Words cannot begin to describe the feelings of shock, pain and loss affecting family members and friends of two fishermen who lost their lives in a tragic mishap Tuesday in the treacherous waters off North Cape. The depth of the calamity affecting Tignish and area was clearly evident in newspapers and television coverage this week. The men were well-known and well-liked – the typical, dependable backbone and strength of many a rural Prince Edward Island community.
Perhaps, by the time you read this, the bodies have been recovered, bringing a measure of comfort to the grieving families. As one Tignish resident told CBC television, he was relieved when the body of his brother was recovered from the sea some 20 years ago in another fishing accident. He knows from personal experience that the families need to see the bodies to finally bring closure.
That’s why police, ground search and rescue members, firefighters, fishermen and volunteers spent days combing the shorelines around North Cape. Recent inclement weather resulted in the search being scaled back but once conditions improve, operations will resume amid hopes of locating the bodies.
They are determined to continue searching the beaches, cliffs, rocky shoals and inlets – waiting for the sea to return the men it claimed so cruelly five days ago. Who knows when changing tides will bring the bodies to waiting loved ones?
Captain Glen DesRoches, 57, and longtime helper Moe Getson, 54, were still aboard DesRoches’ fishing boat, the Kyla Anne, when it sank in heavy seas. A third member of the crew, 22-year-old Tanner Gaudet, braved the wind-tossed waves to swim to shore near North Cape and then travelled approximately two kilometres on foot to raise the alarm.
The lobster boat had fished that morning on the strait side where the fall season is beginning to wind down. As the vessel turned for home port around the treacherous tides and shoals at North Cape, the weather worsened, a wave filled the boat with seawater, and it seems the vessel was swamped and lost. A desperate Coast Guard search and recovery operation involving aircraft and vessels proved fruitless and a ground search by the RCMP also failed to find any bodies.
This week’s tragedy hammers home the reality that fishing is fraught with danger and the sea is waiting at every turn to threaten vessels and lives. Some think that fishing is the good life; setting sail into a clear sunrise, working in warm winds and calm seas, and returning to port amid a brilliant sunset. It all sounds idyllic.
In reality, the days are long and hard, most of the weather in spring and fall is cold, windy and wet. The sea always treacherous. Fishermen can never let their guard down. Ropes and traps and pulleys are constantly ready to pull the unwary overboard or mangle exposed limbs. Their living is hard-earned and well-deserved.
This isn’t the only tragic incident for Island fishermen this year. Two others died in early June, nine kilometres off Beach Point in eastern P.E.I. Chris Melanson and Justin MacKay were killed when one boat on its way back to shore smashed into another vessel that was buoyed. Six others aboard the vessels survived on that clear, Saturday morning. Such are the sacrifices made in P.E.I.’s primary industries.
In times of trial, Islanders turn to each other for comfort and solace. No community in the province shows a more co-operative spirit than Tignish. St. Simon and St. Jude Church was filled with mourners Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning – some praying for the dead, others for the living – most to show their support for the families.
The people of Tignish will survive this tragedy and eventually move forward. It will take time to heal. They will look to each other for comfort and support. They will wrap their arms around each other because they all need a good hug. They are ‘Tignish Strong.’
