We Have To Jump In

When their charter boat suddenly sinks in the Caribbean Sea, two siblings have no choice but to swim for their lives.

- Matthew Halverson

WATER CAME FROM EVERY DIRECTION. It fell from above in fat, cold drops and crashed over the sides of the boat. It drenched Dan Suski as he fought to keep his balance in the stern of the Reel Irie, a midsize sport fisher that ran charters in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the coast of St. Lucia. But he wasn’t about to let water distract him from his prize.

Dan, 30, knew he’d hooked something big when his fishing line began unreeling. But it took a good 40 minutes before he saw his catch: a 180- kilogram marlin, with eyes the size of baseballs.

It was just past noon on April 21, 2013. The sky was dark, the air heavy and cool, the waves three and a half meters high. While Dan and the first mate, Tim Cooper, fought the fish in the boat’s stern, Kate Suski, Dan’s 39-year-old sister, sat in the helm. She was trying to film the tug-of-war with the marlin, but the Reel Irie heaved, making it hard for her to get a steady shot. No one noticed the water that ran past her feet and toward the bow.

The captain, Griffith Joseph, steered the boat west, toward land. A longtime charter fisherman based in St. Lucia’s Rodney Bay Marina, he was unconcerned about the tumultuous seas. But he hadn’t protested an hour ago when the Suskis asked to head from the Atlantic side of the island to what they hoped would be a calmer environment on the Caribbean flank.

Dan was still reeling in the marlin when he heard the bang. It came from behind him, loud and with a hint of sizzle. For a second he wondered if they’d hit something, but the sea floor was more than 900 meters beneath them. In the helm, Kate turned to Joseph, but the captain shook his head as if to say, “Don’t worry about it.” He left the wheel and opened the door to the cabin. Kate looked over his shoulder and stared.