls after it, nearly in tears. Oh You can't just leave us. We're gonna die out here Faster. Giggy Morg snaps at him. Mike, Jesus Christ, do you ever stop whining? Bob listens to the two men argue their voices taking on an increasingly bitter edge. He shouts to interrupt them. Mark Giggy. Hey Listen up. What do you want, Bob? I want a cigarette Either of you guys got a cigarette? What? U Screw you, Bob. Hey, come on, just one smoke. It's a joke, of course. None of them have cigarettes, and even if they did, it would be impossible to light one. But it gets them to stop arguing, which is exactly what Bob was hoping for The men decide to get into a circle. To stay closer together, it means they bang into each other every time a wave hits them, but it does boost their spirits As more minutes pass with no sign of another helicopter, Giggy calls out to Bob. Those coasty friendrens of yours forget about us? Nah, u I think that it' went for a beer run They all laugh. in spite of everything Then another wave knocks them under Captain Ted Le Fver flips up his night vision goggles. There's so much rain, snow, and sea spray hitting the windshield that it's rendering them useless. It's about twelve twenty five AM, forty minutes since Lefver and his team took off from Sitka Air Station in the third helicopter They're over fair weathered ground, trying to home in on the eperb signal, but it's slow going After overshooting the signal, pilot Steve Torpi is now trying to fly towards it through a brutal crossway Each gus shoves their seven ton j Hawk helicopter sideways like a child's toy Corpy's also having trouble keeping the helicopter's nose from pitching down Each time it does, they lose altitude, which sets off an alarm warning that they're getting too close to the ocean's surface. Torpe yanks on the collollective, a lever that controls the helicopter's altitude. until the alarm stops. Meanwhile, with his other hand, he grabs a stick called a cyclic which she uses to steer. He jerks the cycllic hard to one side as another gus tries to blow the Jayhawk off course. The altitude alarm blares again, and Torpi snaps Can we silence that damn thing? Captain, sorry, I just it's okay, Steve. Yeah. I can watch our ultimeter and let you know if we're getting too low The fever switches off the alarm and thinks. Corpy is one of his best pilots But they're not even over the survivors yet And torpes already what the military calls task saturated They need to figure out a way to make his life easier. Then he remembers something another pilot once told him A trick for flying in conditions like these see I got an idea. How do you feel about trying something that's not in the training manual? What do you have in mind? Let's divide the controls. I'll work the collective and keep our altitude stable That way you can concentrate on the cycllic L fever can see that Torpi is hesitant. Spllitting the controls is extremely dangerous because both pilots have to be perfectly in sync. If they give conflicting commands to the helicopter's rotors, the rotors could overtorque. causing the chopper to spin out of control or suddenly lose altitude. It goes against everything they're taught in flight school Then again Nothing in flight schoolool really prepares you for flying in conditions this extreme Finally Corpi knots U yeah, ye. Let's give it a try Right away, Le fever sees a difference in Torpes flying. The helicopter's movements have become sharper He adjusts more quickly to the gusting crosswids Minutes later, Le fever sees the flash of the eperb strobe He orders flight mechanics Fred Cultt and Lee Honnold to get ready to drop flares around the survivors Now For you work begins back hard on the collective. raaising the helicopter's altitude just in time to dodge an oncoming wave He can tell they're climbing from the way he feels pinned to his seat, but when he looks at the altimeter, it stays pegged at forty feet. It's measuring the distance to the nearest water below them, and the wave is rising as fast as they're climbing. Finally, the wave breaks, and the altimeter jumps to one hundred twenty feet The fever relaxes his grip on the collective. That was close In his headset, he hears flight mechanic Fred Colt calmly giving directions to pilot Steve Torpi. Forward and right fifty. Back and left thirty. Torpi responds by manoeuvering the helicopter in short quick bursts, darting this way and that, while the fever does his best to maintain their altitude at about one hundred feet above water They're trying to stay directly over the survivors to maximize Colt's chances of landing the rescue basket near them. They've been at it for over an hour now, but the fever feels good about how things are going. Torpi is flying with incredible skill. Slitting the controls really seems to be helping, and Colt's drops have been getting even closer to the men in the water From the back of the helicopter, Lefver hears rescue swimmer Mike Fish over Kongs. Hey capaptain, maybe I should try going in. I'm sure I can get the basket over to these