Moments before the Queen of the North struck ground in a marine disaster that would claim two lives, Colin Henthorne woke up to banging on his cabin door.
It wasn鈥檛 the first time he鈥檇 been roused from sleep to help with a problem, as master of the ship, but this time was different. The calling and knocking were frantic. Henthorne moved quickly, with certainty that 鈥� whatever was going on 鈥� he would sort it out. But before he was fully dressed, the ship hit ground, hard.
鈥淚 knew what it was right away, there was no mistaking it. It pounded repeatedly on the ground and I had this vision in my mind of the ship sweeping along the shore of the island, branches sweeping along the ship and the pounding of that. I knew it was serious and I knew I鈥檇 be in for a long night. I knew that much,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know we were sinking, yet.鈥�
What followed would be an evacuation with fluctuating head counts, a series of lawsuits and lasting impacts for the 59 passengers, 42 crew and their families.
Ninety-nine people would be saved; passengers Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette would never be found. Blame would fall on Karl Lilgert, who in 2013 was convicted of criminal negligence causing death. The quartermaster, second officer and Henthorne would also lose their jobs.
Henthorne is telling his version of events for the first time, more than 10 years after he watched the Queen of the North 鈥� a ship he considered more of a home than any house he鈥檇 lived in 鈥� dip to a vertical position and sink below the surface.
In his new book, The Queen of the North Disaster: The Captain鈥檚 Story, he addresses questions that are still being asked about the March 22, 2006, catastrophe. How did two passengers go missing? How could a ship that sailed the same course hundreds of times go off course? What really could have happened on the bridge that night?
And should the captain go down with the ship?
鈥淚鈥檇 like them to hear my story,鈥� Henthorne said.
鈥淢ost of what鈥檚 out there is other people鈥檚 stories 鈥� the company鈥檚 stories or versions from authorities or armchair sailors throwing ideas around. I just want my story to be out there, too.鈥�
How do two passengers go missing?
For a long time after the sinking, Henthorne woke up around 12:30聽a.m. every night 鈥� about the same time he was awakened on the ship. He鈥檇 feel panic until he sat up. With difficulty getting back to sleep, he started going to bed at 7:30 p.m. to get enough rest. Finally, he underwent treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, which helped.
Henthorne still seems like a captain, speaking with a deep, authoritative voice and a strong sense of duty, when he talks about what went wrong in the wake of the disaster. He鈥檚 enjoying his new career with the Canadian Coast Guard, but over an omelette at a caf茅 near his home in North Saanich, he talks about ways he鈥檇 tried to make his ships safer on sa国际传媒 Ferries.
His book is peppered with safety concerns, some of which he says he raised with sa国际传媒 Ferries before the disaster occurred and some that came into play on the night. Among the larger ones are those about the ship鈥檚 navigation system and the eroding authority of ships鈥� masters to make decisions for the crew and vessel. The smaller, more specific ones, he had tried to fill himself: The evacuation checklist used that night was one he created himself.
The evacuation wasn鈥檛 perfect, as none are. But any errors were systemic, Henthorne says: His crew did the best they could under the circumstances.
鈥淒uring drills, I鈥檇 always say: 鈥楾he only reason we do this is because everything has gone wrong. Don鈥檛 expect everything will go right from this point onward,鈥欌�� Henthorne said.
鈥淵ou might get enough things right that it will save you and save聽the ship. In that sense, it was successful.鈥�
Everyone has a job, in the case of an emergency. But some of the crew members were trapped or injured in the grounding. By the time they made it to the bridge, some were missing shoes or clothing. Henthorne speaks with pride in the way they never complained and rallied to evacuate the ship.
The head-count problems began early. The chalk that should have been there to mark cabin doors as they were checked went missing, as did grease pencils for marking the number of occupants on each liferaft. Numbers were written on hands and counted in heads. It came to 102, while the log book stated 101.
鈥淚 knew when I got the count it didn鈥檛 jibe with what was in the log book. But I didn鈥檛 know at that point if there had been a mistake in counting in the first place, the log book could have been wrong.鈥�
By the time Henthorne got off the sinking vessel, he had personally done a last run through the cabin area and thought everyone was off. The head count would be repeated several times through the night and morning, with numbers changing each time. Initial reports celebrated the successful rescue of all passengers, before it聽was realized that two were missing.
So how do two passengers disappear?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I keep going over it in my head, all the time, where they could have been on board and how they could have gotten missed or missed hearing the commotion and shouting to get out. 鈥� I just. I hate to keep saying I don鈥檛 know, but that鈥檚 the truth,鈥� he said.
鈥淭wo-thirds had gone into the town of Hartley Bay. I thought maybe they knew somebody or befriended someone and went to their house. Maybe they were scared, maybe they were huddled down in a basement in the fetal position. Even when I saw their families show up in Prince Rupert, I still thought, they鈥檙e going to be found,鈥� he said.
He still holds out some hope that they will be found, even if it鈥檚 dwindling.
鈥淭he more time that goes by, the less likely it seems.鈥�
What happened on聽the聽bridge
The most sensational part of the public narrative centred on speculation about what happened on the bridge that night.
