Gathering Places
Gathering Places
Fisherman cast away work
to help find lost Hok GetHok Get, aka. Forgea, the little lost dog whose saga at sea has captured worldwide attention, had significant help from friends in the Hawaii longline fishing fleet who assisted with her rescue. Responding to a sighting by an albacore fishing vessel from American Samoa, three longliners interrupted their nine-day work period to assist in the recovery of the mixed-breed terrier, who finally was brought safely ashore on Kauai yesterday.
Searchers had nearly given up on a happy landing by April 9, when it was feared that the tanker aboard which Hok Get was stranded might have sunk. But the American Samoa-based albacore boat Victoria City made a visual sighting and reported the position of the tanker Insiko 1907. Limited in fuel, the Victoria City was assured that Hawaii longliners in the area would assist in locating the Insiko, and continued on its course.
Aided by American Marine's Hawaii office, the first of the Hawaii fleet, the 70-foot Kawika, responded by breaking off its journey to fishing grounds. For the next six days, Capt. Craig Yeakel and his crew searched the area for the Insiko and Hok Get. Rain squalls and sea swells hampered the visual search and with considerations for fuel, Yeakel handed search duties over to the 50-footer, Pacific Fin.
A visual sighting from the air helped skipper Donald Iman finally to connect with the tanker and board one crewman to search for Hok Get. Pacific Fin sustained superficial damage in the 4- to 6-foot seas, while crewman Scott Pukahi conducted the search.
Another longliner, Marie M., arrived and boarded three of her crew to join the search. During the next two days, four crew members, augmented by another who actually swam to the tanker from his longliner, roamed the Insiko in search of a dog that could have been hiding in any nook or cranny.
Throughout their contact with the tanker, both boats were in constant touch with the U.S. Coast Guard and were able to provide accurate information on the tanker's location and drift rate. There was sufficient evidence to assure that the elusive Hok Get was indeed on board. With a predictable position and more help on the way, the fishermen left additional food and water for the dog and rigged a strobe light to further assist the rescue.
Their work mission interrupted by nearly three days, Pacific Fin and Marie M. resumed their course for fishing grounds as the rescue of Insiko and Hok Get appeared imminent.
Kawika owner Sean Martin said the tradition of rendering aid at sea is more important than the monetary success of a fishing boat's catch: "We are all neighbors at hundreds of miles distance and if help is needed, help is provided."
Pacific Fin owner Scott Barrows added that, "Fishermen greatly depend on one another for mutual survival, whether it be for a derelict ship with a dog or people on board."
The Hawaiian Humane Society's president, Pam Burns, noted, "All of us at the Hawaiian Humane Society extend our warmest thanks to the captains and crews of the fishing vessels for their assistance in finding Hok Get.It is so gratifying to know that these people would take time out from their work --their livelihood -- to help locate an abandoned dog. Without their cooperation, this story might not have had a happy ending. We know all the animal lovers around the world join us in thanking them."
With fuel limitations reducing their fishing, the longliners lost 11 work days, causing an estimated loss of $100,000 during the past two weeks.
"Since the crews' compensation is from the value of the catch, about a dozen local families are affected by the search effort,"said Barrows. "They won't complain; it's part of a fisherman's lot and searches are readily accepted as a responsibility at sea."
As to finding it difficult to catch a little dog on a tanker, Barrows added, "We're best at catching fish."
Ray Sweeney is a public relations consultant who has worked with Hawaii's longline fishing industry in the past.