The fishing vessel Happy Hooker overturned in the Ugashik District over the weekend. Alaska Wildlife troopers rescued the three fishermen on board and no injuries were reported.
According to an Alaska Wildlife Troopers dispatch, troopers were notified at 2:54 p.m. Saturday (6/28) that Happy Hooker was stranded in the river's shallows near Pilot Point.
On board was Terry Ostling, a sixth-generation Bristol Bay fisherman from Cathlamet, Washington, and his crew members Joe Mackey and Brandon Cox, also from Cathlamet.
Ostling’s sister, Tracy Ostling-Tomlinson, says high winds and heavy surf contributed to the accident. She says the boat had a full load of fish when the net came out of its reel and fell over the side of the boat as a wave hit.
“So it rolled on its side and then it was pushed up towards the beach,” Ostling-Tomlinson said. “But the guys still couldn’t get off because of the wind and the waves.”
Ostling-Tomlinson says Otis Hunsinger, a friend of Ostling, reported Happy Hooker’s location to the troopers. According to the dispatch, the patrol vessel, Audrey Ann, responded to the call and found the three fishermen in survival suits on their partially submerged boat.
The troopers described ‘very challenging’ wind and surf conditions. Ostling-Tomlinson says the rescue took roughly two and a half hours.
She says they lost all of their belongings during the accident and are now trying to recoup supplies.
“I’ve been spending the last couple of days on Walmart.com shipping them water and food and all sorts of good stuff to replace it,” Ostling-Tomlinson said. “Plus, when they were rescued, they had their survival suit and that was it. When my brother got to the tender, he had no shoes because you take off your shoes to put on the survival suit.”
Ostling-Tomlinson is now raising funds via a GoFundMe to help pay for the cost of lost supplies and the recovery of the Happy Hooker.
Through his sister, Ostling wrote to KDLG that he is just happy he and his crew are safe.
"Boats and equipment can be replaced,” Ostling wrote.
Ostling and his crew are already fishing again, according to Ostling-Tomlinson. She says that yesterday, they loaded onto another boat, the Argent, lent to them by a friend and fellow fisherman, Dicky Greenfield, to finish out the rest of the season.
In his message to KDLG, Ostling thanked Greenfield for lending him the Argent. He also thanked the Tender Tomasina for providing them with a place to stay, food, and clothes after the accident, Otis Hunsinger for sharing the location of their boat with the troopers, and the troopers for their rescue.
