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“This looks familiar,” said Mike as they progressed north.

“And there she is,” announced Rick as they rounded a small bay.

Jutting from the water was the top half of the Okanagan’s flybridge.

Mike throttled back and brought them to a halt a short distance from the submerged vessel. “I could have sworn it was further from the beach,” he said as Ernie tossed out the anchor.

“Yeah, looked way further at night,” agreed Rick. “I was worried she was going to be smashed up on the rocks.”

“Looks fully upright,” added Ernie.

“Let’s gear up and find out how bad the damage is,” directed Rick. “Ernie and I will dive first. Mike, you and TJ sort out the recovery gear.”

“Aye, aye, skipper. Did you want us to radio the Coast Guard?”

Rick shrugged into his tanks then checked his watch. “We’re running a little ahead of schedule. Let’s give them a call once we know what we’re dealing with.”

Moments later, he and Ernie rolled off the Zodiac and disappeared. Pairing up a few meters underwater, they made their way toward the sunken fishing boat.

She’d been on the bottom for less than a week, and already the marine life had coated the Okanagan with green algae. There was a slight current as they checked the hull, but nothing to hinder their efforts. Rick found the point where the workboat had collided. He ran his gloved hands along the hull, checking for a breach. He found it just behind the bow. There was a quarter-inch gap between two of the planks that stretched for two feet. That small gap had condemned the vessel to the deep and almost cost them their lives.

After circling the boat, Rick and Ernie entered the cabin. Most of the lightweight flotsam had drifted away, but heavier bags and equipment were still inside, including the drone case.

Rick went forward into the cabins and found the spot where the hull was breached. The split went all the way through and would have to be sealed before they could get her to the surface. As he returned to the cabin, he heard a faint hiss of a high-speed propeller and the throb of diesel engines. Glancing up, he saw the long hull of a coastguard cutter pull in alongside the Zodiac.

They surfaced next to the inflatable.

“How does she look?” asked Mike.

“Pretty good, all things considered. Got a little plugging to do, but I’m sure we can float her with the bags.”

“The Coast Guard is standing by to pump water and take her under tow,” said TJ.

“Right on,” replied Rick. “Let’s get to work then.”

It took him fifteen minutes to plug the leak in the hull with fast-curing epoxy putty as Ernie positioned airbags around the boat. Then the two of them worked together to fasten the bags under the hull and attach the lines that would deliver air from the Zodiac’s compressor. Forty minutes later, they were ready to start pumping.

Rick and Ernie swapped with Mike and TJ. The fresh divers monitored the air distribution to ensure the boat came up level. After what seemed like an hour of pumping, the boat dislodged from the bottom and slowly rose to the surface.

A pumping hose and lines were passed down from the cutter, and TJ secured the boat as it hung with its sides less than a foot underwater and most of the superstructure clear. The divers had surfaced and were monitoring the boat’s progress.

“How are we looking?” yelled Rick.

Mike and TJ both gave him a thumbs-up.

“OK, let’s get some more air in and start pumping water.”

Ernie spoke into his radio as he adjusted the flow from the compressor. The pump intake pipe pulsed as the bags broke the surface, quickly followed by the boat's sides.

“Maximum suction,” ordered Rick as TJ and Mike pushed their gear in over the side of the Zodiac and climbed in.

The Coast Guard cutter’s massive pump went to work, and as the water level inside the Okanagan dropped, the old girl rose. Running at full power, the cutter’s pump sucked most of the water from the hull in twenty minutes. In that time, Mike clambered onboard and hooked a tow rope to her bow eye. That line was attached to the rear of the cutter. Free to maneuver, they used the Zodiac to cruise around the hull and check that their repairs were holding.

“Everything looks good,” said Rick. “I think we can radio the Coast Guard and get underway.”

Ernie made the call as Rick brought them alongside the cutter. A hydraulic crane swung its arm over the Zodiac and lowered a harness. Shackles mated up with the eyelets on the Zodiac, and they hooked on before climbing a ladder onto the deck.

“Welcome aboard, gentlemen,” a sailor greeted them.