FULL SUMMARY:

Crab fisherman put their lives at risk each time they head out to sea…but so do the those who have sworn to protect them: The United States Coastguard

Andria Davis always dreamed of having an exciting life. Growing up in North Carolina, she was known as "one of the guys." Dirt biking, four-wheeling, and partying were all a part of her life. But Andria longed for more. She longed for something a bit more meaningful…but little did she know the impact she would have on one fishing captain's life…

I will not be updating this story nearly as often as I do the other stories. This one, for now, is more of a "I have a lot of free time right now" type things. Once Greenhorns and Rivals, and Elbow Room are done I'll be able to dedicate more time to this one. This story is somewhat in response to one of the reviewers who asked me if I would do a story about a certain captain. I don't want to give too much away so you'll just have to wait to see who that captain is!! I hope you all like it!! And thanks so much to those who have stuck with all my Deadliest Catch stories!! I love you guys!!

Chapter 1: Alaskan Trawler

"We're receiving a distress signal from the fishing vessel, Alaskan Trawler," said a voice over the radio.

Andria felt her muscles tense with expectation. She looked out the window of the massive helicopter. Large rolling waves filled her vision. It was nearly nighttime on the Bering Sea and a storm was blowing hard. She steadied herself for what she knew would be a dangerous mission.

"Kodiak, this is chopper 3178. Fishing vessel Alaskan Trawler is within our sites," announced the pilot, "We're heading in for a closer look, please stand by."

"Roger that 3178, standing by."

Andria leaned forward as they neared the rather large crab fishing boat. She glanced back at her friend, Andrew Gilmer. Andrew was the paramedic of the crew. The two had become close friends when they were training with the Coastguard. They were both thrilled to learn that they had been assigned onto the same search and rescue team.

Andrew nodded encouragingly at Andria. He knew she must be feeling nervous. She had only been a Coastguard Rescue Swimmer for a couple weeks. Although she had been in the water and done a few rescues before, this one appeared to be rather dangerous.

As the helicopter lowered its altitude to get a closer look at the boat, Andria gazed out the window.

"Permission to open the door, captain?" she asked the pilot.

"Roger!"

Andria swung open the door. The wind whipped her hair around wildly. She tied it back into a tighter bun as she watched the Alaskan Trawler rock violently in the rising waves.

"How many on board?" she asked.

"According to the mayday the captain sent out, there's five.," replied the co-pilot.

Andria nodded as she began to suit up for the jump. She watched the boat carefully as she slipped on her fins. There were three men on the bow, clinging onto the railing. They were shouting and trying to urge the Coastguard to hurry. The desperation in their eyes cut Andria to the heart. She quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time to let her emotions take over.



"Ready?" asked the captain.

"Roger!" shouted Andria as she swung her legs out the side of the helicopter.

The captain brought the chopper closer to the surging water and gave her the signal to jump. Andria took a deep breath, heart racing wildly, and leapt out of the helicopter.

She hit the water hard and instantly began to claw her way back to the surface. The freezing cold temperatures never ceased to overwhelm her. No matter how many times she dove into the Bering Sea, she knew she would never get used to the shock of the bitterly cold water.

Once she broke the surface, she turned back to face the chopper. She held her hand up at them and gave a slight wave.

"Swimmer's in the water….swimmer's okay!" announced Andrew.

The helicopter began to climb higher into the sky to avoid getting salt stuck in their engine and to decrease the waves the blades were creating so that Andria would be able to swim a little easier.

Andria felt the familiar feeling of panic and loneliness as the helicopter rose in the sky above her. She knew they had to, but the thought of being alone in the Bering Sea was terrifying. She mentally reminded herself to keep her emotions in check as she began to swim toward the sinking vessel.

"Help! Over here!" shouted one of the men on the bow.

"Someone get to the stern and help her on!" shouted another man. Andria took him to be the captain of the vessel.

The last man climbed back over to the starboard side of the stern and held out a hand as she neared the boat. Andria waited for a moment. She had to get the timing just right. The second the boat listed to starboard she reached out and grabbed onto the man's hand. As the boat began to list to port, she used its momentum to help pull her onto it.