Investigations showed the ferry had failed to make a slight course correction while exiting Grenville Channel. Blame fell on navigator Lilgert. The Crown argued Lilgert missed the routine turn because he was distracted by his ex-lover, the quartermaster with whom he was alone on the bridge for the first time since their relationship ended. Both denied that had anything to do with the sinking, and Lilgert maintained he had changed course.
From Henthorne鈥檚 perspective, rumours that they could have been having sex on the bridge are absurd.
鈥淎bsolutely not. It鈥檚 idiotic to even think that way,鈥� Henthorne said.
Instead, Henthorne favours Lilgert鈥檚 version of events, backing it up with explanations of conditions and technology. It鈥檚 completely plausible that the navigator was making those course corrections and lost sight of the ship鈥檚 location, while being foiled by the autopilot system and confusing controls, he said.
鈥淚 want to make clear that I don鈥檛 know what happened. What I was attempting to do was discuss other possibilities. I don鈥檛 think anybody conclusively knows what聽happened, other than Karl,鈥� Henthorne said.
鈥淎nd even he has to have some confusion about it or he would have prevented it.鈥�
Going down with the ship
Few people say it to Henthorne directly, but one of the regular questions his daughter gets, when someone learns her father鈥檚 role, is: Shouldn鈥檛 the captain go down with the ship?
It鈥檚 a question he dedicates a whole chapter to, listing examples of cases where a captain has not only kept his life, but been rewarded.
Henthorne says the captain鈥檚 role doesn鈥檛 end with the ship 鈥� the survivors still needed a leader after they disembarked.
In some ways, Henthorne did go down. sa国际传媒 Ferries鈥� attitude toward him shifted in the weeks after the accident, he says, and he believes it鈥檚 because of the safety concerns he raised.
鈥淭he day of the sinking, the president told me: Anything you need, we鈥檙e right behind you. Throughout the first few months, even after their initial inquiries when they were pretty oppositional and hostile, they still told me they supported me. In fact, he said, 鈥榃e support you 120 per cent,鈥� Henthorne said.
So he was surprised when he received the call firing him.
鈥淚t was apparent they just wanted me to go quietly,鈥� Henthorne said.
First, he added, sa国际传媒 Ferries said it was because of operational requirements, but when it was pointed out that sa国际传媒 Ferries was actively recruiting new captains, it said it had lost confidence in Henthorne.
One of sa国际传媒 Ferries鈥� arguments was that the master is always on duty 鈥� Henthorne says sa国际传媒 Ferries gives masters all the responsibility without all of the authority. It also argued that by allowing things like music to be played on the bridge, which could be heard on radio calls between the Queen of the North and Prince Rupert, he created too relaxed a working environment. Henthorne counters with research showing music and conversation help fight fatigue. He also says he was called the 鈥淏ridge Nazi鈥� for his strict rules.
Henthorne won an appeal through the Workers鈥� Compensation Appeal Tribunal, but lost subsequent appeals by sa国际传媒 Ferries.
Henthorne got his foot back in the door with part-time work on an inland ferry, for a company whose president was a Queen of the North survivor, before joining the coast guard. But he鈥檚 still affected, he says.
鈥淚鈥檝e had to learn a new job, take up a new career, take a big cut in income. I spent huge amounts of money on my defence and to live on, while I was unemployed,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 get angry on a regular basis. 鈥� Something will trigger anger 鈥� I get a bill that I can鈥檛 pay or that I鈥檒l have trouble paying 鈥� and I think, I wouldn鈥檛 have this problem. So I say, OK I鈥檒l be angry for the next five minutes or 20 minutes, then it鈥檒l go.鈥�
The aftermath of聽the聽sinking
By sharing his story, he hopes to shed new light on ways the system can be improved. Despite surviving a sinking ship, he has not been consulted on the gaps that could be bridged to make it safer.
鈥淚鈥檇 like people to be aware of things they might not know about, about the imperfections in our industry and sa国际传媒 Ferries in particular. And I hope professionals will gain something from it. You can鈥檛 solve problems if you don鈥檛 know what they are.鈥�
Henthorne鈥檚 story is just one of 99 that came off the ship that night. He didn鈥檛 hear about what his crew members went through until after the rescue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 heartwrenching to listen to, and you learn something about human beings and what they鈥檙e capable of. I feel kind of powerless in a lot of ways; I鈥檇 like to give them the help they need,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 still in contact with many crew members living with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
鈥淚t is hard to listen to, when you鈥檙e hearing how badly their lives were changed. Because they have the same problems. Ten years after the accident, they still can鈥檛 sleep, they鈥檙e still waking up at night, they鈥檙e still having fits of anger they never used to have.
鈥淭hese are my friends. So I鈥檓 always trying to think, 鈥榃hat can I聽do for them other than listen?鈥� 鈥� All of us have had to suffer, for just having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.鈥�
Colin Henthorne will speak about his experiences and his book at a free event at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bolen Books in the Hillside shopping centre.
