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Captain of boat that sank near Campbell River is a hero, dad says

The father of the captain of the fishing vessel that sank off Campbell River said his son died a hero, trying to save his crewmates.
1022-Barry Sewid.jpg
Barry Sewid, 34, is presumed drowned after the fishing vessel he was in capsized near Campbell River early Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014.

The father of the captain of the fishing vessel that sank off Campbell River said his son died a hero, trying to save his crewmates.

Barry Sewid, 34, and Mike Kelly, 29, both fathers of young children, are missing and presumed drowned after the 20-metre steel landing craft capsized five kilometres north of Campbell River just before 3 a.m. Saturday.

The sole survivor, Kyle Benoit, told his boss that Sewid called him up from the lower quarters as the boat was taking on water, and pushed him out the door of the wheelhouse, which likely saved his life.

The captain’s quick mayday call also triggered an immediate response from a nearby Alaskan ferry, which dispatched a Zodiac to pluck Benoit from the water.

“That’s the only thing that makes it a little better, that he was a hero,” said Sewid’s father, Norman Sewid. “He was always putting other people first. That’s the type of man he is.”

On Tuesday morning, Norman Sewid went to a lookout spot near the old Elk Falls mills to see if the waters were calm enough to allow RCMP divers to search the sunken boat, which is under 75 metres of water.

An underwater camera was able to locate one body in the vessel, but the waters were too rough for the divers to do a search.

“At 9 a.m., it was flat calm, and then at 10:30 a.m., when they were going to put the diver down, it was heavy winds,” he said. “It’s really tough right now because he’s still in the water. It’s hard to believe he’s not going to walk through that door in any minute.”

Norman Sewid’s brother, Harold Sewid, owns Qwe’qwa’Sot’em Faith Aquaculture Ltd., which operates the Atlantic Harvester 1, a support vessel for Campbell River-based salmon farming company Marine Harvest Canada.

Barry Sewid had been working on fishing boats alongside his father since he was nine years old.

A few years ago, he took over his father’s role as captain on the Atlantic Harvester 1.

“I trained my son,” said Norman Sewid, who talked to his son on the boat Friday night, a few hours before it capsized. He said nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the time.

The Transportation Safety Board and WorkSafe B.C. are investigating the incident to determine what caused the boat to take on water. Weather is not believed to be a factor.

Born and raised in Campbell River, Sewid had been with his partner, Eileen, since the two were teenagers.

They have a daughter and a son, Kasey, 9, and Mitchell, 8. The kids love Disneyland and the couple was planning a trip for later this year, Sewid’s father said.

Sewid has two younger half-brothers, Casey and Jeremy, with whom he used to fish.

“Everyone is hurting. We were a very close family,” his father said.

Norman Sewid said the family is still anxious because the bodies have not been recovered.

“Without a body, I don’t have any closure,” he said.

kderosa@timescolonist.com