Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Hay River (Aug 14/00) - Three people aboard a fishing boat on Great Slave Lake managed to get into a lifeboat before their vessel sank to the bottom.

The Kathy, with a crew of two and one passenger, was owned by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation of Hay River.

It was headed back into port with cargo worth an estimated $14,000 to $18,000 when it was swamped by waves and sank at about 10 p.m. Aug. 8.

"Nothing like this has ever happened on the Great Slave Lake before," said Dave Bergunder, zone manager of the Crown corporation. He was thankful that those aboard the vessel got off safely.

"The captain made the right decision and took whatever action was necessary to look after people."

Now, the 57-foot-long Kathy sits at the bottom of the lake near Burnt Point. Investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.

Bergunder said 1.4-metre waves splashed into the boat, soaking the back two compartments, including the engine room.

But he doesn't know why the vessel's pumps, which were working, weren't able to keep up with the flow of water.

"A wave broke over the stern of the vessel and somehow water got inside. The pumps were working but it was coming in faster than we could pump it out. As for as why, that's still under review."

The waves were the aftermath of a summer storm.

"On a lake the size of Great Slave Lake it takes a while for the waves to settle down (after a storm)," he said, adding the storm was no worse than usual on the common transport route from the Marine Bay Fish Plant 60 miles to Hay River.

Bergunder said the captain quickly sent out a distress call and got himself and the two others aboard Kathy into a lifeboat.

The fishing boat sank stern first into the lake.

Another fishing vessel anchored at Windy Bay rescued the three people from the lifeboat.

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary and RCMP arrived shortly after that from Hay River.

The Marine Safety Branch of Transport Canada is investigating the incident and the vessel is being assessed for insurance matters.