KAILUA-KONA — A combination of obstinacy, regulations, miscommunication and the Alenuihaha Channel killed a sailor who left Kawaihae Harbor under orders of the Department of Boating and Ocean Recreation, the Coast Guard wrote in a report released Thursday.
“The mishap victim was a 71-year-old man, a seasoned mariner, who lived aboard the vessel with the last known address in Kawaihae Boat Park,” the Coast Guard wrote about the man who fell from his boat — the Kolina, a 30-foot wood-hull sailing vessel built in Thailand in 1952 — and died Nov. 5, 2015.
“Kolina was unseaworthy and should have never been on the water,” the report states.
The victim was an experienced sailor, having been on the seas for years, having sailed from British Columbia, Canada, to Hawaii.
The report placed responsibility on the sailor, DOBOR and the Coast Guard for the sailor’s death.
The Coast Guard investigation’s goal was to make sure situations like it never happen again, said Lt. Donnie Brzuska of the Coast Guard. It’s also “to gather and preserve all available evidence for use in any litigation, claims, disciplinary actions, administrative proceedings, and for other purposes,” the report states.
How it started
The disaster took time to develop, starting in July 2015 when the registered owner — whose name was withheld in the report — found out that the boat needed to be removed from the dry storage area “due to the vessel’s immobility, size, condition, and use of the vessel,” the report states.
On Oct. 1, 2015, the Kolina was ashore at the South Harbor, violating DOBOR rules. The owner was given time to move the boat, but the first attempt showed it was leaking heavily.
One solution, filling the gaps with softwood and relying on the wood swelling, was unsuccessful.
“Throughout his dealings with DOBOR and DOCARE, the mishap victim continued to express his intent to transit to Molokai. Despite the efforts of friends, acquaintances, and local mariners to offer alternatives, the mishap victim never relented,” the report said.
The sailor’s experience included multiple trips across the channel, the Coast Guard wrote.
“The mishap victim’s resolve to sail to Molokai was magnified by the interactions with DOBOR, DOCARE, and the Kawaihae commercial harbor security officer. All of these officials recognized that Kolina was not seaworthy but did not have alternative solutions to provide long-term berths to enable the mishap victim to fully prepare for the voyage,” the report reads.
“DLNR regrets the loss of life and again extends its sympathy to the sailor’s family. We have no further comment at this time,” wrote Dan Dennison, senior communication specialist for the department, under which those agencies operate.
The sailor finally got it floating on Oct. 19 with caulk, roofing epoxy and a battery-powered pump.
The report says: “None of the officials contacted the Coast Guard Marine Safety Team, located in Kailua- Kona, to alert them of this developing situation or request assistance.”
Brzuska, of the Coast Guard, said that was included to “highlight the importance of inter-agency cooperation for maritime safety and national security.”
If the MST had been contacted, it’s only speculation to determine if it would have made a difference, Brzuska said.
On the water
The sailor got the boat floating, and docked at the loading dock, when he was ordered to move. He moved throughout Kawaihae Harbor, when he was towed out beyond the harbor buoy by a commercial boat.
During this time he moved to using the boat’s smaller mizzenmast as a mainmast, as the original mainmast had heavy dry rot and delamination, the report reads.
The jury-rigging project, the Coast Guard wrote, included using nylon line and borrowed rope originally purchased from a hardware store instead of the preferred wire rope for keeping the mast in position.
The boat was then dragged out to sea on Nov. 3, 2015. Two days later, the sailor notified the Coast Guard that he was in distress.
The Coast Guard reported that the man had planned to make the pass over the dangerous Alenuihaha Channel during the October lull, but hadn’t made the repairs in time.
His sole form of propulsion, a yuloh, was apparently gone, the report reads.
After the distress call, the Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter to the area.
An attempt to identify his location on the Kolina’s obsolete, borrowed emergency equipment was unsuccessful.
That highlights how important it is to keep up-to-date emergency equipment, Brzuska said.
At 6:27 p.m. Nov. 5, the helicopter found the boat and began talking to him. The sailor said he was not going to abandon the boat, despite swells eight to 10 feet high.
The Coast Guard has the authority to order someone abandon a vessel if there is an imminent threat to life, said Lt. Donnie Brzuska of the Coast Guard.
But that was not apparently considered during the event, he said.
The Kiska, the 110-foot Coast Guard vessel, arrived at 9:23 p.m. and the captain decided the heavy seas required an immediate tow.
The captain decided he needed to be able to communicate directly with the sailor, rather than through the helicopter and shore station. The Kiska passed near the boat and crew threw over a radio, giving the captain direct communication with the sailor.
The Kiska moved out in front and Coast Guardsmen threw over a cable.
The sailor attached it to the jury-rigged, replacement mast, the sole location where a tow was possible.
The Kiska began towing, reaching up to 325 feet away from the distressed boat. This was the closest they could be while keeping minimum stress on the cable and attachments.
The tow was under way for less than 20 minutes before the Kiska lost communication with the Kolina.
Lost tow
At 11:05 p.m. the Kiska backed up. When they got within 100 feet they realized things had changed.
The sailor was gone.
The Kiska got within 25 feet, looking for the sailor, before cutting the towline at 11:31 p.m. and pulling away to search more thoroughly.
The search continued and the helicopter was again called in, arriving at 12:08 a.m.
After searching behind and around the boat, the rescue swimmer was deployed in the ocean on the starboard side of the Kolina.
The rescue swimmer also surveyed the damage, including below the boat, before boarding.
“The rescue swimmer noted the deck space was cluttered with gear, verbally hailed the mishap victim and inspected the cabin from the deck,” the report reads.
The swimmer checked the port side above and below the boat before being picked up by the helicopter at 1:18 a.m.
It wasn’t until daylight that the sailor was discovered.
During the tow, he apparently “secured himself to the mast or rigging with his safety harness and had likely been standing in a bight of line when the sudden snapping of the mast propelled him into the cabin opening; ultimately causing the fatal head and rib injuries,” the report reads.
His body was found tangled in the rigging about 15 feet underwater and had to be cut free.
The Kiska headed to port with the body while the USCG Galveston Island went to bring the boat in.
“Galveston Island was nearing Kolina’s position when the orbiting C-130 observed Kolina take a breaking wave over the main deck and sink at 7:11 p.m,” the report reads.
The boat ultimately sunk in 10,200 feet of water, about 37 miles south of Maui.