Scallop dragger found in Bay of Fundy
One month and one day after it was lost at sea, the Chief William Saulis scallop dragger was found.
In a news release Sunday, the RCMP said underwater recovery teams found the boat sitting upright about two kilometres off Delaps Cove, Annapolis County. The discovery was made on Saturday.
The vessel is deeper than 60 metres, which the RCMP said exceeds the maximum depth for the RCMP underwater teams. The RCMP said on the weekend the next steps to search the inside of the vessel were to be determined.
REMOTE VEHICLE USED
The Nova Scotia and British Columbia RCMP underwater teams, with help from the Canadian Coast Guard and Transportation Safety Board, had searched a targeted area using side-scan sonar and located an anomaly on the weekend.
“Using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), the mass was confirmed to be the Chief Williams Saulis,” the RCMP said.
The RCMP said the families of the five missing fishermen were told of the finding prior to the information being shared publicly.
The Chief William Saulis and its crew was on its way into port in Digby on Dec. 15 when something went terribly wrong. Debris from the 50-foot vessel, including empty life rafts, began washing up on shore. A position-indicating radio beacon had been activated around 5:50 a.m.
The vessel had been fishing since Dec. 12, according to Yarmouth Sea Products, the company that owns it. Those aboard were Capt. Charles Roberts, Aaron Cogswell, Daniel Forbes, Michael Drake, Geno Francis and Leonard Gabriel. Drake’s body was recovered Dec. 15. The search for the vessel and the five remaining fishermen has been ongoing since then.
‘BRING MY FATHER ’N CREW HOME’
The son of one of the missing fishermen had put a post on Facebook on Saturday night about the discovery of the vessel, sharing it to various sites. Kyle Gabriel, whose father is Leonard Gabriel, posted: “I have received word from home that they found the boat! The Chief William Saulis. It’s supposedly in 200-plus feet of rough water. All intact they say. Underwater pictures shows it’s her. Come on, bring my father ‘n crew home out of that heartless sea.”
Commenters on social media expressed relief, and hope, after word that the vessel had been found.
The Full Bay Scallop Association has been extending its support for the families and industry since this terrible mishap occurred. Following the news that the scallop dragger had been found, association president Alain d’Entremont said Sunday, “I think we’re all hoping that the guys are still in there and that a mechanism exists to recover the bodies to help everyone with closure. It still weighs heavily on the fleet as everyone keeps bringing it up. I can’t imagine being in the families’ position, it’s just tragic.”
The past month has been one of heartbreak given the region’s ties to the fishery. To lose so many fishermen in one fishing tragedy has caused much sadness in southwestern Nova Scotia. The majority of the crew has family ties to Yarmouth County.
It has been hoped for weeks that finding the vessel could help locate the missing fishermen.
BEACON OF LIGHT
“In what has been a devastating tragedy, the finding of the vessel is a small beacon of light that will help families and the community with some muchneeded closure,” Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood said Sunday. “Without closure the grieving process cannot take place. The community has its arms around the families at this difficult time.”
Previous to Sunday the RCMP had said underwater recovery teams had been checking several areas of the Bay of Fundy where they thought the boat might be. Some areas had been ruled out as a result of this sonar searching.
Before this there had also been aerial searches and ground searches.
Fundraising has also been taking place to help support the crew’s families.
Last month the Full Bay Scallop Association and Yarmouth Sea Products opened an account named “Chief William Saulis Benevolent Fund” with the Coastal Financial Credit Union, supported by the Hood Fraser d’Entremont law firm. Donations can still be made to this account at any Credit Union branch across the Atlantic provinces. A GoFundMe fundraiser called the ‘Chief William Saulis Families Fund’ was also set up. Money collected through that will be added to the benevolent account.