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One fisherman died and two were rescued yesterday after their boat was
overwhelmed by huge waves and capsized 19 miles off the Westcountry coast.
A massive search in stormy seas off Cornwall's Lizard Point was abandoned
yesterday afternoon 18 hours after the Sabre is believed to have sunk.
Missing presumed drowned is Mark Jose, of Newlyn. Plucked to safety from
their liferaft after spending 12 hours praying that they might be found
were skipper Carl Thomas, of Newlyn, and crewman Malcolm Nicholls, of
Penzance.
The Sabre was swamped around 7pm on Saturday on her way back to Newlyn
after suffering engine trouble and stopping to enable the crew to replace
some faulty valves.
At 2.45 next morning, when the Sabre was overdue at Newlyn, Mr Thomas's
wife alerted Falmouth Coastguard, who launched a massive search.
The Newlyn-based Penlee lifeboat Ivan Ellen and the Lizard's David Robinson
set out around 4am.
Among the crews of these two lifeboats were members of the West Cornwall
fishing community who were friends of the men they were looking for.
Former Royal Navy officer Tony Woodhams, branch chairman of the Royal
National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen at Newlyn, said last night: "Initially
it was three men missing. Two of them have been saved and have returned
home to their families, but we have lost Mark Jose. His partner Emma Jarvis,
who is expecting their child, is completely devastated.
"Mark was a respected member of the Newlyn fishing community.
"He was not only a very accomplished fisherman but a good engineer.
We understand he was in his early 30s.
"The search for him was discontinued at 1pm, which would be around
18 hours after he was last seen in the water."
A Falmouth Coastguard spokesman said: "There had been no contact
with the vessel since she left Newlyn at 4am on Saturday.
"Sabre was a 30ft wooden boat with three crew from the Newlyn area.
"The alarm was raised by the wife of the skipper. She informed us
that the vessel had not returned to Newlyn as expected on Saturday night.
"She had left Newlyn to go to fishing grounds about 19 miles south
of the Lizard to retrieve nets which had been shot and left on the previous
day.
"We immediately initiated a major search involving the Penlee and
Lizard lifeboats, the Coastguard tug Anglian Princess, the fishing vessel
Ocean Spray and two merchant vessels.
"An air search was commenced at first light by a naval helicopter
from Culdrose. Coastguard rescue teams searched the coast from Mount's
Bay to Falmouth.
"Conditions at sea during the night worsened with gale force 7-8
southerly winds and poor visibility."
At 7.45am yesterday Falmouth Coastguard was informed by the merchant
vessel Fastwill that she had located a liferaft one mile off Lizard Point.
A Royal Navy helicopter from Culdrose was on the scene within minutes.
Mr Thomas and Mr Nicholls, both in their 30s, were winched to safety.
Conscious and able to walk, they were flown to the Royal Cornwall Hospital,
Treliske, to be treated for hypothermia with warming blankets and hot
drinks.
A hospital spokeswoman said later: "They are very distressed about
their missing colleague but are well enough to be able to return to their
homes."
Meanwhile, off the Lizard the search still continued for Mr Jose.
The Lizard lifeboat, skippered by Phil Burgess, and the Penlee lifeboat,
with coxswain Neil Brockman in charge, found the wreckage of the Sabre.
But there was no sign of Mr Jose, who had been wearing yellow oilskins.
Andrew Munson, Penlee lifeboat operations manager and Newlyn harbourmaster,
said: "The wind off the Lizard was gusting to 50 knots.
"The rain was so heavy that when the lifeboat crew went out on deck
to search they could hardly see."
Mr Munson said he had learnt that the crew of the Sabre had hauled their
nets and started to head home when an engine problem occurred and a filter
needed changing.
He said: "At that point they were overcome by a big wave and capsized."
The crew's hydrostatic liferaft inflated automatically as it hit the
water.
Mr Munson said: "Two of them managed to get into the liferaft. The
third one, Mark Jose, didn't make it.
"Mark had been fishing for many years on various boats. When he
spent time ashore, he worked on the boats."
Mr Thomas's boat was originally called Sabre of Newquay. She was a Cornish
wooden boat used for gill netting.
She was 32ft long, weighed almost ten tonnes, was 20 years old, and one
of the 120-strong fleet at Newlyn.
article copyright © WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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