Crew of Chenega ferry rescues three in Prince William Sound`

Photo courtesy of Alaska Marine Highway System A fast rescue boat (right) from the ferry Chenega pulls up next to one of three people who abandoned their sinking boat about two miles from the Port of Whittier.

Photo courtesy of Alaska Marine Highway System Two doctors from New York, Laura Evans and Kristin Burkart, who were passengers on board the Chenega attend to three boaters rescued in the Sound.

By Aaron Selbig
Turnagain Times Correspondent

Performing the first rescue operation of the summer for any of the eleven ferries in the Alaska Marine Highway System, crew members from the M/V Chenega successfully rescued three boaters from the chilly waters of Prince William Sound on June 8.
Shortly after departing Whittier at 4:00 p.m. en route to Cordova, Chenega crew members spotted Luke Renner, 28, of Homer and Andy Renner, 31, of Palmer in the water along with an eight year-old boy, Andy Renner’s son Owen.
“When you have a child in the water, you’re adrenaline is going to flow a lot faster,” said AMHS Communications Officer Roger Wetherel, “Instinct kicks in and you know what to do based on the training you’ve received.”
The Renners were returning to Whittier after halibut fishing on Passage Canal and were within two miles of the dock when their 22-foot jet boat took four or five large four-foot waves on the bow. When the last wave broke, it buried the bow of the boat, taking on too much water to bail.
Luke Renner admitted the 22-foot Alumaweld jet boat was more suited to river travel. Very quickly, the boat started to sink and within minutes the three found themselves in the water.
Luke Renner tried to call the Coast Guard on the craft’s radio, but said the batteries had been swamped with water, rendering the radio inoperable. Luckily, all three were able to don personal flotation devices before they went into the frigid water, where they clung to a partially inflated raft for about ten minutes until the Chenega’s rescue boat reached them.
“I was so amazed at how fast the crew got to us,” Luke Renner told Wetherell. “I am just so thankful that you had your ship in the water.”
Wetherell said the AMHS crew members perform fast rescue boat exercises as part of their training.
“A lot of times our vessels are the only ones out on the water,” he said. “They ride high on the water and the bridges are usually two to three decks above the water line. The crews are constantly looking out from all angles of the vessels for obstructions and navigational hazards so, if they see somebody in the water in distress, it’s instinctive for them to rescue people.”
As the Chenega’s rescue boat collected the Renners, Captain Samuel Daniels went on the vessel’s intercom and asked the passengers if there were any medical personnel on board. Two passengers, Laura Evans and Kristin Burkart, both intensive care doctors from New York City, answered the call and helped treat the survivors for mild hypothermia as the Chenega returned to port in Whittier. Once in port, they were transported to Anchorage Regional Hospital via ambulance where they received further medical attention and were released.