FAN FAVORITE: Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | The Last Lifeboat | 4

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0:17Air Force Sergeant John Cassidy drapes a blanket around the trembling shoulders of an elderly woman. She's soaking wet and dressed only in a silk robe. He wishes he could do more to help her, but he can't stay. There are hundreds of others just like her who still need to be rescued. They're on the deck of the oil tanker Williamsburg, which is here to help rescue passengers from Princedam, a cruise ship that caught fire in the Gulf of Alaska. Cassidy is an Air Force pararescue man and among the first professional rescuers to arrive on the scene. And from what he's seen so far, they've got their work cut out for them.

0:58It's 10.50 in the morning on October 4th, 1980. Nearly 500 of Prince and Dem's passengers and crew are still adrift in lifeboats and rafts in the stormy seas. Helicopters hover above them, reeling them in one by one and bringing them to Williamsburg. Cassidy hears his headset crackle. It's his helicopter pilot, Captain John Walters. Cassidy, if you're done unloading those blankets, hustle back. We gotta go. Cassidy leans towards the woman, shouting to make himself heard above the rotors. You're gonna be okay, ma 'am. The woman gives a small nod. Cassidy turns and sprints back to the chopper. It's a Sikorsky HH-3E, nicknamed the Jolly Green Giant, because of its color and size.

1:48He climbs into its open door, buckles himself in, and feels the helicopter take off. Sitting next to Cassidy is his partner, Sergeant Jorge Rios. They're both dressed in black wetsuits. Cassidy speaks into his headset, the only way Rios can hear him over the roar of the chopper. Nice day for a swim. Rios grins. I know, right? Might be a little choppy, though. Cassidy and Rios know the forecast. The outer bands of a typhoon are just beginning to reach them. That's going to make airlifting passengers from their lifeboats a challenge to say the least. Rain is pounding down, and Cassidy can see the waves must be at least 15 feet.

2:33He speaks again through his headset. Captain, where to first? Boaters are simple. Find a lifeboat, start lifting passengers. Their helicopter zips over Prinzendam. A skeleton crew and a handful of Coast Guard firefighters are still scrambling across her decks, trying to contain the fire. Cassidy notices a speck on the horizon. A lifeboat. I see one, Captain. Three o 'clock. I see it too, but there's one farther out. Let's start there. Cassidy feels the helicopter bank left, passing almost directly over the lifeboat he spotted. He looks down. Many of the passengers are standing and waving frantically.

3:17Cassidy waves back. He wants them to know that they've been seen, but they can only help one lifeboat at a time. And the rule in a situation like this always start with the survivors furthest out. He just hopes the people they're passing over can hold on a little longer. with the venture x business card from capital one you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase plus big purchasing power means you can spend more and earn more the capital one venture x business card what's in your wallet terms apply see capital one.com for details james arthur ray was a charismatic self-help guru who promised his followers a path to wealth and enlightenment by becoming the best versions of themselves.

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4:18From Wondery, I'm Mike Corey, and this is Against the Odds.

4:30Shortly after dawn on October 4, 1980, personnel from the Coast Guard and the Air Force began rescuing passengers from the cruise ship Princedam. The ship had caught fire several hours earlier, forcing more than 500 souls into lifeboats in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska. Now, as a typhoon bore down on them, the survivors were tossed about in their lifeboats in increasingly rough seas. Many were elderly and only dressed in pajamas and nightgowns. Some lifeboats drifted more than a mile from the burning cruise ship. Occupants feared that rescuers would never find them. An oil tanker arrived just after dawn, ready to receive evacuees airlifted from the lifeboats by rescue helicopters.

5:20A Coast Guard cutter ship could retrieve more survivors, but it was still several hours away. And as the day wore on, the weather got worse, forcing rescuers to put their own lives at risk in the middle of a raging sea. This is Episode 4, The Last Lifeboat.

5:49John Graham braces himself in lifeboat number two as it crests another wave. Then, at the wave's peak, he stands up quickly to scan the horizon. There, just for a second, he catches a glimpse of another boat. It's hard to judge distances out here, but he figures it must be at least a mile away. and it still has people in it, which means Graham, his daughter Mallory, and the other passengers in this lifeboat are not alone. They drop to the bottom of the wave, and Graham reaches out to grab the side of the boat to avoid falling. He plops back down on the bench next to Mallory, who looks up at him.

