Vautier - People of the Sea

THE STORM OF FEBRUARY, 1959

The winter fishery along the shores of Newfoundland and NovaScotia has been very fruitful for the hard-working fishermen whohave fished these waters over the years. Unfortunately, therehave also been many mishaps and tragedies.

During the late 1950s, the fishing communities along thecoast of Nova Scotia were becoming home for a new style oflongliner. These new vessels were outfitted with the latest navigation and hydraulic equipment.

One Nova Scotia community well-known for the longlinerfleet was Port Bickerton, located along the eastern shore. Thefishermen of Port Bickerton were some of the first to acquire thenew style of longliners. These vessels were used to fish mainlyfor cod, halibut, and swordfish.

In the winter of 1959, the fishing fleets of Port Bickertonwere busy fishing cod on the fishing grounds 35 to 75 milesoffshore, depending on the weather conditions and the availability of the fish.

In the first week of February, 1959, the longlining fleet hadtheir trawls baited and were prepared for several days of fishingon the well-known Middle Bank fishing grounds. Middle Bank isfairly large, with its closest point 40 miles southeast of PortBickerton and the farthest 75 miles.

On Thursday, February 5, 1959, a small group of thefishing fleet were getting ready to depart Port Bickerton forMiddle Bank. They departed different times throughout theday depending on their exact location. They included the 55-foot MV Kenmore (Captain Aubrey Kaiser), the 57-foot MV NewStar (Captain Charlie Kaiser), the 55-foot MV Sea-Dog(Captain Burnell Hiltz), the 55-foot MV Rocket II (CaptainWesley Kaiser), the 49-foot MV Whitecap (Captain ClaytonHarpell), the 58-foot MV Karen Dawn (Captain Douglas Jack)and the 49-foot MV Elizabeth & Jenny (Captain AlvinSangster).

Although they departed different times, some of themwaited until the 6: 30 p.m. forecast Thursday evening. By leavingin the early evening together, they would arrive on the fishinggrounds early morning, the perfect time to set their trawl.

The weather was cooperating at the beginning of the voyageand as the fleet arrived on the fishing grounds their trawls wereset for the day. After a quick lunch the crew went below for ashort rest before beginning the task of retrieving the trawlseveral hours later.

As daylight approachedFriday, February 6, theweather was still cooperatingand the fishermen hadalready started their dayswork. During the operationof retrieving the trawl, someof the crew were busycleaning the catch whileothers were baiting the trawlto be set back out later thatday. This trawl would beretrieved the next day. If allwent well, they would returnto Port Bickerton Saturday evening.

However, the fishermen were unaware that a storm wasmoving into the area. The forecast Friday morning did not indicate gale- or storm-force winds but by 9: 00 p.m. the wind wasincreasing and in a hour it was gusting to gale-force.

As the weather deteriorated, the longlining fleet preparedtheir boats for the voyage back home instead of another day offishing, hoping to stay ahead of the storm and reach port safety.

Unfortunately the crew could not get ahead of the storm,and shortly after leaving the fishing grounds the wind wassteadily increasing from the northwest, and the temperature wasdropping below freezing. This was accompanied by poor visibility and moderate seas. With the wind blowing from the northwest, the fishing fleet would have to head into the wind all theway back to port, thus accumulating ice from the freezing spray.

As the night progressed, the fleet managed to hold their own,and slowly but surely they were making their way back to port. Asmidnight passed and morning approached, some of the fleet weregetting close to shore, close to home. Captain Burnell Hiltz (aged49) and his crew; John Horton (aged 17), Harvey Taylor (aged 55),and Ernie Ealer (aged 20), aboard the MV Sea-Dog were ahead ofothers in the fleet but fate had a different plan. While approachingPort Bickerton Harbour in zero visibility and running seas, the MV