A Coast Guard Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Air Station Sitka participates in a training exercise. (USCG Photo taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Wes Shinn)
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued seven people and a dog from the Chilkat River near Haines on Saturday. The group became stranded after their boats ran aground in a shallow section of the river.
Haines resident Vincent Simkin said he and some friends finished working on two riverboats when they decided to test them out on the Chilkat River Saturday afternoon.
“We were going out for what was supposed to be probably a 2-3 hour trip,” Simkin said.
Simkin was joined by Gary and Sierra Hinkle, Brittany Miller, Caullen Taylor, Katie Torguson, and Joliena Wilson. They launched the boats on the river about 8 miles up the Haines Highway. Simkin said they made their way upstream just a few miles before turning back.
“We were following, you know, what we thought to be the main channel out of there and ended up getting separated from one another on two different channels,” Simkin said.
Simkin said the boats got stuck in a shallow section of the river. The sun began to set as they slowly pushed the boats down the two channels. Eventually, the two groups were able to reconnect and they decided to pile into one boat.
“We had seven people and a dog in a fourteen-foot riverboat,” Simkin said. “We tried to get down as much of the river as we could. There were four or five of us outside of the boat just pushing the thing along. We probably pushed it for two miles.”
The group waded through waist-deep water, using cellphones to light the way. Simkin said that they pushed the boat out of the water about 2 miles upstream from where they had launched. They started a fire and huddled around it using a bivy bag and space blanket to stay warm.
Simkin said they considered spending the night and dealing with the boats in the morning. But with light winds and temperatures in the 30s, they decided to call the State Troopers.
“We knew that we were getting borderline hypothermic. In the situation that we were in, we weren’t gaining any ground. There wasn’t anybody getting any warmer. There wasn’t any clothes that were getting any drier. I was so cold that I was cramping and non-stop shivering, you know, huddled in a bag with three people,” Simkin said.
Just before 10 p.m. Gary Hinkle used his Inreach satellite communication device to alert the Alaska State Troopers. Shortly thereafter, the troopers responded that a Coast Guard helicopter was on its way from Sitka.
Simkin was able to contact the pilot of the helicopter using his radio. He marked out a landing area using glow sticks from his medical bag.
The aircrew picked up the stranded party and brought them to the Haines Airport around 1 a.m. where they were placed in the care of local emergency medical services. Aside from some bruises and scrapes, there were no injuries.
Simkin said that the ordeal was a learning experience.
“We were prepared, but you know, you would like to be a little bit more prepared. It’s never quite enough. I was prepared enough not to die but unprepared to spend a night on the beach. You learn, you live.”
Both boats were retrieved from the river on Sunday.
