Tag Archives: Lost at Sea
From grief to gratitude – April McCarthy’s husband was lost at sea
April McCarthy walks down a gravel path in the cemetery in Tors Cove, a small community on Newfoundland’s Southern Shore, towards her husband’s grave. She picks at some of the weeds that have crept into the site, that’s boxed in with a wooden frame, filled with white stones. Flowers and ornaments line the base of Chris McCarthy’s black tombstone. But his body is not buried here.,,, Sept. 12, 2009, It was a Saturday morning, and the Sea Gypsy was heading in with a full load of shrimp. Around 11 a.m., the boat started to slow. It was taking on water. >click to read< 08:19
10 years after lives lost in Sea Gypsy sinking, safety regulation still not enacted – >click to read<
Montauk Lobstermen Recall Their ‘Speck In The Sea’ Ordeal
John Aldridge was literally little more than a speck in the sea after being thrown off his lobster boat, the Anna Mary, on July 24, 2013. A crowd was all ears on Friday evening at the Montauk Library for an interactive lecture and book-signing of “A Speck in the Sea” headed by Debbie Tuma, a journalist and Montauk native, as Mr. Aldridge explained the ordeal of being lost at sea for 12 hours on what had started out as a routine lobster fishing trip. Then she asked for Mr. Sosinki’s take on the lost-at-sea misadventure.,,, When he realized Mr. Aldridge was missing, the boat was 62 miles from land—it had been 8 miles off the shore when they last saw Mr. Aldridge. >click to read<13:28
Family finding comfort at home, says son of missing fisherman
Lucas DesRoches says his mom is home now, surrounded by family and friends. Until Thursday, she stayed as close as she could to the shore of North Cape, P.E.I., where her husband and a fellow fisherman were lost at sea when their boat capsized on Tuesday. “It’s definitely hard on the family, on my mother, it’s very difficult,” DesRoches said Friday. “She’s feeling comfort at home. My sister as well is surrounded by family and friends. Both of my brothers are here and they’re doing the best they can to help and support.” The search for the bodies of Capt. Glen DesRoches and Maurice (Moe) Getson was suspended Friday. But residents of the Tignish area continue to do all they can to help the families. >click to read<19:40
Trawler tragedy survivor’s poetic tribute to skipper lost at sea
It has been a decade since Michael Williams collapsed on a beach naked, sunburnt and exhausted after a 10-hour swim from a sinking prawn trawler. He managed to help guide rescuers to his crewmate John “JJ” Jarrett, who was eventually saved after more than 30 hours clinging to a red plastic tub off the coast of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. But the boat’s skipper, Alan “Charlie” Picton, was never found. To mark the 10-year anniversary, Mr Williams has released a book of poetry called Sea Rogue (also the name of the sunken trawler), which tells the story of the tragedy and pays tribute to his crewmates. >click to read<12:14
Point Pleasant Dad Was ‘Married’ To Ocean. That’s Where He Died.
Dennis Smalling was married to the ocean. And that’s where he went missing, and that’s where he’s lost. And that’s where a cross was erected to remember the fisherman whose likely death has a community in mourning. Even as his mom, and his 12-year-old daughter, still hope he comes home. The Point Pleasant native was only 34 when he and his shipmate, Paul Matos, 30, of Bayville, disappeared at sea last week. >click to read< 11:05
A Fundraiser for the Family of Fisherman Mike Roberts
On December 4, 2017, Mike Roberts lost his life when the Misty Blue clamming boat sunk 10 miles off the coast of Nantucket. Mike left behind his wife of almost 10 years Tammy, along with her four children, Ryan, Breanne, Kalie and Kevin, which Mike thought of as his own. Mike was loved by everyone in the community but most of all by his granddaughter Aaliyah. Mike’s death has left his family with a great financial hardship. Mike went on this trip with the intention of his salary to pay for their family’s Christmas. With Mike gone, Tammy is left in a one paycheck family to run the household and cover his final expenses. Please help the Roberts family keep Mike’s memory alive by donating what you can. Bright blessings to you and your family and Happy Holidays. click here to donate if you can. 07:15
Remembering the Crew of the New Bedford Fishing Vessel Navigator
On November 30, 1977, the Navigator left New Bedford for a ten-day trip in the waters east of Nantucket. That night, the scalloper made radio contact with the Oceanic, near the Great Round Shoal channel. The Navigator was never heard from again. The ship was reported overdue, and the Coast Guard began an extensive air-sea search on December 12 over 104,000 square nautical miles. The weather had been cold and snowy, with winds up to 40 knots and fifteen-foot seas. The Coast Guard ended the search on December 17, without finding the vessel, a life raft, or any of the thirteen crew members. F/V Navigator page click here Click here to read the story Visit The Lost Fishermen website click here09:40
The Bizarre Story of Two Women Lost at Sea Keeps Getting Weirder