guys. LeFver considers this. It's true that a rescue swimmer might increase the odds of reaching the survivors. Then again, in a sea state this chaotic, there's also a chance they'll never get him back No, Mike. It's too risky. Plus I need you backing me up on the altimeter. Give us a warning if we go below eighty feet. Roger that? Fred Colt issues a few more directional commands, then grunts with effort as yet again he hurls the basket out into the storm Lefver watches his instruments, trying to hold the helicopter level with the ocean's surface and prays that with this drop, they'll finally get lucky Doyle can't believe his eyes The rescue basket has splashed down no more than twenty feet away The closest it's gotten by far He casts a quick glance at Mike DeCapua and Giggy Mork. By now, they've all agreed that Mark Morley should go first, but Bob wants to be sure everyone's still on board with that plan Diggie waves a hand emphatically. Bff, go, go, get marking that thing before they hoist it back. Bob takes a deep breath This is it. He unzips his survival suit and slides the fishing knife from its sheath. A shiver passes through him as the freezing water pours in before he can close his suit up again. But he manages to hold ono the knife. He grabs the half conscious Mark Morley and yells. Hey, Mark, Mark, wake up. We gotta go. We gotta go now I'm gonna cut you loose and then you gotta swim for the basket, okay? Morley's eyes flutter then open wide He seems suddenly reanimated Yeah, ye. Let's go I can do this. Bob marvels at his skipper's will to survive. This man is determined to see his family again, and Bob thinks I'm determined to help him Bob takes his knife and cuts Morlead free from the rope. Then he cuts himself loose. Go, Mark, swwim! swim Morley starts paddling, or trying to, but his limbs barely move. Bob realizes he's probably frozen stiff from all the sea waterater that's leaked into his suit. If he's going to reach the basket, Bob's going to have to drag him Bob grabs the collar of Morley's survival suit and starts swimming. The basket is tantalizingly close. Its steel cage gleams in the jayhawk's floodlight. Bob kicks as hard as he can, terrified that the next wave will wash it out of his reach Then his outstretched hand closes around the edge of the basket. He made it. With his other hand, he pulls Morally closer. Get in, Mark. Get in! Morley flails his arms wely I'm trying. I'm trying. but Morley can still barely move. Bob tries dragging him into the basket, then pushing him from behind, but nothing works. The dead weight of Morley's water filled survival suit is too much Finally, Bob decides to try something else. The basket is just barely big enough for two. Maybe if he climbs in first, he'll have more leverage and can haul Morley in that way. Bob clamers into the basket, then reaches down and grabs Morley under his armpits. Mark, come on then! move! move! It works. Little by little, Bob is able to shimmy Morley's arms and torso into the half submerged basket Morley is about halfway in when Bob feels a sudden jerk. The water falls away beneath them. The basket rises into the sky. Bob realizes that the rescue crew has begun voicing them back up to the helicopter, but Morley is still bangling halfway out of the basket. and now he's hanging on for dear life Flight mechanic Fred Colt reels in the rescue basket as fast as the hoist mechanism will allow and calls out over his headset. Boy we got one. There's somebody in the basket. But there is a massive wave approaching fast. Colt wants to get the basket clear before it hits. The top of the wave clips the basket, sending it spinning under the belly of the helicopter And out of Colt's line of sight, flight mechanically Lee Honnold grabs the cable and pushs it outward so it won't fray against the edge of the door. When the basket swings back into view again, Colt half expects it to be empty. That wave probably knocked the survivor right out of it. But amazingly, he sees a lone figure crouched inside the basket Colt reels him in the rest of the way. Survivor is in the cabin door. Bing him in now. He hears Captain Lafira's voice over his headset. Roger, that. Great work, friend. Colt lets himself crack a smile. That's one down. Three to go. The basket is now dangling just outside the open side door with its single occupant inside on his hands and knees. Culp grabs the edge of the basket's cage to swing it inside so the survivor can climb out, but the basket doesn't move. Calp yanks on the basket again. St nothing. It's like it's caught on something. He calls out Gaee, give me a hand with it Honald joins Colt, and together the two men pull on the basket with all of their might, but it still won't budge. Colt can't understand it. In all his years in the Coast Guard, he's never seen a basket get stuck like this. The man in the basket is still crouched on his hands and knees and appears to be gripping the cage like his life depends on it He's probably in shock, or afraid of heights, Colt thinks. He's yelling something, but Colt can't