One year after the Scandies Rose sinks: Family honors the victims

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - December 31, 2020 marks one year since a mayday call that changed lives.

The Scandies Rose fishing boat issued the call off the coast of Kodiak, during a sinking some crew members would not survive.

Family members of a few of the victims said they will commemorate the lives lost at sea Thursday evening at 9:50, the time the mayday call went out.

According to a Facebook post, the family plans to ring bells, honk horns and shout positive thoughts.

Posted by Gerry Cobban Knagin on Thursday, December 31, 2020

Thursday afternoon, the family said the nightmares didn’t stop for months after the sinking.

Gerry Cobban Knagin said losing her nephew David and brother Gary Jr. was “gut-wrenchingly difficult. There was no rhyme or reason for that and there was no way a person could prepare for that.”

She said, “We couldn’t have a funeral. We couldn’t have them declared dead. We couldn’t do anything like that.”

But they are making progress.

“We actually laughed the other day. We laughed!” Cobban Knagin said. “Then we looked at each other and went, we are joking and laughing, what the heck?”