There are lots of stories about shipwrecks and marine disasters. We read about them in our books and hear about it on the radio or television but the most difficult tragedies to accept are those involving fishermen in small boats. Fishermen leave early in the mornings to fish in order to support their families. So it is a sad thing for communities, family and friends when disaster strikes. On June 19 1959 one of the worst fishing catastrophies in east coast waters occurred off the southern shore of Miramichi Bay at Escuminac New Brunswick Canada. On a fine Friday afternoon 54 small fishing boats left Escuminac to fish the salmon runs that occurred each June when the great Atlantic Salmon returned from the sea to go far up into the many branches of the Miramichi River. The weather office out of Halifax reported generally fine weather for the next few days. “Light winds increasing this afternoon to easterly 15.Cloudy with a few showers and fog patches. Visibility near 10 miles lowering in showers to 3 miles and in fog to near zero.” So the fishermen set out their nets and began their overnight drifting with the tide. Many of the men had taken their sons with them to fish over the weekend with the understanding that they would be back on shore late the next day to celebrate Father’s Day. Many did not return ,35 lives were lost to the bay that fateful weekend when a freak storm pounded the Gulf of St Lawrence leaving 26 widows and 83 orphans. Inshore fishing in 1959 did not involve ship to shore communication nor were the small boats equipped with radar or radios. As the weatherman began to predict bad weather conditions later that afternoon, the men at sea remained unaware of the storm and by nightfall with many vessels in the fleet far out in the bay, strong winds and huge waves started to swamp the fishing boats. Baie Sainte Anne fisherman Jack Doucet aboard his boat along with his 2 sons and 72 year old George Manuel were all thrown overboard by big wave that tipped the boat. The elder Manuel drowned right away but the 3 Doucets managed to reach the floating boat where they hung on for dear life. Captain Bernard Jenkins and his nephew Cyril on the boats spotted the overturned boat and managed to circle around throwing a rescue line that was caught by 17 year old Alphonse Doucet who passed to line to his younger brother Everett who was hauled in. A second line was tossed and caught again by Alphonse who passed the line to his father who was also saved. When the weather calmed a little another line was thrown to Alphonse who was also hauled to safety. Nobody could have anticipated the destructive force that raged through the night and into the next day turning the black sea into a killing field. With families of the fishermen waiting fearfully on shore, the storm continued into Saturday night and by Sunday search and rescue crafts had located and counted 22 lifeless boats amid the bay either broken or capsized in deep water. Only around half the boats returned safely to shore and many of the 35 missing at sea were never found and presumed drowned. One man who turned back that fateful day before the sea got too rough was Baie Sainte Anne fisherman and boxer Yvon Durelle who was a very famous Canadian who fought Archie Moore the previous year for the British & Canadian Lightweight Championship. He later considered himself lucky to be alive and often talked about the terrible disaster. If you would like to read more about this terrible disaster that befell the fishermen in Escuminac I found this article is a book called Looking Back by Dan Soucoup . There are other stories of interest in the book also, maybe your library may have it. I hope you have enjoyed reading today’s blog. Please share this blog with your friends, tweet it or blog it. It is a sad day in history that everyone should read about.
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