hear him over the roar of the helicopter's engine and rotors. Then he hears someone else yelling on his headset. It's the rescue swimmer, Mike Fish. Stop, stop, Fred. There's the second guy on the basket Doyle looks down into the terrified eyes of Mark Morley. The whole way up, his grip on Mark's survival suit kept slipping and slipping. By the time they reached a helicopter, Mark had slid all the way out of the basket and was left clinging to its underside. He's too weak to pull himself up. Bob has one handful of the skipper's half inflated neck collar But now, that's slipping too. The flight mechanics don't seem to realize Mark is there. They keep yanking the basket sideways, trying to slide it inside the helicopter. But with each yank, Mark's head and shoulders get slammed into the helicopter's underside, just inches below the open cabin door. Don't wait, stop. stop! Bob screams until his throat is raw It's no use. The Coast Guard rescuers can't hear him, even though they're only a few feet away. He looks back down at Mark, whose eyes now have a vacant look. Hang on, Mark. Hang on Hang on. But then the basket gets yanked again. Bob watches helpless as his friend's head hits the steel rail just beneath the door frame The jolt of it knocks Bob's hand from Mark's collar Bob's eyes lock with Mark Morley's one last time Then, Mark lets go and falls backwards towards the scene Before Bob can see him hit the water, the basket swings abruptly to one side, and Bob tumbles onto the floor of the jayhawk Sobbing J's gone. save him Flight mechanic, Fred Colt staggers back from the open cabin door, trying to make sense of what just happened. The man they rescued is sprawled out on the cabin floor, crying hysterically. Colt turns to the rescue swimmer, Mike Fish. Are you sure you saw someone else in the basket? Fish nods. Not in it. He was under it He fell as soon as you were pulling it in. Colt's stomach drops. Suddenly it all makes sense. The basket being stuck. the guy they pulled in yelling and sobbing. He hears Lee Honnold speak up. Do we know how far he fell? Fish looks at the altimeter. one hundred three feet. No one responds Cult knows they're all thinking the same thing Hitting water from that height is like hitting concrete. They're snapped out of it by the sobs of the man they did rescue, called goes to him. Hey, I'm really sorry about your friend. We're gonna get him back, okay? Now, you need to tell me how many people were on your boat? Five. There was five. but it's just four now. We lost one a while ago That's four including you and the guy who fell? Yeah, that was her skipper. I tried to save, but my could I let him fall. Hey buddy, it's okay. Calm down, all right? There There was nothing more you can do. What's your name? The man looks up for the first time, tears running down his face Colt feels like he looks familiar, but he can't place him. I'm Bob Bob Doyle Colt wonders if he heard right. Then he hears Mike Fish cry out, Holy crap. It's Bob Doyle. Our Bob Doyle. All three rescuers can't believe it. Of all the people for them to pluck out of the middle of the ocean in the worst storm in a decade, it's their former chief warrant officer the one forced into early retirement for drinking on the job The Cult has a million questions, but no time to ask them. There are at least two other survivors still in the water. Th, if the skipper survived his fall He leans out of the open cabin door to look for the skipper and spots him floating face down. premises and radios the cockpit over his headset. Steve, let's get back in position over the other two survivors. We're going to prioritize them over the guy who fell. Roger, but we gotta make it quick, Fred. We're almost at Bingo fuel. Bingo is the amount of fuel they'll need to fly back to land. so Cult wastes no time He gets the basket back in position, spots the other two survivors, and starts directing Torpi towards them. Colt still feels terrible about losing the skkipper, but he can't dwell on that now. They've still got a chance to save more lives. D Capua tries to swim towards the basket, but he can't seem to get his limbs to work. Dicky Mork is basically dragging him, cursing all the way. I swear to God, Mike, if I miss getting into this basket because of you, I'll kill you myself. Go right ahead. You'd be doing me a friaking favor About twenty minutes ago, they were elated to see Bob Doyle and Mark Moorley get pulled to safety. Just as Bob and Mike reached the helicopter, it disappeared from view behind a huge wave. But then it was overhead again, lowering the basket. After a few more tries, it finally dropped close enough for Mike and Giggy to make a dash for it Somehow, they reach the basket and both manage to climb in. But as soon as it begins to rise, a wave crashes into them, plunging both men and the entire basket underwater For what feels like the millionth time, Mike holds his breath and waits for the wave to spit him back out But this time, he's also trying to cling to the basket, which the wave has sent spinning like a