Last month, Kelsey Leak lost a lot. Petrie, her seven-year-old pet parrot, was killed in an accident. Arne Dahl died after his fishing boat capsized and she tried to swim to safety. She waited for rescue 24 hours, which was a painful experience.
Leak stated, “I was sitting on the rock thinking, I don’t know whom’s going to believe this.
Dahl was a fisherman and a power troller. The 39-foot Randi Jo was Dahl’s boat. It was their second home. Dahl and Leak had been together for approximately a year but their love blossomed quickly.
Leak stated that he had come for dinner and didn’t leave for six years. It was a blur.”
On Nov. 27, it was clear and sunny near Point Baker. Leak said that there was calm wind, and the water was foamy. Dahl and Leak took the Randi Jo with them to collect firewood. Leak curled up in her wheelhouse with Petrie, her pet parrot, to rest. Mili, her golden retriever, was also there.
The next thing that happened was shocking.
Leak stated that he woke up to find his face slamming into the side door of the wheelhouse. “The door burst open and I fell onto the walkway. The boat came to a halt.
Dahl said to Leak that they had hit a rock. They also had a skiff with them and used it to assess the situation. They saw a large hole on the port side of the boat when they reached the front. It was going to sink, they knew.
Dahl climbed back on the Randi Jo to retrieve his important papers, while Leak remained in the skiff. She was just learning how to drive it.
Leak said, “I recall him running to me at the bow, and he was like, come on! Come get me!” “My brain is still trying to function, so I got up to midship again and a wave pushed me up under the ship’s lip.
The Randi Jo began to sink as the skiff fell. They had to swim. They could see a small rock island to their left called West Rock.
Leak stated that “my coat began to fill with water.” “I was trying get it off, so I went underwater. And I can still remember looking for my zipper under the water.
She saw her parrot struggling when she returned to the surface.
“I got in my shirt, and I took Petrie outside. She was gasping. Petrie said that I tried salt-shake the water out of her and that he was trying to swim alongside her. But he told me to let her go and that I needed to swim with him. I took a deep breathe and put my face in the water, and then started swimming as hard and as fast as possible.
Dahl, Leak and Mili made it to West Rock. It is located approximately 500 feet offshore. Leak said it was the same size as a small living space. It was high enough to keep above the tide. It was marked with a concrete slab and had reflectors and a lamp.
Dahl was able to get some rest after a while.
Leak stated, “He’s like: ‘Oh, my god, there goes our boat, we lost the skiff. “And then, he stopped and was like, Oh my god, there goes our boat, we lost our skiff.’ And he looked directly at me. Then I can see his gaze locked on Joe Mace Island. He was like, “We can do it.” It’s possible to get past it. We can get help if we can get past it. ‘”
Leak said that the distance was at least twice the length of what they had just swam. She had done some survival training. Her gut advised her to stay on that rock. Dahl insisted that she stay.
“You stay. You promise me that you will stay there. Dahl stated, “I’ll come for your,”
He was swimming out of her sight, and she watched his head disappear in the distance. Then it was her and Mili.
Leak understood that emotions were not allowed to take over in a survival situation. She told herself that Dahl had to have reached safety on the next island.
Leak stated, “Ok, they got out, he discovered Petrie,” “They found a random bottle of Jameson, and they’re just setting fire to the beach, getting warm.” They are having a party and they will come to me first thing in morning.
Milli and Leak faced cold nights. Leak’s clothes were still damp. These synthetics kept Leak somewhat warm because they were synthetic. It dropped to 26 degrees at night.
Leak stated that it was a cold and hard night. “I couldn’t feel my feet. Shivering made my whole body ache the next day.
Mili chased away sea lions that kept coming towards her. Leak spoke to them and named the largest one Brutus. To keep her feet moving, she did toe scrunches. Mili was told to keep her positive. She counted all the people who were waiting for her on either side of the water. She sang in her head.
Leak stated that Nickelback came on in his head like “If today were your last day”, and that Leak agreed.
Mili and Leak stayed up all night. They cuddled up on the hard rock until the sun rose. Leak could see across the water to a house. Leak stood on top the concrete block.
Leak stated that he was constantly waving his hands between 7:30 and 2pm trying to grab attention. “I had moments on the rock that were not mine — it was daylight. “I’m beginning to process my grief.”
She realized that she might be there the next night and so she got down to start wringing her clothes.
Leak stated, “That’s when i heard like putt-putt -putt of a boat.” “I was like, “Oh my God, somebody’s there” and then I glanced over to see a big white boat with two skiffs behind it. I ran down all the rocks barefoot, and I was waving like a crazy person.
It was the Dell II, returning from a hunting trip. The search began for Dahl as soon as Leak was found.
Leak stated, “Suddenly there were like Skiffs everywhere.” We looked for skiffs until it was dark. This is way more than we should have. The weather was getting worse. It’s hard to give up when it gets this bad.
Wrangell Search and Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard searched the area for hours but could not find Dahl. Leak was reunited with Dahl’s friends and they shared their grief.
Leak said, “I’m so glad I had the time that I did with him.” “I lost Arne after a year, and that’s a big loss. There are others who have known Arne his entire life and they’re also hurting.”
Leak lost two close friends to the ocean that day. She remained positive because of the rock island. It’s helped her to get over the loss and keep her eyes on what she has.
Leak is currently back in Wrangell where she was born.
