“We’re goin’ birdin’ tomorrow,” an excited Dion Faulkner exclaimed to his wife Sue as he entered their home in Musgrave Harbour on Sunday afternoon, February 2, 2003.
“Birdin,” meant saltwater duck hunting and like most men in rural Newfoundland communities, bird hunting had a huge appeal to Dion for various reasons.
Duck was a delicious food staple and good to have in the deep freeze for great meals in winter, but it was also a thrilling sport. And, it was more than that for Dion Faulkner on that day — it was another opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie of family and friends because he was going to be with his dad, Irving Faulkner, his two brothers Danny and Darren along with good friends Roger Hann and Draper Fahey.
The men were a diverse group ranging in age from 24 to 59. At 59, Irving Faulkner was the eldest, his son Dion was 38, Roger Hann was 36, Danny Faulkner, 35, Darren Faulkner, 31 and the youngest of the group, Draper Fahey was just 24. All but Draper were married with children. Irving was owner of the Spindrift by the Sea Motel in Musgrave Harbour, Roger was a well-known commercial fisherman, Dion worked as a refrigeration mechanic in Gander, Danny worked with the Department of Transportation, Darren had a seasonal job in Ontario and Draper worked at seasonal jobs whenever and wherever one became available.
The six men chatted on Sunday and noted the weather forecast called for moderate winds and sea conditions. The guys figured it was a reasonable outlook to accommodate a day on the water, considering it was in the middle of winter and an ideal forecast in February was not likely on the northeast coast of Newfoundland that time of year.
Like many others in the area, the hunters were really anxious to get out on Monday because it was the last day of the hunting season that they would be allowed to take six birds each. The bag limit was going to be cut in half to three ducks per person the following day, so it was one of those ‘seize the moment’ decisions.
Draper Fahey was especially excited that day. Although he was an avid hunter, this was going to be his first saltwater-duck hunting trip. He went to bed just after supper on Sunday evening to be well rested for their adventure the next day.
Saltwater ducks are best hunted at dawn when they take to wing, so that meant a very early morning departure because Irving and the experienced hunters in the group decided the best place to hunt on Monday morning would be around an island located about 12 miles away, called the Offer Wadham.
To allow themselves plenty of time to be in a good position to take advantage of day’s first light, the guys decided they would meet at the wharf at 2 a.m. where they would board Irving’s 22-foot speedboat and also tow along a smaller boat.
Irving’s boat had a small shelter at the front and a small, enclosed locker space at the bow — a compartment known locally as the cuddy that looked small but yet, big enough for two people to crawl into if necessary in times of bad weather.
The boat, Darlene and Dianne, named after Irving’s daughters, was known as a good and sturdy vessel and Irving was an excellent boater, known for his attention to safety and overall care and caution onboard.
When Sue Faulkner was helping her husband Dion pack food and a few things for her husband’s trip, she had one firm request.
“Make sure you wear your floater jacket,” she said with a tone that was more pleading than a request.
Dion heeded her advice and is eternally grateful that he did, although the floater proved to be an obstacle at one point, it more than made up for that in the end.
At his brother’s house, safety concerns were also prevalent. Just as Danny was leaving he hugged his wife Kelly and smiled “I’ll give you a kiss now because you never know — anything can happen out there,” he said.
The Faulkner men and their friends weren’t the only hunters who had duck hunting plans for Monday morning — dozens of others had the same idea. One of them was Larry Easton from Carmanville, located about 18 miles west of Musgrave Harbour.
Larry, a well-known fishing captain, along with 10 of his family members and friends had the same idea as Irving Faulkner. Larry, the owner and captain of the 45-foot fishing vessel Lady Easton took two speedboats in tow. The plan was to drop four of his buddies on Peckford Island in one speedboat where they would hunt while the remaining seven would continue on to the Offer Wadham, where they would anchor the Lady Easton and use the remaining speedboat for hunting. Larry, along with two of his long-time hunting friends, Rod and Bob Gillingham, would go to the island to hunt while his dad, an uncle and two others would stay onboard the longliner and cook up a big meal to be enjoyed at the end of the day when hunting was over. The Easton team planned to stay overnight and hunt again on Tuesday before going home to Carmanville Tuesday evening.
About 3 a.m. Larry had a call on VHF Radio. It was his friend and fellow fisherman, Roger Hann, calling. Roger explained that he was with the Faulkner men, along with Draper Fahey and wondered what Larry and his crew were planning.
Larry outlined his plans to be at Offer Wadham Island before daylight. Roger replied that he, Irving and the others might head to Small Island not far from the Wadhams. After a couple of minutes of general conversation Roger and Larry noted that the weather wasn’t as good as they hoped with thick fog and gusty winds that were causing white caps on the ocean. “Yes, perhaps we’d have been better off staying home in bed,” Roger laughed, as the two fishermen friends wished each other good luck ‘birdin.’
Irving knew the area like the back of his hand. Not only had he hunted there dozens of times before, he also took tour groups to both the Offer and Inner Wadhams in summer. But, despite that intimate knowledge and even though he had a GPS, it appears they steamed south of Small Island. Eventually, Irving gave up looking for the small island in the dense fog and decided to head for the much large Offer Wadham Island.
Unlike the large fishing vessel Lady Easton, the little speedboat Darlene and Dianne was not equipped with sophisticated radar and other electronic equipment to pinpoint their exact location and although Irving found the Offer Wadham, he wound up on the south side of the island instead of the north side as he intended, but in the fog there were no visuals for Irving and the guys to use as reference points. With an increasing southerly wind, they would have been far more comfortable on the north side in the lee of the island with the land providing a natural shield from the winds and seas.
Sometime around 5:30 a.m., Irving was guiding the boat along the rocky shoreline keeping a close eye out for rocks. It would be daylight within the hour and they wanted to be ready before the ducks took to wing.
It was foggy and chilly but the men were all experienced outdoorsman and were dressed appropriately for winter weather so despite the unfavourable conditions, they should still have a successful hunt. But, a good hunting trip was not to be that day.
Suddenly, without warning, all hell broke loose.
Join us next month for Part II of; “We’d Have Been Better Off Staying Home.”