Back in the end of October, the Navy pulled two American women and their dogs off a damaged sailboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after a Taiwanese fishing boat discovered them floating aimlessly at sea. The women claimed they had been lost for five months, fending off storms and shark attacks, and surviving on a mostly pasta diet. Now, two weeks after their rescue, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava say that the Taiwanese fishing vessel that supposedly saved them didn’t actually save them at all—it was trying to kill them. click here to read the story 13:24
Death of deckhand in Hurricane Irma leaves void in Tarpon Springs
The boat was 32 feet, white fiberglass, with sails stretching up, up, up. It was, Carl Shepherd decided that day, the boat he would retire in. “What are you going to do?” asked his friend, Michael Ellzey, who drove him to Fort Myers in August to check out the vessel. Sail everywhere, Shepherd told him. Live out the rest of his life on the water. But Shepherd didn’t get to spend his last years peacefully on a sailboat. Instead, he spent his final moments in chaos on a shrimp trawler in the middle of one of the most powerful hurricanes in recent history. click here to read the story 11:28
Gloucester: At Fishermen’s Memorial Service, daughter speaks language of loss
Candace Unis, who will speak at Saturday’s annual Fishermen’s Memorial Service of the grief of losing a loved one to the sea, knows of which she speaks. In September 1978, her father left on a Sunday for two days of fishing on his nephew’s 52-foot trawler and was never seen again. There were no mayday calls, no signs of distress. The boat, the Alligator, went down — possibly hit by a freighter — with three men onboard: Unis’s 55-year-old father, James Sinagra, his 46-year-old nephew, Carlo “Bronco” Sinagra; and a 26-year-old crewman, Glenn Guitarr. It was the second boat lost out of Gloucester that month, with a total of nine lives lost, and to Unis, who was 25 at the time, it was a wound that would never really heal. click here to read the story 10:22
When: Saturday, Aug. 26, at 5 p.m., Where: Monument of the Fisherman on Stacy Boulevard
Please Donate to the Larry O’Grady Family Fund
Please help our Auntie Gail during this devastating tragedy. On February 11, 2017, Gail received a phone call that would forever change her life. Her beloved husband and best friend “Larry O” is missing at sea. On Saturday morning the fishing vessel ‘Destination’ sent an emergency distress signal to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard announced they would search for the missing vessel and crew members for 3 days. With heavy hearts, the Coast Guard has suspended the search for the crew of the fishing vessel Destination. This fund will go to our Auntie Gail to ease the financial burden that this tragedy has left her with. Thoughts and prayers to the owner, his crew members and their families. Visit the Larry O’Grady Family Fund page, (click here) and please donate any amount you can.
Please donate to the Charles Glenn Jones Family Relief Fund
Saturday, February 11th the wife of Charles Glenn Jones received a phone call that no family member ever wants to receive. The vessel, FV Destination, that Charles was working upon, and had been for many years, was considered missing. As minutes rolled into hours, and hours felt like an eternity all signs are pointing to no possible chance of survival. Coastguard Crews and volunteers have been searching for nearly 24 hours, the ship has been officially declared sunk, and no crew members are expected to have survived. As in all walks of life, Rosalie and her family believed they had time. Time to plan, time to love, and time together. Rosalie and Charles had decided when he returned from this trip that they would finally get a life insurance policy on him, just in case, unfortunately reality had other plans and the Jones family is left enduring much pain and anguish. Continue reading (Click here) at the Charles Glenn Jones Family Relief Fund page, and please donate any amount you can. 18:22
Prayers, messages for crew of missing Seattle fishing boat in Alaska
U.S. Coast Guard crews suspended the search Monday evening for a Seattle-based fishing vessel missing in Alaska’s Bering Sea since Saturday. On Tuesday, the owners of the Destination shared the following message: The owners of the DESTINATION understand that the Coast Guard has suspended its search for the DESTINATION and her crew. We thank the Coast Guard, all of the Good Samaritan vessels, and people of St. George Island who worked so long and hard to try to find our crew. These efforts were in the finest tradition of the sea. These men were professionals. Our hearts are broken for their loved ones who are now left with the certainty of this tragic sinking. We will work with the Coast Guard to attempt to understand what occurred with the hope that whatever can be learned will be used to help prevent such an event from happening again. Please keep these men and their families in your prayers. While Coast Guard officials have not released the names of the crew, family members have confirmed to KING 5 three members: 46-year-old Charles Glenn Jones, 29-year-old Kai Hamik and 55-year-old Larry O’Grady. Video, read the article here 13:18
Chandler, Arizona man missing at sea; Coast Guard calls off search for 6 fishermen on crab boat
