The Boat at the Bottom of the Sea

The account “The Boat at the Bottom of the Sea” recounts a 2017 Bering Sea rescue effort after a distress signal was traced to the fishing vessel Silver Spray and another vessel, Destination. Captain William Prout and his crew unloaded snow crab on St. Paul on Friday, February 10, 2017, then returned to collect remaining crab pots before dawn on Saturday. Around 6:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Coast Guard calls on VHF channel 16 escalated after the Destination could not be reached; Prout was about 20 miles from the destination’s last known position near St. George. By 6:45 a.m., the Coast Guard authorized a search, launching a plane from Kodiak Island, helicopters including one from Cold Bay, and dispatching cutter Morgenthau. Silver Spray arrived near 9:30 a.m., finding debris and an oil slick, while a C-130 crew observed floating objects and directed the vessel to retrieve them. The narrative cuts off as the operation continues.