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 to Della Sears’ home on Cape Sable Island to tell her the news that her son’s vessel was now presumed lost at sea. This is Part V of The Tragedy of the Miss Ally.
Della Sears’ life was forever changed at that moment.
The Coast Guard members told Della that there had been no further word from the Miss Ally after the 10:50 p.m. transmission with JRCC and the Emergency Positioning Indicator Radio Beacon (EPIRB) had been sounded minutes later at 11:06. EPIRBs are activated when totally immersed in water.
“I flipped out a bit when they told me the news, but managed to get a grip and calmed down somewhat. The two Coast Guard guys asked if I wanted them to leave — worried that it was more difficult or awkward for me having them there,” Della recalls. Amazingly though, despite experiencing the worst moments of her life, Della’s thought process was still rational.
“No,” she said, “don’t leave yet, I’d like you to stay for a while,” she said, explaining that as long as the Coast Guard officers were there she would have a source of first-hand information on possible updates about what was happening. If and when there was news, it would be relayed to them before anyone else.
The men stayed, for several days in fact and were extremely helpful Della says.
Word that the Miss Ally was missing spread quickly Sunday night.
Sometimes, when an EPIRB is activated, other vessels in the area are alerted through a radio distress signal.
Sandy Stoddard remembers vividly when he heard the alarm.
“My son, Chrisjon, stayed on my boat that night and we had not long laid down for a nap when all of a sudden we heard the alarm go off. We jumped out of our bunks and looked at each other and we both said ‘Katlin.’”
As sad and disturbing as the realization was that the Miss Ally was most likely doomed, there was still hope that the crew made it to a life raft and were still safe. But for fishermen friends like Sandy and Chrisjon Stoddard, along with all the others who heard the distress signal, there was nothing they could do.
The vicious storm that had overwhelmed the Miss Ally was still raging and any attempt by small fishing vessels to untie and help search would be impossible until conditions improved significantly.
However, the Coast Guard ship Sir William Alexander proceeded to steam toward the last known location of the Miss Ally and continued to search the surrounding area. The Alexander was also joined by another CG ship, Earl Grey.
Early Monday morning, a large-scale air and sea search and rescue operation officially got underway. Involved were a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant helicopter, a CC-130 Hercules aircraft and a CP-140 Aurora aircraft, along with an aircraft contracted from Provincial Airlines by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
In addition, two U.S. Coast Guard planes and various merchant vessels, plus the two Canadian Coast Guard ships, were also scouring the waters. The total search effort ultimately covered more than 18,000 square-kilometres of ocean.
One of the U.S. planes spotted a life raft early Monday, but there was no indication that there was anyone onboard. It was an infrared image of a life raft located approximately 50 miles south of Halifax.
As soon as weather permitted, fishing boats, along with other local vessels, joined the search. The submerged hull of the Miss Ally was eventually found about 50 miles from the vessel’s last known contact. It was determined that the hull was intact but the wheelhouse was gone.
After searching an 18,130-square kilometre area off Nova Scotia’s south shore, the JRCC issued a statement on Tuesday, February 19, saying it no longer held out hope the fishermen would have survived. Frigid waters and high seas made it impossible to think there could be survivors said an official.
“At this point in time, it was deemed that survivability simply was not there,” Lieutenant Peter Ryan of Maritime Forces Atlantic said in an interview after the decision was made to suspend the effort. The water temperature was at five degrees Celsius and the air temperature was three degrees Celsius when the search was called off.
“It’s always a difficult decision. You have people who have been going out day and night in the hopes of trying to find something. We’re well past 36 hours now. A very careful evaluation was made and it was determined it was time to stand down our resources,” he said, adding that the normal search time is 24 hours.
The search was then turned over to the RCMP as a missing persons case.
A wave-measuring device positioned in the vicinity of the Miss Ally’s last known location revealed that a huge wave measuring nearly 20 metres (60 feet) was recorded crashing through the area at the time the EPIRB from the vessel was activated.
A Transportation Safety Board investigation said the Miss Ally was in good working condition with no major deficiencies. It noted the malfunctioning light, but pointed out that had no impact on the vessel’s seaworthiness but as Sandy Stoddard points out, seaworthiness was not the issue.
“With a mountain of water that big, they didn’t stand a chance — it was all over within a matter of seconds,” he explains.
Compounding the agony of losing five young men to the sea is the fact that none of the bodies were found. Without the tangible evidence that recovering a body provides, grieving family members can never find full closure and the brain often responds in strange ways, perhaps in an attempt to provide some level of comfort to those who are consumed with grief.
Despite her pain and fantasies that her son somehow survived and just can’t come home, Della Sears is satisfied that everything possible was done to save Katlin and the crew. She even went to the Joint Rescue Coordinating Centre in Halifax and met several officials, including the man who last talked with Katlin. She was shown how the system works and even listened to some tapes of communications with her son on Sunday evening just prior to the loss of the vessel.
“They were awesome to me,” she says.
The media has adopted Della as a go-to person to talk about tragedies at sea and how families cope with overwhelming loss. She always points out that everyone has to grieve in his or her own way. There is no single recipe for healing she says.
She has also been interviewed about something Katlin said when a fishermen friend of his drowned just a month prior to the Miss Ally loss. His friend’s body was not recovered and Katlin said that someone should promote the use of personal EPIRBs. Such a locator beacon already exists and he thought with some promotion and education, perhaps fishermen and others would understand how important it is for families to find closure. The personal EPIRB is about the size and weight of a smartphone and can be attached to clothing.
Through her interviews and a greater awareness campaign by safety agencies in Nova Scotia, the idea seems to be gaining some traction. Personal EPIRBs cost approximately $300, a small price to pay for peace of mind to many families with loved ones working on the ocean. With more widespread demand, it is likely the price of a personal locator would be less.
The loss of the Miss Ally took five hard-working young men in one of the worst fishing industry tragedies in Nova Scotian waters in recent history. Katlin Nickerson, Billy Jack Hatfield, Joel Hopkins, (Steven) Cole Nickerson and Tyson Townsend were all significant players in the intricate fabric that make Atlantic Canadian fishing communities like Wood’s Harbour and Cape Sable Island special.
Now, going on five years later, their loss continues to have a significant impact on the maritime culture of their region. Della Sears Newell and others are working hard to make sure they will never be forgotten.
