Dirk Brinkman on

Jabez Kruithof and Danan Woytowich

November, 2008

It is from a huge void we report the devastating loss of both the radiant joyous Jabez and the quiet reserved Danan to a freak boating accident in Burke Channel east of Bella Bella, on October 30th, 2008Thursday morning.

Jabez Kruithof worked with Brinkman & Associates Reforestation since 1976, emerging as a key go-to-guy for complex difficult projects by the early eighties. From interior remote access winter logging in Northern BC, Alberta and Ontario to isolated coastal reaches from the Charlottes to Alaska to Courtney, Jabez lead reforestation crews and many other kinds of forestry work.

Nothing fazed him, not mixes of heli, boat, fixed plane, weather, mud, water crossings, over-grown access or no access. Besides planting millions of trees, he developed Power Girdling techniques, supervised the first contract clearing of the BC/Alaska border, brushed plantations, thinned young forest stands and protected seedlings with browse cones.

It was during a remote project to remove seedling browse cones that Thursday's tragic accident occurred. Jabez left behind his partner of 39 years Khrysty and their two sons Skya & Jesse, who many of you know, as well as his eleven brothers and sisters. Attached also is their apt obituary.

Danan Woytowich smiles and waves from the forest

Danan Woytowich started working with us in 1986, and by the early nineties he was one of the more technically proficient planters. He has planted over two million trees, putting him in a very small elite group of Canadians giving back to their country.

He was in a true sense a professional silviculture worker, expert in most of our companies other ecosystem restoration services. He worked with many supervisors, and in the last few years, with Claude and Jabez. Danan worked long seasons, took good care of himself and was a consistent efficient high quality worker.

Quiet intelligent professional silviculture workers like Danan are the back bone of the company. Danan left behind five brothers and sisters and a daughter.

All of us who knew Jabez and Danan find it hard to understand how this could happen. A thorough investigation is underway to answer outstanding questions and so that something like this can never happen again. In the mean time, here is what we understand at this time.

At about 9 AM the crew was half way from Doc Creek to King Island going north on Burke Channel in Jabez's Sealander, heading to a water access only block to do some browse protector removal—these are plastic tubes. It seems the front ramp of the Sealander opened suddenly, flooding the cargo deck which was still filled with yesterday's removed tubes.

As the boat submerged it rolled to starboard spilling part of its load. Some survivors, sure it was capsizing were timing their breath expecting to be trapped in the cabin within seconds. Jabez immediately ordered everyone to 'grab a life jacket and get out'. Being closest to the submerging starboard door he and Danan went first, and another crew member followed. As Jabez and Danan cleared the side of the vessel the roll over action stopped. Jabez ordered the next crewmember exiting to 'steer the vessel" and not wade in with the three behind him.

In that time the starboard engine appears to have flooded, which would shut off the steering hydraulics, and the port engine re-engaged the water moving the vessel away from Danan and Jabez. The third crew member still holding onto the rail with one hand was pulled along and later managed to pull himself into the boat.

Unresponsive to steering due to the volume of water aboard and the continuing list the Sealander would only go in large circles and was pushed gradually to shore by the wind and the waves. Despite attempts to keep Danan & Jabez in view, those on the boat eventually lost visual contact. The protector tubes blocked the scuppers in the cargo hold and held water like a plastic sponge. The crew was never able to gain control of the vessel despite throwing many cones overboard. The Sealander eventually beached with five wet but safe planters.

Approximately ten minutes after the sudden event, the crew got out a distress call to the BCTS coordinator number on the EMS manual on the steering consol, using the Satellite phone. BCTS had the experience to both understand the few words that got through on the scratchy reception and know where they were.

They immediately contacted the Coast Guard who then coordinated the rescue effort. Doc Creek camp was contacted, where the crew was staying and where a Hughes 500 helicopter was on stand-by for logging. The Hughes was in the air with-in 10 minutes of their call with Jabez's assistant on board, who was waiting to unload the vessel after the crew had been dropped off. They immediately dialled into the company frequency and were directed by the crew on the boat where to search for Jabez and Danan.

Soon joined by other Helicopters, Coast Guard fixed wing planes and rescue vessels, Jabez's body was found approximately 45 minutes after the Doc Creek helicopter lifted off, but resuscitation was not possible. Danan's body has not yet been found. The Coast Guard advises that survival in Burke Channel water temperatures is no longer than 10 minutes. After a complete search of the surface and a careful search of the shorelines until dark, the Coast Guard transferred the search to the RCMP Marine Detachment responsible for the recovery of human remains.

I am so sorry to share this tragic difficult story, but it may help you understand how this could happen to two such amazing individuals. Long wilderness seasons create life long friends and grow the company family. Jabez was a silviculture legend and father figure to many; Danan was one of our quiet professionals and a friend to the many who knew him. This devastating loss to the families also creates a huge void for all of us.

Now let us focus on the families.