‘That man did not die alone’
Survivors speak about seven hour ordeal
The Codroy Valley man who died in a boating accident last week is being remembered by many as a big man with an even bigger heart.
Johnny MacDonald, 65, drowned when his boat was swamped in the waters off Codroy, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
However MacDonald’s two passengers that day want people to know MacDonald didn’t die alone, and that his greatest concern at the end was for his passengers’ safety.
On Friday, William Beggs, 48, and his partner Mary Williams, 49, were still feeling the physical and emotional toll from their near-death experience.
Williams was black and blue with bruises all over her body, and her back was badly sunburned. Beggs was in slightly better shape. He was the only person wearing a life-jacket.
Beggs cannot swim. He wasn’t even going to go fishing for cod that day, but Williams talked him into going.
MacDonald showed up bright and early to pick up the couple. They had planned to go the day before, but cancelled due to choppy waters.
“I didn’t want to go, but Johnny was enthusiastic about it,” said Williams.
It was only after the boat was launched from Codroy Harbour and they were heading out that Williams looked around the boat for life-jackets. She found one in the bow and handed it back to Beggs, because she knew he was scared of the water. The only other one she could find was too small for her.
Beggs and MacDonald started jigging for cod right away, but Williams was hit with sea sickness almost instantly.
“It was very, very choppy,” she said. “The swells were huge. I was very dizzy and very disoriented. I didn’t quite recognize what was happening.”
Beggs was in the stern of the 16foot boat. He noticed water collecting at the back but assumed everything was OK. After catching two cod, the problem seemed to be getting worse. He asked MacDonald if he should start bailing and the retired fisherman came back to see what the problem was.
“He said, ‘ The plug is out of her.’ The water was just coming in so fast. I started bailing. I scooped about two scoops and he said look for the plug. But it took about 30 seconds and the boat was gone.”
The boat flipped and they all went in the water. Immediately, MacDon- ald took charge, even though he couldn’t swim and wasn’t wearing a life-jacket.
“I landed in the water and Johnny shouted out, ‘Grab the boat, William! Get on the boat, William!’” said Beggs.
Beggs was able to swing his leg over the keel and climb aboard. Next MacDonald told Williams to get on top of the boat, even while he was holding on to her.
“I said, ‘Johnny, you have to let go of me. Grab the boat.’ He didn’t panic. God bless him. He grabbed the boat.”
After much struggling, Williams was able to get on the overturned boat with some help from her partner. But then they both realized MacDonald was in trouble.
“He said, ‘I’m not gonna be able to get on the boat. I’m not strong enough to get on the boat. I’m done.’ He knew he was gonna die,” said Williams.
Not willing to give up, Williams took a rope that was still attached to the boat. She got it under MacDonald’s arms and threw the end back to Beggs, who leaned back to keep him above water.
Waves kept breaking over their heads. Despite their best efforts, MacDonald was swallowing water.
Williams said she held his hand in the final moments. For a minute she refused to believe he was gone, but Beggs insisted she climb back aboard and save herself.
“That man did not die alone,” said Williams. “There was no way we were letting him die by himself.”
After about four hours, Beggs couldn’t continue.
“He said he was going to let go. And I screamed, ‘Don’t you leave me! Don’t you leave me!”
“Then — I don’t know — it was like some sort of miracle happened,” she said.
Beggs said what happened was a mouthful of salt water.
“I couldn’t stand the taste of salt water,” he said. “And I really didn’t want to die. I got my arm up on the front of the boat and I just heaved and I pulled myself back up onto the front of the boat.”
The pair watched three boats — a longliner, a sailboat, and an open fishing boat — go past them at a distance. At about 5 p.m., they saw the boat that would rescue them, the Western Passage, heading in their direction.
Beggs was able to jump aboard without much trouble, but they had a more difficult time getting Williams aboard. It took three men to pull her aboard. She had no strength left to help herself.
They know MacDonald was well known in the community, and they feel people need to know about his final moments.
“We need to let them know we didn’t just let Johnny drown,” said Williams.