Overview

In 1963, just before Christmas, two young men set off in their fishing boat in hopes of getting one more good haul of fish before the weather gets bad. They sail off into the stormy waters of St. Mary's Bay, off southwest Nova Scotia...and are never seen again. Ben Robicheau, who knew the men and experienced the search for them, combines the known facts with informed guesses and literary skill to weave a story of what happened on the stormy waters that night.

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9781990187902

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Reviews

A beautifully written story of a fishing tragedy off Brier Island, a small, remote community in the Bay of Fundy. It captures, accurately and emotionally, the loss of two young islanders in a vicious winter gale, just before Christmas, in 1963, and its impact on the tightly-knit community. The author, with his intimate relationship to the island, gives a very compelling account of this harrowing event. A must-read. Captain Keith McLaren, author of A Race for Real Sailors: the Bluenose and the International Fishermen's Cup 1920-1938 Tragedies at sea happen all too often. You see the headlines, hear the news: ""Four missing, presumed dead"". Reporters put on their sad voices to tell us about who was left behind to mourn. Ben Robicheau takes us beyond those headlines, into the thoughts and feelings and actions of his small Island community as it deals with such a loss. He deftly combines fact with creative writing to draw you into the unfolding tragedy. Once you've read this story, you'll never react as you did in the past to a ""lost at sea"" story. Andy Moir, Editor, Passages, The Brier and Long Island News Ben Robicheau combines historical records and first-person family accounts with an intimate knowledge of his beloved Brier Island and his own childhood recollections to reconstruct and de-construct two tragedies at sea. Ben has traced the events that led up to the sinking and offers possible scenarios about what actually happened. Ben has succeeded in capturing the impact of this devastating event and conveying the enduring sense of loss that grips fishing communities at such times. Jim Prime, author of Beyond the Passage

"A beautifully written story of a fishing tragedy off Brier Island, a small, remote community in the Bay of Fundy. It captures, accurately and emotionally, the loss of two young islanders in a vicious winter gale, just before Christmas, in 1963, and its impact on the tightly-knit community. The author, with his intimate relationship to the island, gives a very compelling account of this harrowing event. A must-read. Captain Keith McLaren, author of A Race for Real Sailors: the Bluenose and the International Fishermen's Cup 1920-1938 Tragedies at sea happen all too often. You see the headlines, hear the news: ""Four missing, presumed dead"". Reporters put on their sad voices to tell us about who was left behind to mourn. Ben Robicheau takes us beyond those headlines, into the thoughts and feelings and actions of his small Island community as it deals with such a loss. He deftly combines fact with creative writing to draw you into the unfolding tragedy. Once you've read this story, you'll never react as you did in the past to a ""lost at sea"" story. Andy Moir, Editor, Passages, The Brier and Long Island News Ben Robicheau combines historical records and first-person family accounts with an intimate knowledge of his beloved Brier Island and his own childhood recollections to reconstruct and de-construct two tragedies at sea. Ben has traced the events that led up to the sinking and offers possible scenarios about what actually happened. Ben has succeeded in capturing the impact of this devastating event and conveying the enduring sense of loss that grips fishing communities at such times. Jim Prime, author of Beyond the Passage"

Author Information

Ben Robicheau is a retired Jack-of-all-trades now living in Hamilton, Ontario. For several years he contributed regularly to Passages, the monthly newsletter of Long and Brier Islands, where he grew up. This column consisted of personal childhood reminiscences, adventures, and historical events unique to growing up on those islands at the end of Digby Neck.His next contribution to Passages was a collaboration with fellow islander and author of over twenty books, Jim Prime. Gurrey and Grime of The Digby Neck and Island Fish-Gutting Service and Detective Agency was a monthly series of fictional stories relating the wildly-improbable adventures of a pair of aged island residents. In 2017 Ben and Jim again joined forces and wrote a play, ""Funeral Sandwiches"", based on the Gurrey and Grime characters, that was chosen as 'The People's Choice' at the annual King's Shorts Ten-Minute Play festival at King's Theatre in Annapolis RoyalIn 2020, Ben and Jim compiled these stories into a book for Moose House Publications, Fish and Dicks: Case files from the Digby Neck & Islands Fish-Gutting Service & Detective Agency.The following year, Ben wrote and Moose House published Two Ferries Out: growing up on Brier Island. This became the best-selling book for 2021 for Moose House.

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