"What Happened to the Husky"

I am preparing a story about the northern tugboat "Husky" hitting a rock in the Mackenzie River. Three northerners who had at least some  involvement with the incident told me the story.

The basics of the event were the same...Captain Ken Simpson, piloting the Husky through very fast rapids, hit an uncharted rock. The result was a serious gash on the Husky's lower bow. Simpson steered the boat to shallow water and prevented a sinking.  So far, so good, but here is what fascinated me - not the story itself, but about the telling of the story.

Gordon, who had wanted to be a mechanic and welder since he first saw a guy fixing a Caterpillar Tractor in the 1940's and who became a welder and shipbuilder in his own right, told me in good detail how the Husky crew dealt with the hole. It is complicated but included plugging the gash with mattresses and boards and then covering the outside of the hull with a big tarp, held in place by long ropes. Gordon said the forward pressure of the ship kept the water pressing the tarp against the hull and diverted the water. Then he explained how the ship was beached and they were able to weld the gash together and get it on its way. Pretty cool, I thought, but in Gordon's engineering mind, it was all about stopping the flood, and getting it welded and back in action.  

Then a long time friend who worked on shore, and ultimately was responsible for moving freight all over the north explained to me where in the Mackenzie the ship bashed itself on the rock, that is, how far from port it was. 

But he suggested I ask Captain John Mattson, a veteran northern sailor, what he knew.

I did. Captain Mattson told me all about the difficulty in seeing rocks while running that particular rapid in a tug with barges. He mused about the plethora of hidden rocks a master had to avoid, and how charts alone could not predict the best route. He even told me he knew approximately  where the actual rock was that likely caused the damage. 

Each talked about the same incident, but from a different, and very specific point of view. 

And when I asked Captain Simpson's widow about it, she answered in detail - around 60 years later - just how far the ship was from civilization and how her husband and crew came to be rescued.

Interesting.