top He can feel himself getting dizzy, losing his balance and his grip The basket resurfaces, taking Mike and Giggy along with it. But Mike is starting to fall backwards. The basket's metal bars slip from his grasp and he tumbles out. He hits the water hard and goes under. After a few seconds, his survival suit's buoyant collar popps him back to the surface. He looks around for the helicopter, and then for Diggy Mork There's no sign of them completely Alone. Mike dee Capua floats on his back Feing the blowing sleeet and sea spray sting his face. He's so cold. And it's so dark out here. alone in the middle of the ocean. The eperb is long gone, having drifted away after Bob Doyle cut the rope, tying them all together The last of the flares dropped by the Coast Guard have almost burned out. He's still wearing his survival suit, but that's been slowly taking on forty degrees seawater. His hands and legs have gone completely numb from the coal He hears the helicopter coming back but can't see it. and he can't imagine them spotting him, not in all this darkness. So he decides that this is probably the end for him This is how he dies. frozen to death. Human popsicle in an orange rubber suit. Bobby w. He wonders if this is how Dave Hanlland felt right before he drifted away and disappeared Poor Hanlin, The guy was so seasick that he never really stood a chance after the abandoned ship. Mike wishes he'd made more of an effort to get to know Hanlin He was a damn good fisherman Mike wishes for so many things. He wishes he'd kept in touch with his daughters. He wishes that he'd been a better father. Earlier, he had told himself that if he made it through this, he'd do whatever it takes to track them down Now You'll never see them again A wave hits him and he starts to cry doesn't want to die like this alone in the cold and the dark. Why couldn't he have just gotten shot in a bar fight or hit by a truck or any other way Then he sees something through his tears, a green glow coming towards him on the crest of a big wave. At first, he thinks he's hallucinating, but then he realizes what it is. The rescue basket. The green is from the glow sticks tied to the cage Mike wills his numb arms and legs to move. He can't tell if they're responding, but somehow the basket is getting closer. He's rising up the face of the wave to meet it And then the next thing he knows, he's climbing inside. The helicopter's blinding floodlights shine down on him. and then he feels himself being lifted up. Thank you God Thank you you Thank you. Mike de Capuwa weeps and laughs the whole way up He can't believe he's getting a second chance. He can't believe he's gone to live Bob Doyle watches as the Coast Guard crew helps Mike to Capua out of the basket. He's glad to see Mike, but he wishes Mark Morley was with him. Bob still clings to a sliver of hope that the skipper might have survived his fall. As the coasties peel Mike out of his survival suit and transfer him to a thermal bag He looks around the cabin confused Wh Where's Mark Bob doesn't know what to say. One of the rescuers's answers. We almost had him, but he fell He fell. Well, what are you waiting for? We gotta get him back. That's exactly what we're trying to do. Mike De Capua collapses on the floor, wrapped in the thermal bag. Bob sits nearby on a jump seat next to Gigy Mork. All three men are too exhausted to speak. Bob feels the helicopter turning as one of the flight mechanics directs them back towards where they last saw Morley. Then Bob looks up and sees the rescue swimmer standing over him. Bob remembers his name, Mike Fish. greatreat name for a rescue swimmer. Fish checks Bob's pulse and temperature. So Th Doyle What exactly were you doing out here? U Fishing? Fishing Can I get you anything? water, hot tea? Bob shakes his head. Just get the skipper Minutes later, Bob sees them lower the rescue basket. They reel it in and try a few more times. From their body language, he can tell whatever's happening, it's not good Finally, they reel in the basket one last time, then toss out some flares and slide the cabin door shut. Mike D Capua, still huddled on the floor, cries out. No, no. What the hell are you doing? You can't just leaveem out there. Mike Fish, the rescue swimmer, kneels down next to him We tried, trust me, we tried everything He's unresponsive. We even bumped him a few times to the basket. We're almost out of fuel. We gott to head back. Hearing this, Bob Doyle puts his head in his hands. He did everything he could to save Mark Morley, but he let him slip through his fingers Still, he knows how lucky he, Mike, and Giggy are. What these Coast Guard rescuers did to save them is truly incredible Mike Fish offers them hot tea again, and this time, Bob gratefully accepts. It occurs to him that a year ago, he was sure that he'd never see inside of a Coast Guard helicopter again. Now he's getting a free ride on one. backack home to see his kids, back to a life that he now feels incredibly grateful for Captain Ted Le Fver steps out of the Jayhawk's cockpit and