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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A listener note. Against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented. But everything is based on research.
We are aborting. Roger that.
Station Commander Ted Lefevre hovers over his communications officer at the Coast Guard Air Base Station in Sitka, Alaska, trying to make out reports from his helicopter rescue crews. But it's almost impossible to understand anything over the static. It's 10.30 p.m.
on January 30, 1998, three and a half hours since the Coast Guard received a signal from an emergency radio beacon, or EPIRB, about 60 miles off the coast. Since then, they've dispatched two helicopters, one of which is now returning to base because of low fuel. Lefevre thought the first helicopter said that there were people in the water, but wasn't able to rescue them.
But Lefevre still isn't sure why. The EPIRB signal is coming from a place called Fairweather Ground, a notorious dead zone for radio communications. The few transmissions they've picked up have been garbled. Now, as the first helicopter gets closer to base, Lefevre is able to make out some of what mission commander Bill Addicks is saying.
Four survivors. Rogue waves. 75 knots. Waves 70 feet.
Lefevre frowns. Did Attucks say 17 or 7D? The first number doesn't explain why they had to abort, but the second number doesn't seem possible. In all his years in the Coast Guard, Lefevre's never heard of 70-foot seas. He asks the comms officer to have Attucks repeat himself, and this time the number comes through loud and clear. 70 feet. And Attucks is not one to exaggerate.
Lefevre looks at his comms officer. Call in another crew. We need to launch the third helicopter as backup. Lefevre strides from the operations center out to the main hangar to make sure ground crews are readying the third helicopter.
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Chapter 2: What challenges did the Coast Guard face during the rescue mission?
The base only has three, and it's common for one of them to be down for maintenance at any given time. He's gratified to see tonight they've gotten lucky. The third H-60 Jayhawk is up and she's running. When he returns to the operations center, he finds the comms officer looking at him. Sir, I've got that third crew picked out. Good. Who's in it?
Lieutenant Steve Torpey, Petty Officer Mike Fish, Petty Officer Fred Kalt. The comms officer hesitates. And you, sir? Me? There's no one else left. Lefevre feels his blood run cold. As commanding officer, it's been years since he's flown a rescue mission himself. His only flight experience in Alaska has been on patrols and training exercises.
The comms officer must see the alarm on Lefevre's face. He tries to sound reassuring. Of course, you'll be mission commander and navigator, sir. Lieutenant Torpy will be the pilot. That is, unless... No, that sounds fine. Torpy's a damn good pilot. With that, Lefevre heads up to his office to change into his flight suit. His mind is racing. When was the last time he flew on a rescue crew?
He can't remember exactly, but he does recall his most challenging mission, piloting a Jayhawk in a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico. He's proud of that accomplishment, but that was over a decade ago. He's 46 years old now. Can he still handle himself in conditions that extreme? Then again, this storm can't possibly be worse than a hurricane. Kennen?
Chapter 3: How did the Coast Guard's communication issues impact the rescue efforts?
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YhteisellƤ matkalla. When a charming neurosurgeon rode into Western towns selling a persona of confidence and care, patients trusted him. He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients. He promised to heal them. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies. This is a story of greed, betrayal, and a fight for justice.
Listen to Dr. Death, The Cowboy, wherever you get your podcasts, or binge the entire series right now, only with Audible.
From Audible Originals, I'm Mike Corey, and this is Against the Odds. Three and a half hours after their fishing vessel sank off the coast of Alaska, the crew of the Lakonti still had not been rescued. One fisherman, Dave Hanlon, had already been swept away by the mountainous waves. Four others remained, tied together by a nylon rope and protected by neoprene survival suits.
But Captain Mark Morley's suit was leaking, and he was becoming hypothermic in the near-freezing water. One Coast Guard helicopter had tried and failed to rescue them. Now, a second chopper was on the way, with a third being deployed as backup, all flying in one of the worst Alaska winter storms anyone had ever seen. This is Episode 3, Hanging On.
Bob Doyle pops to the surface, coughing up seawater, and grabs the rope that's tied around his waist. He hopes that his skipper, Mark Morley, is still attached too. By now, Bob is too weak to hang on to Morley each time a wave hits them. Morley's survival suit began leaking not long after they abandoned ship.
