Distress call cut off as waves crash into their boat near Seward, then silence

U.S. Coast Guard officials say they tracked an aluminum boat carrying four people for hours in rough seas several miles from Seward before what started as a day of fishing turned into a disaster last week.

The 22-foot Hewescraft was taking on water in Aialik Bay, where the group spent the night in a sheltered cove after dangerous conditions and bad weather prevented them from returning home the day before. Sailors in the area described waves of 10 or 12 feet and winds gusting up to 30 mph.

The Coast Guard checked the boat every half hour for five hours without any problems, a spokesperson said this week.

But then, shortly before 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday, the radio transmission was interrupted with “need help” as the only words observers could understand, according to Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno, spokesman for the Coast Guard's 17th District.

A Coast Guard helicopter launched from Kodiak arrived a little more than two hours later, Salerno said.

By then, the boat had capsized near the mouth of Aialik Bay, leaving one person dead and three others missing.

The body of Soldotna resident Hayden Green, 29, was found by a tour boat about three hours after the distress call was made, authorities said. The helicopter crew spotted the vessel and asked the Major Marine Tours catamaran carrying 80 passengers to bring Green's body ashore before diverting to Seward to refuel, officials said.

Troopers identified the three missing as Joshua Green, 60, of Seward; son Caleb Green, 29, of Anchorage; and Melanie Porter, 60, of Seward. Hayden Green was the nephew of Josh Green.

Concerns surface about the future of the Coast Guard

Local officials say the incident reflects the potential for unrest in a community that draws many visitors to its waters each summer, especially given questions surrounding the future of the Cutter Mustang, the Coast Guard vessel whose port home has been the city since 1986.

Bob Barnwell, a Seward City Council member and experienced sailor, said conversations with Washington, D.C., officials indicated that Seward could go without a ship at home port for several years.

“They have no idea what boating is like in the Gulf of Alaska,” he said. “I just think having a boat near that area is fundamentally important. They said the helicopter from Kodiak was available.

The 110-foot patrol vessel responds to rescues as well as fuel spills and other calls.

When asked why the Mustang did not respond to last week's incident, Salerno said Coast Guard patrol vessels alternate between scheduled operational periods, maintenance periods and “ready” status. “. In this case, the cutter Naushon, whose home port was Homer, was the “ready” cutter and was sent to the search area, he said.

The Coast Guard plans to decommission the Mustang and replace it, officials said, but could not provide a timeline.

Salerno said this week it did not have details on the decommissioning plans. The agency is upgrading and replacing aging patrol boats with 154-foot fast cutters, he said.

Local officials say they've heard different updates from the Coast Guard and other federal officials.

The loss of a local Coast Guard vessel, even for a short time, is concerning, said Seward City Manager Kat Sorensen. Without a cutter physically based in Seward, residents and visitors would still have to rely on helicopters and ships based in other coastal communities like Kodiak or Homer.

“I definitely think it's a concern for a community that spends so much time on the water and has so many people from all over the world who come to spend time on the water,” Sorensen said. “We are, as a community, grateful and pleased with the Coast Guard presence we have in Seward.”

Check-ins every 30 minutes before last call

Josh Green's brother said this week that he and his brother shared the 22-foot Ocean Pro that crashed at the mouth of Aialik Bay.

The Green family moved to Alaska in 1974. Josh Green and his siblings graduated from East High School in Anchorage. Green retired as an Anchorage school district administrator but taught special education students in Seward, his brother Tim said.

Former Bartlett High School wrestlers described Josh Green as a beloved coach who touched hundreds of young people. A GoFundMe set up to help Green's widow had raised more than $11,000 as of Thursday.

The group was likely fishing for halibut and redfish, perhaps trolling for feeder kings, Tim Green said this week. His brother had just met Porter through a mutual landlord. He said: “As he did with many people, even strangers, he invited her fishing.”

Coast Guard officials say they were alerted to a potential problem by a family member. Hayden Green's fiancé realized the boat was late and contacted his father, who called the Coast Guard, according to Tim Green.

The Coast Guard “immediately began attempting to locate the vessel,” Salerno wrote in an email this week. They made radio contact shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday “and confirmed that the vessel and four passengers were not in distress and were not requesting assistance.” At that time, the Coast Guard maintained radio contact with the vessel every 30 minutes while awaiting favorable weather conditions to return to Seward.

The last clear message the Coast Guard received from the boat came at 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, Salerno said: There were no changes and the boat was safely anchored.

Tim Green said that's when his brother told them he had driven out to test the conditions, but it was still rough. Then he missed the next radio recording.

The distress call came in at 7:43 a.m., according to the Coast Guard.

Last week, another sailor in the area told Tim Green he had seen more logs than he had ever seen. Green said it was possible the boat hit a log that tore off the propeller, cutting power and leaving the boat at the mercy of the waves.

He said he spent 40 years coming and going to Seward hunting and fishing and that his brother was well aware of his personal responsibility for safety.

But, Green said, he has also personally witnessed the vital role the Coast Guard plays. A few years ago, he watched the agency rescue hypothermic sailors near Seward less than an hour after a call for help.

“It’s something they couldn’t have done without Homer,” he said.