6:32She's shivering. They've been drifting for five hours. What did you see? Another lifeboat. That's it? Where'd that helicopter go? Graham wonders the same thing. Not long ago, a big green helicopter flew right over them, close enough for him to see one of the men aboard waving. Graham and Mallory, and everyone aboard lifeboat number two, waved and screamed, but the helicopter kept going. Graham can't understand why. It feels like they've been forgotten. Their lifeboat doesn't have a motor, and so they just keep drifting. They can't even see Princedam anymore, or the massive oil tanker that appeared on the horizon right after dawn, giving them hope they would soon be rescued.

7:21Between the towering waves and driving rain, visibility is severely limited, and the weather is only getting worse. He squeezes Mallory tighter. They saw us, Mal. We just need to hold out a little longer. Graham looks down. With each wave, more water ends up in the boat and sloshes around their feet. Some of the passengers are barefoot and the water is frigid. Graham guesses the air temperature must be in the 40s. He glances at his watch. It's just past 11 a.m. He looks around the boat and wonders how much longer some of the passengers, shivering and wet, can last. He worries hypothermia will set in.

8:09They might be in this freezing cold rain a lot longer if they keep drifting, further and further from the ship.

8:19John Cassidy sits in the open doorway of the Jolly Green Giant as it hovers just above the surface of the ocean. Some of the waves are so high they almost touch the black flippers on his feet. He knows he can't wait anymore. He can feel the pilot, Captain Walters, struggling to hold his position in the strong winds. So Cassidy takes a deep breath and jumps. The freezing water makes him gasp, even through his wetsuit. Rios splashes down next to him, and the two men swim toward the lifeboat. Cassidy tastes the briny water on his tongue as the waves drench his face. The downwash from the helicopter's powerful rotors churns the surface of the ocean.

9:11Cassidy keeps a close eye on the boat as he nears it. A large wave could send the boat lurching into him, knocking him unconscious, but he reaches the boat unharmed, with Rios just behind him. Cassidy reaches up and feels a hand grip his wrist. Grateful for the assist, he hoists himself up onto the edge of the boat. The passenger who helped him flashes a grateful smile. Welcome to lifeboat number six. We haven't come up with a better name yet. Cassidy grins back, then sees a problem. The boat is packed far beyond its capacity. Every square inch of space is taken up. Cassidy can only perch on the boat's edge.

9:54He glances over at Rios, still in the water. No room for us. The passengers look miserable, pale, and shivering, but at least everyone is conscious. They squeeze together to try to make room for their two rescuers. Cassidy shakes his head. No, please, don't worry. We can stay in the water. That's what wetsuits are for. He drops back into the water to confer with Rios. They decide that Rios will straddle the side of the boat and help passengers onto the seat that will be lowered from the chopper. Cassidy will stay in the water to ensure the hoist cable doesn't get caught under the boat and to rescue anyone who might fall overboard.

10:37Cassidy looks up and sees the cable lowering towards them. He knows how fraught these next few minutes will be. The lifeboat is bobbing on the waves and the chopper is fighting the wind to stay in position. They need to make sure no one gets knocked over by the 20-pound steel rescue seat at the end of the cable. As the cable drops closer to their position, Rios reaches out and snags it. Cassidy hears a passenger speak up. How do we get on? Cassidy understands the man's confusion. At the end of the cable is a bright yellow device called a jungle penetrator. When first drop from the helicopter, it looks like a narrow projectile.

11:20But then when Rios gets a hold of it, he unfolds it to form a crude seat in the shape of an upside-down T. It's not easy to climb onto, and Cassidy and Rios need to ensure each passenger is strapped in safely. Rios secures the first evacuee on the penetrator and flashes a thumbs up to the flight engineer, who's leaning out of the helicopter's open door. Slowly, the slack tightens and the passenger begins to ascend toward the helicopter. Once the first passenger is safely aboard on the Jolly Green Giant, they repeat the process. The flight engineer lowers the penetrator back down and Rios straps in another survivor.

12:04It's agonizingly slow, but there's no other way. Cassidy can see how hard it is for Captain Walters to maintain his position above the lifeboat. It's not just the wind or the roller coaster waves. As the helicopter burns fuel, it becomes lighter. But with each new passenger that comes aboard, weight is added. And so Walters must adjust accordingly. Cassidy treads water and marvels at the pilot's delicate balancing act. When a dozen passengers are aboard the helicopter, the flight engineer gives a wave and the chopper banks towards Williamsburg. Cassidy knows the Jolly Green Giant is at full capacity now and probably low on fuel.