Now, hours later, he's in worse shape than Bob or the other two survivors tied to the rope. Mike DiCapua and Gigi Mork. Bob thinks back to his Coast Guard training. Morley has stopped shivering, which means his core temperature has dropped below 85 degrees, the threshold for profound hypothermia. Blood flow to his extremities has almost stopped. He could lose fingers, toes, even a leg.
Or he could die. What Morley needs, what they all need, is to get out of the water. But there's no chance of that anytime soon. After trying and failing for hours to rescue them, a Coast Guard helicopter flew away moments ago, leaving them alone amid the towering waves. Bob reaches Morley, who's floating on his back, limp as a jellyfish.
Bob pulls him close, propping the skipper's head on his chest. But seconds later, Bob feels himself rising. They're caught on the face of yet another wave. The wave breaks, slamming Bob and Morley underwater. Bob resurfaces, and suddenly, he's not in the ocean anymore. He's behind the wheel of his old car. He's on a winding highway, green hills rolling by.
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Chapter 4: What unconventional measures did Commander Lefevre take for the rescue?
The tanks and the dry suits are precautions in the event of a crash, a scenario Lefevre tries to put out of his mind. He's about to order his men into the hangar to begin their pre-flight checklist when pilot Steve Torpey speaks up. Sir, I don't think we can leave yet. Lefevre is stunned. It's now 11.35 p.m. Those survivors have been in the water for four and a half hours.
They can't afford to waste a second. Can't leave yet? What are you talking about, Steve? Well, sir, we don't have any night vision goggles. Torpy explains that every pair of goggles is currently out with the first two helicopters. It's so rare for all three helicopters to be deployed at once, especially at night, that no one noticed the shortage until now. Lefevre swallows his frustration.
Torpy is right. Without the goggles, it will be dangerous to fly at night, and next to impossible to spot survivors in the water. The helicopter has a powerful floodlight, but its beam is narrow and really only useful for maintaining visual contact with survivors after they've been found. They have no choice but to wait. Still, that doesn't mean they can't use their time constructively.
By now, first helicopter commander Bill Addicks has been in clearer radio contact with the base, so they have a better idea of what they're up against. Lefevre asks his men to start throwing out suggestions. Mike Fish, the rescue swimmer, says they should bring extra flares. Fred Kalt, the flight mechanic, offers up some strategies for the rescue basket that he'll deploy.
He orders a maintenance man to attach fluorescent green glow sticks to the basket to make it easier for the survivors to spot. Then he goes off in search of something that can be used to weigh the basket down, so it won't flap around so much in the wind. When Kalt returns, carrying two 50-pound shop bags, Torpy makes another suggestion.
Hey Fred, Attucks recommends we bring a second flight mechanic. Colt looks taken aback. Two flight mechanics? Why? I guess Witherspoon got pretty overworked by the conditions. They could have used a second guy to help with the basket. Lefevre can see Colt is skeptical and jumps in. I agree with Fred. I think it's a good idea. But ultimately, it is your call.
Colt stands a little straighter and looks the station commander in the eye. I can do this, Captain. I don't need any help," Lefevre nods. At the end of the day, he trusts his men to know their limits. When the helicopter is loaded with supplies and ready to go, Lefevre and his team climb aboard and take their seats. Out on the runway, they see blinking lights in the distance.
It's Attucks and his crew, returning on the first helicopter. Then, at ground level, they see more lights, flashing red and white. An ambulance. Lefevre watches as the first helicopter lands, and two paramedics rush over to it, wheeling a stretcher. They reach through the cabin side door and lift someone out. The flight mechanic, Sean Witherspoon. His body is limp.
They load him onto the stretcher, strap an oxygen mask over his face, and wheel him into the ambulance. Over his headset, Lefevre hears Colt's voice.
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Chapter 5: What were the conditions like for the stranded fishermen in the water?
We gotta go now. I'm gonna cut you loose, and then you gotta swim for the basket, okay? Morley's eyes flutter, then open wide. He seems suddenly reanimated. Yeah, yeah, let's go. I can do this. Bob marvels at his skipper's will to survive. This man is determined to see his family again, and Bob thinks, I'm determined to help him. Bob takes his knife and cuts Morley free from the rope.
