Christmas Eve fire destroys two lobster fishing boats

by KATHY JOHNSON

Two Clark's Harbour lobster fishing boats in southwestern Nova Scotia were destroyed by fire on Chrismas Eve after an explosion aboard one of the vessels.

The Cpt. Vince, berthed on the outside of a three-boat tier, had returned to port from the fishing grounds about two hours before the explosion occurred aboard the vessel around 5 p.m. at the Kenny wharf.

While fishermen and wharf management were on the scene almost immediately, the intensity of the heat drove them back, with the blaze quickly spreading to the Sou'West Hunter. "They (fishermen) tried to get it clear but the heat was too intense and they had to back off," said Morris (Moe) Nickerson Jr., deputy fire chief for the Island and Barrington Passage Volunteer Fire Department.

They were able to save the inside boat in the tier, The Cape Island Prince.

Nickerson credits the fast action of the fishermen and favorable weather conditions with averting what could have been a disaster. "The fishermen worked good together," said Nickerson, and were able to keep the two burning vessels clear of the fleet and the wharf. The wind also worked in their favor as did the ebbing tide which helped float the burning vessels out of the harbour. "God must have been watching," said Nickerson. "If the wind had been in any other direction we would have been in a mess... there would have been some boats burned up."

Nickerson said when the fire department arrived on the scene, "the boats were fully engulfed going out by the wharf," sending up a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.

The burned out hull of the Cpt. Vince, resting on a small island just off the Swim's Point wharf, was still smouldering the next day. Only a section of the stern remains of the Sou'West Hunter, which was owned by Allison Atkinson and captained by Michael Brannen. What's left of the vessel came to rest on a ledge between Clark's Harbour and Swim's Point. "We'll probably never know what happened," said Chuckie Atwood, captain of Danny Shand's Cpt. Vince.

Atwood said he's been able to find another boat to take, while a number of local fishermen have been helping out the Atkinsons by loaning them a boat to check the gear. "There's been three or four that's been good enough to let us use their boats," said Minnie Atkinson, which is very much appreciated.

Both vessels were insured.