The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is investigating the sinking of the Nova Scotia 18-metre steel-hulled trawler Fortune Pride, lost to the North Atlantic on Feb. 6, claiming the lives of two of the four crew.
The Fortune Pride was on its way in from the fishing grounds with a load of silver hake aboard when disaster struck. No mayday call was made, instead search and rescue personnel were alerted by the vessel’s emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax detected the EPIRB activation at 10:06 p.m., said spokesperson Lt. Commander Len Hickey. The Fortune Pride was about 10 km southeast of Sambro.
There were 60 kilometre an hour southerly winds, three-metre swells and visibility was less than half a nautical mile at the time, said Lt. Commander Hickey.
The Canadian Coast Guard vessels the Hare Bay, based in Sambro and the Sir William Alexander were deployed as well as a Cormorant search and rescue helicopter and Hercules fixed wing aircraft out of Greenwood, said Lt. Commander Hickey.
The Hare Bay recovered three of the crew out of the water. Two were conscious and one unconscious, said Lt. Commander Hickey. They were all wearing survival suits. They were brought to Sambro and handed off to an ambulance.
The Sir William Alexander stayed on site, finding the last crew member the following morning aboard the Fortune Pride’s life raft.
Search and rescue technicians were lowered down from the helicopter to extract the person from the raft, who was unresponsive, said Lt. Commander Hickey.
Captain John Allan Baker and crew member Phil MacInnis didn’t survive.
“John’s career and entire life was devoted to the commercial offshore fishery,” reads his obituary. “John’s career in fishing started in his late teens on the offshore draggers out of Canso. John found his passion and fell in love with fishing. He began marine training and was the youngest to achieve a Fishing Master Class 1 in Nova Scotia. One of John’s proudest moments was when he became Captain of The Bedeque, an offshore fishing trawler. This was the first of many vessels he captained over the years… John went on to fish many commercial and experimental species. He worked passionately with Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff, scientists, and oceanographers to contribute to marine science that ensured the conservation and viability of the fishing resources. John was involved in every aspect of the fishing industry and spent time working on a Canadian Coast Guard research vessel. His knowledge of the ocean, the marine environment and the species that he fished was exemplary. The ocean was his home and fishing was his love.”
Deckhand Phil MacInnis was described as “one of the good ones,” by best friend Brad Sullivan, who organized a GoFundMe to help the family with the tragedy.
“He was always there for you, for anything, with a smile. He’d give you the shirt off his back … I had the opportunity to take Phil on his first trip fishing, and watch him grow into one of the best men I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing with. His love for the people in his life was unmatched, and his love for the water was strong.”
The Fortune Pride was owned by Chester Basin Seafoods Incorporated.
