The label “good Samaritan” doesn’t quite cut it for the Carriker family; try great Samaritan, or simply heroes.
The family of five saved 17 passengers from a sinking whale-watching boat this July in Favorite Channel, north of Auke Bay, a display of grace under pressure that has garnered praise from boating safety experts and on Friday, official recognition from the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard Capt. Shannan D. Greene, Juneau Sector Commander, presented the Carriker’s with a Commander Coin on Friday at Mendenhall River Community School, where Erin Carriker teaches kindergarten. Erin, her husband Mike Carriker and their children Noah, Logan and Harper were all surprised by the ceremony, which took place during MRCS’ weekly assembly.
“I was so shocked, it was really special. It’s amazing to have my whole family here and to have this in front of my students,” Erin said after the ceremony.
She hopes the recognition helps spread the lessons she’s learned from the ordeal.
“It really can happen to anyone. That boat sunk in three minutes. If we weren’t there, there was really no one else around, so you really need to be prepared and have an actual plan, just like you would if your house caught on fire.”
Alaska State Trooper Aaron Frenzel and Coast Guard boating safety official Mike Folkerts presented the award alongside Captain Greene and the Alaska Boating Safety Office’s Kelli Toth. A friend of the Carrikers, Frenzel’s presence at the assembly almost gave away the surprise.
“It was a miracle they were there at the right time,” said Frenzel, who nominated the family for the award. “There would have been fatalities if it weren’t for their quick action. It’s an amazing story.”
According to Folkerts, good Samaritans save more lives on Alaska’s waters each year than the Coast Guard and State Troopers combined. The Carrikers’ heroism sets a “critical” example for Alaska’s seafaring population.
“We can’t be everywhere at once, the state’s just too big. Your neighbors will often be the ones to save you,” Folkerts said. “In Alaska, if you don’t have your neighbor’s back, you’re pretty well toast.”
In her remarks to the student body, Captain Greene shared a similar sentiment.
“We cannot do our job without the rest of the community, and that’s what makes Southeast Alaska so special,” Greene said. “By the time my small boats got there, this family had already taken action and guided everyone to get their life jackets on. Because of that, nobody died.”
The school kept the award secret from the Carrikers prior to Friday’s ceremony. Mike Carriker was told his wife was receiving a teaching award; Noah, 11, and Logan, 7, both attend MRCS.
When asked what they did over their summer break, the boys have an unassailable topper.
“I thought we were going to sink because of all the weight,” Noah said. “Everyone has a responsibility to do what’s right in that sort of scenario. … It’s just very nice that the Coast Guard would give us this thank you.”
The Carrikers had only been boat owners for several months before the accident. On July 31, the family cruised on their newly-purchased recreational boat the “Sea Ya” near the south end of Aaron Island, a rocky knob in the middle of Favorite Channel.
At 12:45 p.m., their family day of fishing turned into a crisis. The Big Red, a Dolphin Jet Boat Tours vessel, struck a reef just yards from the Carrikers.
The Carrikers first had to navigate close enough to the boat to begin deboarding tourists onto the bow of their boat while avoiding the reef themselves. They piled 17 passengers onto their 10-person boat, more than doubling the boat’s capacity at 22.
Fourteen passengers made it onto the “Sea Ya,” while three clung to its sides as the “Big Red” slipped under. The family was able to pull the remaining three onboard while an unidentified man picked up skipper Kimball Ho, who was drifting away from the “Sea Ya” in open waters.
“Going into it, we were just trying to do what we needed to do,” Mike Carriker said. “We did it because we were there, and you have to imagine anybody else would have done the same thing, but it’s nice to be recognized.”
• Contact Sports and Outdoors reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