"I'm a Coastguard rescue swimmer!" she shouted over the blasting wind and roaring waves, "I'm here to help you! How many are on board?"

"There were five of us!" replied the man as the other two men began to climb over to them from the bow, "But two of them were swept away a while ago!"

Andria nodded solemnly.

"Is anybody hurt?"

The men shook their heads. They gazed at her with a mixture of fear and desperation. She was their last hope.

"Rescue swimmer are you ready?" said a voice over the radio in her water-proof headset.

"Yes sir! Send a basket down asap!" shouted Andria as she glanced over the men.

"Roger."

The boat suddenly jerked violently and listed sharply to starboard. The men grabbed onto the port-side rail and hung on, screaming with terror. Andria grabbed onto the rail and looked up into the dark night sky. Suddenly, a bright spotlight lit up her vision and she saw the outline of the helicopter. She smiled with relief as she saw the basket being lowered down to her.

As the basket reached the rolling deck, Andria grabbed the nearest man and shoved him roughly towards it. The man cried out in surprise, but climbed in quickly when he realized that the reason for the swimmer's roughness was because she knew the boat would not hold out much longer.

Andria motioned for them to haul the basket and watched as it slowly made its way up to the helicopter. She whirled around and faced the other two men, trying to judge who would go next. This was the most difficult part of her job. She had to chose who would go and who would stay. She suddenly understood how God must feel. Having to chose who lives and who dies was something no human should have to determine.

"He goes next!" shouted the older man, "I'm the captain of this boat. I go last!"

Andria nodded, relieved that someone else had made that dreadful decision this time around. As the basket hit the deck again, she shoved the other man into it and motioned for the chopper to take it up and to take it up quickly.

Her instincts were telling her that this vessel was about to capsize and if the captain was to live that basket needed to be back on the deck immediately.

After several tense moments, Andria breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the basket was on its way back down to the deck.

But suddenly, the boat listed sharply again. The captain and Andria grabbed the railing again and hung on for dear life. But Andria knew that this time the boat would not right itself. She looked at the captain and saw that he knew it too.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, throat threatening to close up as she felt the boat begin to turn over.

"The boat's going over!" shouted Andrew in a panic, "Get that basket down now!"

The man operating the basket shot Andrew a furious and terrified look.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" he shouted.

Andrew watched helplessly as the Alaskan Trawler slowly began to capsize. Then, suddenly, it's slow demise ended abruptly. A rogue wave smacked into the boat, forcing it to flip over quickly. Andria and the captain were no where to be seen.

Andrew felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched the boat sink.

"Where is she?" he shouted in fear, angry at his own helplessness, "Dear God where is she?"

Andria knew she had to swim away from the quickly sinking vessel. If she did not get away fast enough, the boat would drag her under with it.

As soon as she broke the surface, she began to gasp for air. She twisted around to see how far away she was from the sinking boat. She felt a wave of relief when she realized that the boat was several yards away from her now. She began to tread water and looked around for the captain.

The rolling black waves crashed over her and around her, making it difficult to see much of anything else. Suddenly she felt something bump her from behind. She whirled around and saw the metal basket. She felt weak with relief as she climbed in awkwardly and hung on as the waves pounded the basket, threatening to throw her off.

Once the basket was half-way up to the helicopter, and clear of the waves, Andria began to search for the 

captain again. By the time she was pulled into the cabin of the helicopter, she forced herself to come to the grim conclusion that the captain had not made it.

She climbed numbly out of the basket with Andrew's help and slumped down against the side of the helicopter.

"Swimmer's inside, heading to base," said the co-pilot.

"Roger that chopper 3178," replied the base in Kodiak.

Andria felt numb all over, physically and mentally. She had been so close to saving all three of those men. She felt a wave of guilt hit her as she began to wonder if she had moved a few seconds faster, would the captain still be alive?

The two survivors were being tended to by Andrew. The glanced solemnly at Andria, giving her grateful nods. They were happy to be alive, but deeply saddened by the loss of the two deckhands that had been swept overboard earlier and their beloved captain.

Andria glanced away sharply as she felt the lump in her throat tighten. She breathed heavily and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long night…

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