 June 16, 2004
The Coast Guard received notification over VHF-FM channel 16 at 5:32 a.m. from the captain of the 40-foot sailing vessel Hayden Bay, stating that the vessel began listing to one side and taking on water in Kah Shakes Cove, located at the mouth of Boca de Quadra in the Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness. The captain of the vessel, Anthony John Carter, prepared to anchor the vessel when the incident occurred, forcing 64-year-old Carter and 54-year-old Helen J. Byrne, both residents of San Francisco, to don survival suits and abandon ship into a life raft. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka launched a Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew. Additionally, two rescue vessel crews launched by Coast Guard Station Ketchikan; a 47-foot motor lifeboat, and a 25-foot S.A.F.E. (Secure Around Floatation Equipped) boat that arrived on scene first. The 25-foot Station Ketchikan rescue boat crew pulled Byrne and Carter from the water and took them to Ketchikan, 36 miles to the northwest. The Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew returned to Sitka. There are no reports of injuries or environmental damage as of Wednesday afternoon, and the Hayden Bay remains aground on the rocks and almost fully submerged. The cause of the incident is unknown.
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