Miss Ally Tragedy Remembered
A decade has passed since the Miss Ally and her crew of five young fishermen from Shelburne County were lost to the sea during a bitter, winter North Atlantic storm.
The Miss Ally was on her way from a halibut fishing trip on Feb. 17, 2013 when it ran into trouble approximately 120 kilometres southeast of Liverpool. Waves higher than 10 metres and hurricane-force winds were battering the 45-foot fishing vessel. The emergency locator beacon activated at 11:06 p.m. The Canadian Coast Guard ...
Safety at Sea Improving for N.S. Fishing Industry
Above photo: Miss Ally leaving West Head on February 12, 2013. Photo courtesy of Della Sears Newell
The adoption and implementation of safe fishing practices in the Nova Scotia fishing industry is paying off in terms of lives saved, less injuries and the lowest Worker’s Compensation rates in 20 years.
“Since 2016, the fishing industry has saved $7.5 million in premiums” for Worker’s Compensation, said Amanda Dedrick executive director of the Nova Scotia Fisheries Safety ...
The Tragedy of the Miss Ally – Part V
Above photo: Fishermen’s Memorial in Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia
The last communication between the fishing vessel Miss Ally was just before 11 p.m. Sunday, February 17, 2013. Not long after that, the vessel’s emergency locator beacon sounded. At that time, the Joint Rescue Coordinating Centre (JRCC) and Coast Guard staff realized that the 44-foot boat had likely succumbed to the storm that was raging off eastern Nova Scotia. A few hours later, two Coast Guard staff were asked to go ...
The Tragedy of the Miss Ally – Part IV
Above photo: William Alexander — the Coast Guard ship that was tasked to the location of the Miss Ally
On Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, Katlin Nickerson’s plan was to haul halibut lines and head for port with a good paying trip in the fish hold of the Miss Ally. But darkness closed in and the crew couldn’t find the markers to finish taking back the last several lines of gear. Katlin decided to wait until daylight to finish the job and then head to port. Not far away, an intense storm ...
The Tragedy of the Miss Ally – Part III
The fishing vessel Miss Ally out of Wood’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, had fished halibut more than 100 miles offshore for four days before heading for port on February 17, 2013. Captain Katlin Nickerson and his four crewmembers were all young men and close friends. The fishing had been fair during their four days at sea, but word of an approaching storm scheduled to slam the area on Sunday evening sent most vessels scurrying for safety by Saturday night or early next morning. The Miss Ally ...
The Tragedy of the Miss Ally – Part II
The loss of the Miss Ally still sends chills down the spines of fishing families in southwestern Nova Scotia. Five young men died when the 44-foot vessel was overwhelmed by a huge wave as they were steaming home from a fishing trip. Last month, we introduced you to Della Sears Newell, the mother of the young captain of the Miss Ally. Della told us about her son and his accomplishments. She also told us about driving Katlin to the boat on February 12, 2013 and watched as his longliner headed out ...
The Tragedy of the Miss Ally – Part I
It was a grey day in February 2017 as Della Sears Newell sat at her kitchen table viewing a scrapbook containing pages of newspaper clippings, hand-written notes and an unofficial log of activities from the Joint Rescue Coordinating Centre (JRCC) in Halifax dated February 16 and 17, 2013.
Oblivious to the light snow falling outside her window, Della was at home on Cape Sable Island, just days before the fourth anniversary of the loss of her son.
Della is emotional and stressed, but also ...