12:50They'll land on the deck of the oil tanker, discharge the first batch of evacuees, then rendezvous with Kingbird to refuel. Kingbird is an HC-130 tanker plane that's circling the site and acting as kind of a flying gas station for the choppers. It's faster than flying all the way back to shore to refuel, but still, it'll take a while. Cassidy hoists himself into the lifeboat. At least there's room for him and Rios now. After all this time in the water, he's starting to feel the cold. And he feels like he's swallowed half the ocean. He leans over the side and vomits.

13:35John Graham reaches for the metal basket swaying from a cable over his head. It's being lowered from a Coast Guard helicopter hovering about 20 feet above them. He and another passenger grab the basket and hold it steady. Graham glances around. Everyone wants off this boat, but no one is volunteering to be the first. He remembers the Titanic and gives a shout. Women and children first. No one objects. Graham makes eye contact with Mallory. At 13, she's the youngest person on board. She seems to know what he's thinking and shakes her head, then motions to her left. The woman sitting next to Mallory is probably in her 70s and she's soaked to the bone, a sopping wet blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

14:27She stopped shivering, a worrying sign of hypothermia. He and Mallory help the freezing woman to her feet and guide her to the basket, which another passenger holds steady. They lift the woman into it, then flash a thumbs up to the rescuer looking down from the helicopter. The woman sways in the wind as the cable lifts her up. Graham was hoping a rescue ship would pull up alongside them so they could all come aboard at once. But if a helicopter is the only way off this lifeboat, he'll take it. After eight passengers have been lifted up, Graham watches as the helicopter banks away, flying toward the huge oil tanker in the distance.

15:13He looks at Mallory and the other remaining evacuees, some of whom look dejected. Don't worry. They'll be back. An older gentleman next to him is almost giddy with relief. He takes a flashlight out of his pocket. In the predawn hours, it had been the only light on board the lifeboat. He hurls it into the water. Ha! Won't be needing that anymore. Graham's not so sure. He looks around. The wind is gusting harder. Waves are jostling their lifeboat even more violently than before. Graham wonders if the Coast Guard can keep operating in these worsening conditions. If they have to suspend rescue efforts, they could still be stuck out here in this lifeboat for a long time.

16:07Commander Richard Scholl bites into an apple as he stands before a map of the Gulf of Alaska. He's been here at the Coast Guard command center in Juneau for almost 12 hours straight, and he just noticed how starving he is. But there's no time for a meal break. Despite tough conditions and drifting lifeboats, his rescue teams have been making good progress. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, plus one each from the Air Force and Canadian Armed Forces, have slowly but surely been lifting passengers to the oil tanker. But with the typhoon intensifying, winds are now surging past 40 miles per hour, making helicopter airlifts increasingly difficult and dangerous.

16:53A safer option in this weather would be to use their cutter ship, Beltwell. But it's still en route. Scholl looks at his watch. Passengers have been adrift in lifeboats for nearly nine hours. He turns to an officer who's on the phone. What's Beltwell status? The officer holds up a finger and then puts the receiver back in the cradle.

17:26Shoal relaxes, but only for a moment. Most of the lifeboats have no emergency flares. If Boutwell doesn't track them down before nightfall, they might be impossible to find until the next morning. Some of the evacuees will probably die of exposure before then. So the crew of Beltwell needs to move fast. The lives of Prince and Dam's passengers depend on it.

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19:23On the bridge of Princedam, Captain Cornelius Webeka presses the button on his walkie-talkie. He has to update the captain of Beltwell, which has just arrived. Fire is out of control. We need to evacuate all remaining personnel, including Coast Guard firefighters. Any help at all would be appreciated. Wubika releases the button and waits for a response. This is a captain's worst nightmare. The dining room is an uncontrollable inferno. On some of the lower decks, seawater is pouring into portholes that were blasted open by the fire. While the ship is not at an immediate risk of sinking, Wabika knows that he and his remaining crew need to leave.

20:11The ship is lost, and all that matters now is to ensure every last person still aboard is evacuated safely. Wabika hears the captain of Beltwell answer over the walkie-talkie. Roger, Captain. We've got two helicopters en route. You, your crew, and our firefighters will be airlifted to Beltwell. We'll be standing by to receive you. Thank you. Do you have any reports about my wife? She's safe aboard Williamsburg, Captain. Wilbika closes his eyes and clicks the button on his walkie-talkie again. Thank you, Captain. Standing by for evacuation. Wilbika puts down the walkie-talkie. He buttons his uniform jacket and brushes ash off his white pants.

