A fishing trip gone horribly wrong leaves two dead and four others hospitalized. One of the deceased is the 89-year-old 2006 winner of the Arizona Father of the Year contest. An honor bestowed on him by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and ESPN Radio for his dedication in passing on his love of the great outdoors to his children.

The overturned bass boat is pulled from the frigid waters of the Chesapeake after the tragic accident.

Anatomy of a Disaster

Unfortunately, the pieces aren’t hard to put together. The day called for six men from Arizona to spend the day fishing on the Chesapeake. They trailered their aluminum 18’ bass boat to the shore and launched into their adventure. The factors surrounding the event are…

• An 18’ aluminum bass boat has minimum freeboard when empty. Fill it to capacity with six grown men, gear, and fuel and that freeboard decreases. Even the smallest waves will likely ship aboard.

• National weather service reports the day’s air and water temperature at 46 degrees 

• Small craft advisories were in effect with winds at 20-25 mph.

• Petty Officer Kip Wadlow, a Coast Guard spokesman, reported that seas were 5 feet at the time.

• None of the men were wearing life jackets.

• The call to the Coast Guard came in shortly before 9am.

89-year-old veterinarian, former University of Arizona pathologist, and father of the year recipient Ned Rokey and 69-year-old Allen Dedrick died from complications related to hypothermia. The four other boaters, one of them Rokey’s son Ric, were rescued, and of those four, two are listed in good condition, one fair, and one critical.

A Life Celebrated

While the lessons of this accident are blatant, the real tragedy is the loss of the two men, one of whom much is known. Ned Rokey, of Mesa Ariz. was a dedicated family man that did much to bring a love of the outdoors to his children, Ric and Ray. He was nominated for the Father of the Year award by his son Ric and after winning, he was awarded a dream fishing vacation aboard a 59-foot luxury houseboat at picturesque Lake Powell.

“I recall once when we forgot to put in a frying pan, pop showed us how to cook bacon and eggs on a shovel head placed on the coals of a fire. We were taught to clean up our campsite, extinguish the fire, and even to leave kindling for the next person.”