Fisheries Boarding

Fisheries Boarding
One of our major missions in the Bearing during the 1980’s, was to board the foreign fishing trawlers such as the Russian, Japanese, Bulgarian, Polish, Korean, etc and check them for compliance, making sure they reported how much fish they were catching, etc.
This is not an easy task in the middle of the Bearing Sea; things are rough by nature, and waves over 15 ft make the transfer via small boat nearly impossible.
One day we came upon a Bulgarian trawler about 200 miles north of Dutch Harbor in the middle of the Bearing Sea, in about 15 ft seas with a northwest wind at 20 knots. Our job, to board and inspect the vessel. This meant getting the vessel on a course that reduced the rolling and pitching of the ship which would enable our small boat to come along side in the rough seas. Our 17ft Whale boat came alongside and received the painter (line) from the trawler, the coxswain backed down which brought us along side directly next to the Jacobs ladder, a rope ladder with wooden rungs. The small boat was bobbing up and down 15 ft every 5 seconds and slamming into the side of the ship as the waves passed underneath as the coxswain tried to keep us along side, too much reverse thrust and we would slam into the side, to little thrust and we would swing out away from the ship opening a 6ft gap that none of us could get across, and every time the ship hit a waive, it would slow down so the coxswain would have to adjust the power to compensate. It is a very tricking maneuver in rough seas, and impossible in big seas.
This particular day, the new executive officer (XO) had chosen to lead the boarding team, a trained team of 6 enlisted men to conduct the boarding, I was the senior enlisted man for the team and responsible for conducting the inspection of the fish holds and processing lines while the XO met with the ships captain and reviewed the ships documents.
This was to be the XO’s first boarding, I was responsible for getting him onto the ship, The senior person (the XO) always goes first in these situations, both for protocol reasons and leadership reasons, You don’t push your junior personnel into unknown situations, you lead them into them. I would go last; help each team member onto the ladder and then scrambling up after them.
I stood next to the coxswain, trying to steady the ladder as the XO prepared to ascend. The trick is to wait until the top of the swell, jump for the ladder and let the small boat drop from under you, then scramble up the ladder before the boat rises and slams into your legs. So the XO got ready, He hesitated on the first swell, that’s OK, you need to get your timing, he hesitated again on the second and then the third, I knew the coxswain was getting frustrated, it is hard to keep the boat along side, and things were not going to get better by waiting.
Finally on the forth wave, the XO jumped for the ladder, then froze in place, the boat dropped, then to my horror, the XO dropped also, strait down, between the small boat and the ship. He went completely under. The coxswain screamed and tried to keep the boat away from the side of the ship but a larger than normal wave hit us and pushed us into the ship. I expected to feel the soft thud of us squashing him, but we hit the side and bounced off, almost immediate the XO bobbed to the surface between us and the ship. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the boat and we hit the side of the ship again. It all lasted just a few seconds, XO on ladder, XO falling, hitting side of ship, XO bobbing to the surface, XO back into the boat. I still don’t know how we didn’t crush him.
We took the XO back to our ship and got another officer to lead the boarding team. We were all a little shaky approaching that Jacobs ladder but all made it up without any further problems, conducted the boarding (no infractions) and prepared to return to the ship.
Getting back into the boat gracefully is near impossible; it is like transferring between elevators. You go down the ladder, trying to judge the top of the swell, to low and you get your feet crushed, to high and you miss the boat, get in the right position and then step into it.
We all made it no problem, We would conduct 2 or 3 of these boarding’s a day for several days and then go a week with no boarding’s as we moved to the next fishing area.
Anyway, once back onboard I went and visited the XO, he was working in his office as if nothing had happened. I asked him what happened. He said “Petty Officer Snodgrass, I honestly don’t know. I remember falling and remember coming up for air, and that’s it”.
“Oh well, glad to see you are ok” I said and turned to leave his office.
“Gary, thanks!” he said
“No problem sir” I replied and left to relieve the watch.
He was always a good XO.