onto the wet tarmac. It's nearly four AM grateful to finally be back on solid ground. They didn't have enough fuel to get all the way back to Sitka, so instead, they've landed on a small airirstrip in Yakutat, a coastal village closer to fairwather ground Lefver is proud of how his crew performed, but as they disembark, he can see how dejected they look. He walks over to them. Listen. I know you're all still thinking about the guy following. But you can't focus on that, okay? Because of you, three men are going home to their families. Think about the ones we saved Once we lost, the men all gnaed, still not quite looking like they believe him The fever hopes they'll come around. In the Coast Guard, no one lasts long if they get hung up on their failures Right as he's thinking this, Lefver happens to look over and see Bob Doyle. When Lefver heard over Cms that Doyle was among those rescued, he wasn't sure if he really believed it. But it's the former chief wararrant officer, al right Doyle now has a thick reddish grreay beard, but otherwise, he looks exactly the same as when he stepped into Liever's office over a year ago talking about his divorce and pleading to keep his job. Thee fever watches as Doyle helps a medic lift another man out of the helicopter. They placed the man on a stretcher carry him to the back of a waiting ambulance When L fever first met Doyle, he felt nothing but pity and contempt for him The man was a drunk of fever has no patience for drunks especially ones who put on a uniform and claim to serve their country watching Doyle now, helping his buddy after spending more than six hours in a freezing storm tossed ocean. L fever feels a grudging sense of admiration. Maybe those years in the Coast Guard weren't wasted on Bob Doyle after all. Maybe he's the reason. any of these men survived All told, the rescue operation that saved Bob Doyle, Mike DeCapua, and Giggy Mork took nine hours to complete involving three helicopters and thirteen Coast Guard rescuers It remains one of the most daring and elaborate rescue missions in Coast Guard history We should note that the version of events depicted in this episode is based on the recollections of the survivors, as documented in two different books about the Rescue They say that William Gig Mork was rescued first, followed by Bob Doyle They agree that Mark Morley also came up with Doyle, but tragically fell before he could be rescued. Mark Morley's body was recovered the next day january thirty first, nineteen ninety eight. Dave Hanland's remains eventually washed up on an island over six hundred miles away where they were found by hunters that August An investigation by the Coast Guard concluded that the Lac Contte sank due to a quote catastrophic event that led to uncontrolled flooding into the ship's haull The lead investigator also noted that if Captain Mark Morley had heated weather warnings, the sinking could have been avoided And if the Le Conti had been equipped with a life raft Morley and Hanlon might have survived The Coast Guard report recommended that the ship's owner not be investigated for criminal negligence And with that, the investigation was closed Since the Le Contte tragedy, safety regulations have gotten stricter in Alaska's commercial fishing industry. As a result, annual deaths have declined by more than half to an average of around nine per year But fishing in Alaska is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States Captain Ted La Fver and his crew all receive medals for their efforts in rescuing the survivors of the Leaconti. after recovering from hypothermia and returning home, Bob Doyle, Mike DeCapua, and William Giggy Mork all went right back to fishing In nineteen ninety nine, Mike took a break to fly to Spokane, Washington, where he was reunited with his daughters for the first time in two decades One of them had read about the Leonti and tracked Mike down As for Bob Doyle, he was determined to stay in Alaska be close to his kids But eventually, he gave up fishing and drifted back to New England where he grew up He no longer works on the sea But he still keeps a picture of Mark Morley in his wallet Seven and a half months after the Leanti sank, Mark Morley's fiancee gave birth to a boy She named him Follow Agst the Odds on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen to all episodes of Against the Odds ad free by joining Audible. Audible Originals. This is episode three of our three part series Coast Guard Rescue on Alaska's High seeas On our next episode, we'll hear retired Coast Guard Captain Steve Torpi, the pilot of the thirird helelicopter, describe the rescue operation in his own words A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't exactly know what was said. But everything is based on research If you'd like to learn more about this event, we recommend the books The Last Run by Todd Lewin and Coming Back Alive by Spike Walker. You can also listen to the audiobook version of Coming Back Alive rightight now on Audobook. Produced by Audible I'm your host, Mike Corey