Then, he cuts himself loose. Go, Mark! Swim! Swim! Morley starts paddling, or trying to, but his limbs barely move. Bob realizes he's probably frozen stiff from all the seawater that's leaked into his suit. If he's going to reach the basket, Bob's going to have to drag him. Bob grabs the collar of Morley's survival suit and starts swimming. The basket is tantalizingly close.
Its steel cage gleams in the Jayhawk's floodlight. Bob kicks as hard as he can, terrified that the next wave will wash it out of his reach. Then, his outstretched hand closes around the edge of the basket. He made it! With his other hand, he pulls Morley closer.
Get in, Mark!
Get in! Morley flails his arms weakly.
I'm trying! I'm trying!
But Morley can still barely move. Bob tries dragging him into the basket, then pushing him from behind, but nothing works. The dead weight of Morley's water-filled survival suit is too much. Finally, Bob decides to try something else. The basket is just barely big enough for two. Maybe if he climbs in first, he'll have more leverage and can haul Morley in that way.
Bob clambers into the basket, then reaches down and grabs Morley under his armpits. It works. Little by little, Bob is able to shimmy Morley's arms and torso into the half-submerged basket. Morley is about halfway in when Bob feels a sudden jerk. The water falls away beneath him, and the basket rises into the sky.
Bob realizes that the rescue crew has begun hoisting them back up to the helicopter, but Morley is still dangling halfway out of the basket, and now he's hanging on for dear life. Flight mechanic Fred Kalt reels in the rescue basket as fast as the hoist mechanism will allow and calls out over his headset. But there is a massive wave approaching fast.
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Chapter 6: How did the Coast Guard crew prepare for the final rescue attempt?
Back home to see his kids. Back to a life that he now feels incredibly grateful for. Captain Ted Lefevre steps out of the Jayhawks' cockpit and onto the wet tarmac. It's nearly 4 a.m. and he's grateful to finally be back on solid ground.
They didn't have enough fuel to get all the way back to Sitka, so instead they've landed on a small airstrip in Yakutat, a coastal village closer to Fairweather Ground. Lefevre is proud of how his crew performed, but as they disembark, he can see how dejected they look. He walks over to them. Listen, I know you're all still thinking about the guy following, but you can't focus on that, okay?
Because of you, three men are going home to their families. Think about the ones we saved, not the ones we lost. The men all nod, still not quite looking like they believe him. Lefevre hopes they'll come around. In the Coast Guard, no one lasts long if they get hung up on their failures. Right as he's thinking this, Lefevre happens to look over and see Bob Doyle.
When Lefevre heard over comms that Doyle was among those rescued, he wasn't sure if he really believed it. But it's the former chief warrant officer, all right. Doyle now has a thick reddish-gray beard, but otherwise he looks exactly the same as when he stepped into Lefevre's office over a year ago, talking about his divorce and pleading to keep his job.
Lefevre watches as Doyle helps a medic lift another man out of the helicopter. They place the man on a stretcher, then carry him to the back of a waiting ambulance. When Lefevre first met Doyle, he felt nothing but pity and contempt for him. The man was a drunk, and Lefevre has no patience for drunks, especially ones who put on a uniform and claim to serve their country.
But watching Doyle now, helping his buddy after spending more than six hours in a freezing storm-tossed ocean, Lefevre feels a grudging sense of admiration. Maybe those years in the Coast Guard weren't wasted on Bob Doyle after all. Maybe he's the reason any of these men survived.
Music
All told, the rescue operation that saved Bob Doyle, Mike DiCapua, and Gigi Mork took nine hours to complete, involving three helicopters and 13 Coast Guard rescuers. It remains one of the most daring and elaborate rescue missions in Coast Guard history. Mark Morley's body was recovered the next day, January 31, 1998.
Dave Hanlon's remains eventually washed up on an island over 600 miles away, where they were found by hunters that August. An investigation by the Coast Guard concluded that the Le Conti sank due to a quote, catastrophic event that led to uncontrolled flooding into the ship's hull.
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