The Legion in Clark’s Harbour was packed as the 50th anniversary was marked.
On the opening day of the lobster fishery in 1964, two men aboard the “Jane and Judy” lost their lives
after they encountered foul weather.
Family members and friends of Stillman Quinlan and his nephew James Smith attended last night’s banquet.
It was that incident that led to the establishing of the Coast Guard life station in West Head and the first vessel known as the ‘101’.
Ronnie Newell was the first captain in 1966.
He was lobster fishing the day the two men died. Newell says the wind came up all of a sudden blowing 80 to 90 miles an hour.
‘I think that’s when the boat went adrift but we couldn’t see it from this side of the island. They saw the boat that morning off the shore down at the Hawk. Some say they saw the men come down off the side, some say they didn’t see anybody.”
Ronnie’s son Jim is now captain of the “Clark’s Harbour”.
He remembers one of the worst marine tragedies…the sinking of the Miss Ally in 2013 and the loss of five young men
from Wood’s Harbour.
Newell says those who make their living from the sea know only too well the dangers.
He says members of the Canadian Coast Guard will always be there to help.
“As long as people continue go to sea there will continue to be tragedies. We try our best to minimize the risk and when tragedy happens, to respond in a compassionate manner.”
Newell says the loss of the five men aboard the Miss Ally will never be forgotten.
Anne Miller regional director of Coast Guard Programs for the Atlantic Region says there’s a strong relationship between the Coast Guard and the community.
“The local people who work on the vessels have a really good feel and a connection to the community, When you’re from a fishing community you understand the risks that our fishers take, and it’s evident in the relationships between the SAR cutters and the community and the support the community gives our people, not only at the SAR station but at the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax.”
