17 days at sea
Fishing horrors of 51 years ago lingers in Rock
When The Gleaner recently republished the ordeal of a teenage boy who was lost at sea for 17 days, it brought back memories of a sad chapter in the lives of residents of Rock, a small fishing community on the outskirts of Falmouth in Trelawny.
The boy, Jason Whyte — 14 years old at the time — had gone on a fishing trip with his father on the afternoon of May 29, which ended in the worst possible way.
Their boat, What’s That To You, developed mechanical problems and began drifting away from Jamaica. During this time, the elder Whyte complained of chest pains and decided to lie down in the boat. He never got up again. By June 1, three days after leaving Rock, Jason who was keeping a close watch on his father, saw no sign of life in him. His skin was peeling off and he was unresponsive, and so Jason decided he was dead and threw his body overboard.
The boat drifted for the next 14 days before he was rescued by a passing ship which took him to Panama.
Now 65, and living in Canada, Jason told THE WEEKEND STAR that “I don’t want to relive the experience, but we can talk about pleasant things.” He, however, directed the news team to his 81-year-old sister, Thelma Whyte-Vickers, who said she remembers the incident as if it were yesterday. She said that on the fateful day, her father, who was known in Rock as ‘Seaside Lawyer’ was his usual jovial self when she saw him at Bata Piazza in Falmouth.
She recalled him shouting out to her asking, “Gal, yuh going up (Rock) now?” She answered the question in the affirmative and he instructed her to ‘tell di bwoy (Jason) to carry down di boat’. That was the last conversation she had with him.
“They left telling other fishermen that they were going to Big Cliff to fish. Half-way there the boat ran into trouble and they decided to return to shore. They never made it,” Thelma said, shaking her head.