21:01He lifts a wet towel to his face to shield his lungs from the smoke and heads toward the stern of the ship. In his other hand, he clutches the ship's log. By the time Wabika reaches the stern, there are just a few crew members left. He sees his first officer, Henrik Valk, guiding a bright yellow evacuation hoist being lowered from a green helicopter. Wabika places a hand on Valk's shoulder. I'm sorry. I let you down. Valk's eyes widen in surprise. Sir, we haven't heard a report of a single fatality. Hundreds of passengers have been rescued. The crew is safe. You haven't let anyone down. Valk straps himself into the T-shaped hoist, and the helicopter reels him slowly upward.

21:53A few minutes later, it's Wabika's turn. He sits down on the hoist, tightens the straps around him, and then flashes a thumbs up. With a jerk, the cable starts winding up into the helicopter. As he climbs, more of the panorama is revealed to him. He sees Williamsburg, as long as an aircraft carrier, with helicopters landing on its deck. Lifeboats and rafts are bobbing around, some now empty. And below him, he sees Prinzendam, smoking and ablaze. It's a terrible sight. And for a moment, he wonders if he did everything he possibly could do to save her.

22:43Captain John Walters grabs the cyclic stick and tries to keep his helicopter steady over lifeboat number 6. His left leg is cramping from applying constant pressure to the rudder pedal, but he can't let up. It's a dangerous balancing act as he adjusts the shifting weight of his jolly green giant helicopter in the erratic winds. Below him, 20-foot waves are bouncing the lifeboat around like a cork. He knows that his two pararescuemen, John Cassidy and Jorge Rios, must be exhausted. They've been in the lifeboat for hours, helping passengers get on the jungle penetrator that lifts them to the chopper.

23:26Walters glances at his fuel gauge. He reckons they'll have enough fuel to get two more evacuees under the chopper. Then they can zip over to Williamsburg, drop them off, and recon with King Bird, the refueling aircraft circling the scene. For hours, they've repeated the same process, and so far, they've rescued 61 survivors. But there are still 20 to go, and Walters can see that Cassidy is exhausted. He's seen the pararescue man vomit twice over the side of the boat. Now, as the penetrator is lowered for the 60-second time, a massive wave lifts the boat at precisely the wrong moment. There's too much slack in the cable, and it ends up under the boat.

24:14Walters feels a snap, even from up here in the cockpit. He radios his flight engineer. Was that what I think it was? Yes, sir. The boat severed the cable. No one was strapped to the penetrator, though. Walters is glad for that. But without a hoist cable, his helicopter is no use to the remaining passengers aboard lifeboat number six. They'll need to be rescued by either another helicopter or a Coast Guard ship. Walters sends a radio transmission to Coast Guard cutter Boutwell. Boutwell, this is rescue 802. Be advised, we have a broken penetrator cable and need to abort. Lifeboat number six still has 20 evacuees aboard, as well as two of our pararescuemen.

25:02The response comes quickly. Acknowledged. Send us their coordinates. Walters shakes his head in frustration. Cassidy and Rios and the rest of the passengers aboard lifeboat number six are struggling, but there's nothing more he can do to help them. He banks his helicopter towards Williamsburg to drop off their last group of evacuees. After that, the Jolly Green Giant's role in this rescue operation will be over.

25:34Okay, who's next? Next up. Fast, please. Quick. Jeannie Gilmore grabs her mother Neva's elbow and urges her to stand up. That's no easy task in the constantly rocking lifeboat number four. A rescue helicopter has already reeled in enough passengers to make two trips to Williamsburg. It's back now to pick up a third batch of evacuees, and Jeannie is desperate for her 77-year-old mother to be among them. As the lifeboat grows lighter with each rescued passenger, it's tossed around even more violently in the waves. Jeannie looks at her mother. Neva's skin is a faint blue. And as the hours have dragged on, she's growing delirious.

26:22Jeannie reaches down and takes her mother's hand. It's frigid. She leans closer to her mother's face. Mom, it's time to go. Neva shakes her head. No, I'm going down with the ship. Mom, the helicopter is here to take us, but it won't wait around forever. Neva shakes her head again and starts pulling the rings from her fingers. Here, give these to your Aunt Mary Lou. Jeannie closes her hand firmly around her mother's. She glances up at the helicopter, then back down at the remaining passengers, who are looking at her impatiently. If Neva won't get into the rescue basket on her own, they're going to have to force her in.