A Valley man is believed to be one of six people on board a missing fishing boat in the Bering Sea off of Alaska. Kai Hamik, of Chandler, is a commercial fisherman who neighbors say loves his job. “I see him off and on, depending on the season,” said Gabriel D’Zordo, who lives right next door to Hamik. “Sometimes he tells me the season is bad so he comes back early. He loves it. He loves it. He always tells me he loves it.” The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said the crew sent out a beacon alert 2 miles northwest of St. George, Alaska, on Saturday morning. The boat, a 98-foot crab boat named “Destination,” had six people on it and is owned by a company based in Seattle. D’Zordo had no idea Hamik might be lost at sea. He said he will stay hopeful. “My goodness, my prayers. Every time he goes out I always say a pray because I know what he does,” D’Zordo said. Read the story here 12:23
25 Years ago. Seaport says goodbye to men lost at sea
GLOUCESTER— This historic seaport, which has lost as many as 10,000 of its fishermen at sea over the centuries, bade a tearful farewell to three more at a crowded funeral yesterday. More than 1,000 people packed St. Ann’s Church for a Mass in the memory of four of the fishermen — three of them from Gloucester — presumed to have died when the fishing vessel Andrea Gail was lost off the coast of Canada during last month’s northeaster. “The sea was their domain. They knew it well,” said Rev. Richard Casey, of Gloucester natives Frank W. (Billy) Tyne, 37, David P. Sullivan, 29, and Robert Shatford, 30, who were among six aboard the ill-fated fishing vessel. Father Casey urged those in attendance to mourn not only the three, but the “other brave people who gave their lives for Gloucester and its fishing industry.” Read the story here 13:48
2 fishermen lost at sea saved by cooler
Two fishermen survived two days at sea thanks to their trusty cooler. Michael Watkins and Raymond Jacik went missing in Galveston Bay on Monday morning after embarking on what was supposed to be a five-hour fishing trip, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The men said their 20-foot fishing boat started taking on water and a rogue wave capsized the vessel before they could even put on life jackets. “I had no time to grab anything. Nothing. No keys, no wallet, no phone,” . Read the rest here 17:44
Portuguese Navy honours White Fleet fishermen lost at sea
Portuguese Naval officials returned to St. John’s Friday morning for the annual wreath laying ceremony to honour the crew of the Portuguese White Fleet who died off the coast of Newfoundland. The tradition began in 2012, when the Portuguese Navy searched for the unmarked grave of Dionisio Esteves. Esteves, 26, was a fisherman who sailed on the Santa Maria Manuela and died while fishing in 1966. For centuries, St. John’s was the port of call for the White Fleet — large fishing vessels from Portugal known for their white sails. Video, Read the rest here 07:04
Fiancee of skipper lost at sea off the North Shields coast raises funds for charity
Money raised in memory of three men who died at sea will benefit those in the North East who tried to save them. The fiancée of skipper James Noble who was lost at sea with two of his Filipino crewmen when their fishing boat sank off the North Shields coast in November held a fund-raising night in the name of the “kindest, most loving man anyone could meet”. The money will benefit the Fishermen’s Mission there as well as Boulmer Volunteer Rescue Service, the nominated charity of RAF Boulmer’s search and rescue squadron, which rushed 120 miles out to sea when the Ocean Way went down. Read the rest here 09:05
Canadian Fishing Vessel Miss Ally crew remembered as porch lights left on in Nova Scotia
Mary Hopkins left her porch light on last night in memory of all fishers who’ve lost their lives at sea — including her son Joel and the rest of the Miss Ally crew. It’s been two years since that day, when five Nova Scotia fishermen didn’t come home after their vessel ran into trouble during a storm. They’d left from the wharf five days earlier to fish for halibut. “Of course this is the time of the year that … it comes back full force,” Hopkins said. Read the rest here 08:34
Charleston Marina: Annual Blessing of the Fleet on Monday
CHARLESTON — Memorial Day activities in Charleston will focus on the annual Blessing of the Fleet and Memorial Service at the Charleston Fisherman’s Memorial Garden, near the launch ramp at the Charleston Marina, at 10 a.m. Monday, May 26. This year the Charleston community will add 11 names to the “In Memory of Charleston Fisherman” plaque. Read more here 17:38
Mother grieves for Westbrook sailor who fell off fishing vessel
Barbara A. Foster always dreaded the possibility the ocean could one day claim her son, and Friday she got the call she feared — 47-year-old Martin Gorham had been lost in the rough winter seas off Cape Ann. Read more@bdn 11:27
Fisherman William “Billy Mac” McIntire, lost at sea, remembered as local legend, had friend’s around the world
“Billy Mac was like a rock star, everybody loved him,” said Dwight Raymond of Kennebunk’s Performance Marine and The Pilot House. “He was the real deal and always put a smile on everyone’s face. He worked hard and played hard. I feel terrible for his parents.” Debbie Kimball Goodale remembers the impact McIntire had on women especially. “I loved watching girls stand in line to dance with him at ‘Good Night Ogunquit,’” she said. more@seacoastonline 14:04
