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 didn’t have time to finish hauling gear before dark on Saturday and Katlin decided to stay till daylight Sunday and leave for port quickly after taking back the last few tubs of his halibut gear.
This is Part III of The Tragedy of Miss Ally
Sandy Stoddard’s son Chrisjon Stoddard, onboard the Benji & Sisters, arrived on location near his dad Saturday morning, February 16.
As the crew prepared to set halibut gear, the two discussed how fishing had been for Sandy and the crew of the Logan & Morgan earlier that week and small talk about the usual things fishing skippers discuss. A little later Saturday morning, Chrisjon called back asking if Sandy had heard the new forecast.
Sandy said he had not so Chrisjon updated his dad on the storm that had previously been described as one to watch but was now expected to intensify on Sunday afternoon and evening to dangerous proportions.
In fact, it looked like two storms were going to converge into one big system with gale force winds and rough seas. The father-son team decided that they should haul their gear Saturday afternoon and get out of there. Before the conversation ended, Chrisjon asked his dad if he would contact Katlin on the Miss Ally to tell him about the worsening weather. Sandy replied that he would do so right away. Chrisjon and Katlin had a lot in common, including the fact both were skippers at about 19.
“So, I called Katlin to give him a head’s up as to what was going on. He hadn’t heard the new forecast so he asked what we were going to do. I told him that we were taking back our gear that afternoon and heading for port somewhere around Cape Breton that night — Saturday. I suggested to Katlin that he should do the same thing, but he said the weather and conditions were pretty good to the south at that time but he assured me that as soon as he got his gear out of the water that evening, he’d be on his way too.”
The Stoddards hauled the last of their longlines just before dark and set a course for the Arichat-Petite de Grat area. After steaming nearly nine hours, the two Stoddard boats arrived at Arichat around daybreak on Sunday, February 17.
Along the way, Sandy called the Miss Ally again to see if it was on its way home. Joel Hopkins answered the call and informed Sandy they were still on the site of their halibut gear and that Katlin was taking a break and lying down.
Joel explained that it got dark before they could finish hauling their gear and they had to quit because they had no overhead light due to the broken inverter. Finding the markers and high flyers was impossible without the bright light, especially when seas were running several feet high. Joel said the plan was to wait until morning, haul the gear at daybreak and make a run for home.
Sandy sensed worry in Joel’s voice and implored Joel to tell Katlin to get going as soon as they can. Sandy was disappointed to hear that the Miss Ally was not on the way in yet because he knew how long it would take them to reach port and the storm was forecast to hit that area by Sunday afternoon. But, the veteran skipper also understood how hard it is to leave gear behind.
“The hardest decision any captain has to face is to leave gear in the water and leave for port. I know, I’ve been there and I’ve done the same thing and decided to gamble,” Sandy explains refusing to point an accusatory finger at the young captain of the Miss Ally.
Sandy, like many others, lucked out in his gambles, but not everyone was so fortunate. Several tragedies involving fishing vessels happened because someone pushed their luck a bit too far.
“In the fishing business, those tough decisions come with the territory — that is just what we have to deal with all the time,” Sandy explains.
Katlin had borrowed nearly half the gear that was in the water from his good friend John Symonds and that might have been a factor influencing his decision to wait until Sunday morning. It’s one thing to lose your own gear, but having to give up someone else’s equipment is a tough decision.
At 3 a.m., Sunday, as the Miss Ally sat waiting for daylight, Environment Canada issued a worsening forecast; now calling for 30-foot waves to accompany the oncoming strong winds. Sandy Stoddard heard the forecast later in the morning and called the Miss Ally again for an update on their status. Katlin said they had found their gear and had started taking it back. Katlin sounded calm and confident and assured Sandy that they would soon be on their way and everything should be fine because the weather was still reasonably good where they were.
Once again, a worried Sandy Stoddard called Katlin Sunday evening.
Katlin told Sandy they were on the way in and that the storm had just struck but the 21-year-old captain still sounded calm and confident although the Miss Ally had a long way to steam to make it to port.
Back on Cape Sable Island, Della Sears had a fairly routine weekend.
She had talked to her son several times on Saturday and as far as she could tell, things were going relatively well.
It appeared that it took longer than usual for the crew to retrieve their fishing gear on Sunday morning, but in a conversation with his mom sometime between 1 and 1:30 Sunday afternoon, Katlin said they had finished taking back their gear and were heading to Sambro near Halifax.
In a couple of other conversations, Katlin asked his mom to check the weather forecast and let him know the latest. She relayed back all the information she could find and although the forecast was calling for terrible weather, Katlin still seemed confident that everything was fine. In fact, during one conversation, he asked Della if she could take his truck to Sambro on Monday morning. He said he would need the truck for some time after they landed in Sambro and told her she would need someone to follow her and give her a ride back to Cape Sable Island.
Della recalls that conversation took place about 9 p.m. Sunday night.
Katlin was reassuring, even as he told her that a powerful wave had washed across the deck and had destroyed the bait container that was located immediately behind the wheelhouse on the port side.
“But, there was no fear in his voice, and he made me feel there was no reason for me to be concerned either,” Della says.
A couple of hours later there would be plenty reason to fear as Della’s world and the worlds of the families of four other young men would be shaken to its core.
Join us next month for Part IV of The Tragedy of Miss Ally.
