KODIAK, Alaska – Two men from Chignik, Alaska are safe after abandoning their fishing boat and being rescued by the Coast Guard from a remote Alaskan island in the North Pacific Ocean on Sunday.
Rescued were vessel master Jim Brewer, and crewman Jay Kingsley, who abandoned the 42-foot fishing vessel American Way after losing engine power.
The Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in Juneau, Alaska, received a 406 Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon signal at 3:03 p.m. from the vessel.
The Coast Guard used the registration information from the beacon and contacted the wife of the master. Prior to the EPIRB signal and during the transit from Kodiak to Chignik, the master of the vessel contacted his wife and reported he was near Sutwik Island in the western Shelikof Strait, three or four hours from Chignik. He was not in distress at that time.
At 3:41 p.m. the master of the vessel contacted the Coast Guard by satellite phone and reported that he and the other crewman were safe on the northernmost part of the Semidi Islands, southwest of Kodiak. The men took a life raft and reached shore about 100 feet away. With them they had food, warm clothes and fire starting materials.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was launched from Air Station Kodiak to rescue the two men from the island. Upon reaching the island the air crew spotted a fire the men had built to stay warm. At about 6:30 p.m. they were safely hoisted into the helicopter and flown to Chignik where the vessel is home ported.
Weather conditions at the time of the rescue were winds of 20 mph, seas of 13 feet and air temperature of 12 degrees.
The approximate location of the Semidi Islands can be found by clicking on the following latitude and longitude. 5613553N 15646124W
