Tag Archives: Frank Brown
Job-related injuries create mounting danger for search and rescue workers
Submerged underwater more than 270 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, Sgt. Damien Robison almost ran out of air. He was tethered to a helicopter hovering over a nearby fishing boat that was in distress. He was in the water to help save five sealers, but was hit by a 12-metre wave that drove him below the surface. Chunks of ice in the water whipped by as Robison tried to puzzle out how he and the sealers would survive. That happened on March 5, 2017, on what Robison considers a good day on the job. It was good because he, his crew and the sealers all got home safe. After that rescue, Robison said he was pretty banged up. He’s not alone. >click to read<
Rescued crew headed back to sea to retrieve vessel
Some members of the crew of the Northern Provider who were rescued Sunday morning are headed back to sea today to bring home their boat. The five sealers, who had left Carmanville in the vessel Feb. 27, ran into some dangerous stormy weather and were forced to call for help at about 150 nautical miles outside St. John’s. On Sunday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax released a video of the dramatic rescue, which saw the men forced to jump into the freezing water one by one before being hoisted up into a helicopter. Cormorant and Hercules helicopters and two Coast Guard vessels attended the rescue. None of the sealers, who are from Summerford, New World Island, were seriously injured. link 08:49
Fisherman says scene like ‘The Perfect Storm’ before being hoisted to safety
One of five fishermen who were plucked from churning, windswept seas off Newfoundland says they weren’t sure they’d make it as their boat was battered by “a perfect storm.” Frank Brown was with four other crew aboard the Northern Provider when a vicious storm came on quickly Sunday about 150 nautical miles northeast of St. John’s. Brown says the scene was similar to the movie The Perfect Storm, “but with a better ending,” for the crew that had been at sea since Monday in search of seals. He says they ran into trouble coming home Sunday morning when winds suddenly gusting to 60 knots pushed swells up to 10 metres. A coast guard helicopter was dispatched after the crew sent out a distress call, but conditions were so rough they couldn’t be taken off the boat and had to jump in the water before they could be hoisted up to the chopper. The Northern Provider was abandoned in the high seas, and Coast guard vessels have been dispatched to see if it’s still afloat. Link 07:54
