Cheyenne Hoy keeps her husband’s shoes and hat in their bedroom. The camouflage-patterned Crocs and ball cap have become some of the most important and precious items for her.
They were what Clayton Hoy, 36, was wearing when he fell overboard from his salmon fishing vessel early on the morning of July 25 near Egegik, Alaska, on the east side of Bristol Bay. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket at the time and his crew heard the splash when their captain hit water.
The crew of the F/V Warmaster radioed for help at 2:45 a.m. and the United States Coast Guard, Alaska Wildlife Trooper and Good Samaritan boats searched the water for a day and a half before the search was suspended, according to KDLG, the public radio station in Bristol Bay.
“We were all very hopeful, but it didn’t turn out that way,” Cheyenne said.
Clayton’s shoes were found a few days later in a mudbank by local volunteers who were searching by boat and by foot for the fisherman.
His remains were found a week later on Aug. 1, along the shore of the Egegik River after Alaska State troopers received a report, according to KDLG. Twelve days later, Hoy’s remains were identified.
Now, the 29-year-old widow and her children — a 2-week-old newborn and 2-year-old toddler — are reimagining what their life looks like without Clayton, in what is considered a rare tragedy in a key maritime industry.
She is finding a new normal through the help of friends, family and the generosity of strangers through GoFundMe.
Cheyenne said she and Clayton used to have conversations about the dangers of his job as a commercial salmon fisherman. Clayton would leave his Everson family for three months every summer to earn the family’s income to live on the rest of the year.
The couple knew the stories about how dangerous the water could be, and Clayton was never one to take risks.
“He always talked about it and he would say, ‘There was a kid that went over this year or last year,’” Cheyenne said. “The water is really, really unforgiving and there’s not much you can do.”
Fishing fatalities in Alaska have declined over the past decade. From 2013 to 2022, fatalities dropped at a rate of 57%, according to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety. Of the 88 fishing fatalities recorded in that time period, a third resulted from vessel disasters, 28% from onboard accidents, 23% from falls overboard, 12% from onshore activity and 5% during dive fisheries.
Of the thousands of Whatcom County residents who go up to fish in Alaska during the summer —whether that be captaining their own boat, being a member of a crew or working in processing — a couple of hundred work specifically in Bristol Bay, according to Lange Solberg, the president of the Whatcom Working Waterfront. He also owns and skippers a commercial salmon vessel, F/V Iceberg Point, in Bristol Bay.
“It’s dangerous work, it’s beautiful work,” he said, noting while fatal accidents have become rarer, fishing “is still one of the most dangerous occupations out there.”
The Squalicum Fisher’s Memorial statue, dubbed “Safe Return,” in Zuanich Point Park memorializes Whatcom County and Indigenous fishermen and crabbers who’ve died at sea, and the year of their death. The statue is managed by the Whatcom Commercial Fishermen’s Association.
The last name added to the statue was in 2020, when Ronald Cameron died after falling off his fishing boat and drowning in a Sitka harbor.
Doug Karlberg, a member of Whatcom Commercial Fisherman’s Association, wrote in an email to CDN there are at least three names that need to be added to the memorial, including Hoy’s.
Memorials for Hoy
A month after Hoy’s death, and a day after Cheyenne had given birth to their daughter, the family and 200 people gathered at the statue to remember him. Cheyenne didn’t speak that day, instead letting the stories about Clayton wash over her, their newborn Fiona and son Cillian.
“Hearing everyone’s memories of him and how much he impacted everybody, it’s really special,” Cheyenne said. “He would tell me all the stories of these people and the things they did … he was just so loved by everybody.”
As the Hoys dealt with the aftermath of their husband and son’s death, the Everson community stepped up to help.
Sonia Harder, a childhood friend of Clayton’s and now a close family friend, said she felt helpless when Cheyenne first called her to tell her Clayton had gone overboard.
“It’s hard when there’s 20 people texting you asking how to help and I don’t even know what to do,” Harder said, adding that someone had mentioned starting a GoFundMe to help support Cheyenne and her family financially.
The family relied on Clayton’s fishing income. Cheyenne is an artist and stay-at-home mom focused on raising her son and daughter.
Harder didn’t expect the GoFundMe to blow up the way it did. She initially set a $10,000 goal but within the first day, it had surpassed the goal. Since the fund has been active over the past month, more than $78,000 has been donated to the Hoy family.
“I’ve been floored and really touched,” she said.
Neighbors and other people have also donated to an Amazon registry set up by Cheyenne’s older sister and a friend, and a meal train was organized for the family.
Cheyenne said she hasn’t had to make a meal in the past few weeks because her freezer is filled with casseroles. Her garage is stocked with diapers, formula, clothing, toys and toilet paper for her newborn and toddler.
“It’s been the biggest help because when you’re going through something like that, you can’t even think about what you would need,” Cheyenne said. “I’m amazed at how many people in the community cared so much.”
Clayton remembered for ‘viking’ spirit
Cheyenne and Clayton met in 2016 while she was a student at the University of New Mexico studying fine art and he moved to Albuquerque to pursue mixed martial arts training. After their first date, they became best friends.
Two years later, they moved to Everson, where Clayton was originally from, with their dog and two cats at the time. The couple married in 2021 and had their son in 2022.
In the summers since he was 15, Clayton was in Alaska fishing, first going out with his dad’s fishing operation and then in the last three years, captaining his own boat. His parents are still dealing with the loss of their son and are not ready to talk, Cheyenne said.
When Clayton wasn’t in Alaska fishing he would be exploring the Whatcom County wilderness.
“He’d go in the mornings, come back home and then take me and Cillian on some of the easier trails and show us all the cool spots he found,” Cheyenne said.
During the fall duck hunting season, Clayton and the family’s springer spaniel, Fane, would go out to hunt. After bringing home their prizes, Clayton would cook duck for the family.
“He was an amazing cook, like make us the most gourmet meals,” she said.
Harder described Clayton as a viking because of his strength, a similar quality she’s seen Cheyenne have in the last month.
“She has shown such strength … she’s like ‘I got this,’” Harder said.
Cheyenne said she’s glad she and Clayton were able to pick out their newborn daughter’s name, Fiona, before Clayton died.
“He really liked the name Fiona and we had talked about it during the summer,” she said.
The couple’s last conversation the night before Clayton fell overboard was normal, Cheyenne said. The two had FaceTimed, since cell service had improved over the summer.
“He was showing me around the boat and he was talking to Cillian,” she said. “It was just a normal talk. That’s a hard memory.”
Cheyenne hopes to tell their children about their father’s passions when they get older.
“He just wanted to spend all of his time with them,” she said. “He wanted to be with them and be the best dad he could be. That’s why he did what he did, so he could be with them as much as possible.”
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
