Margaret Jane

History
Canada
Name: “Margaret Jane”
Owner: Adams & Knickle
Port of registry: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Builder: Snyders Shipyard
Launched: 1965
Fate: Collision with Cape Beaver on July 31, 1980
Status: Wreck
General characteristics
Tonnage: 108 tons[1]
Length: 105 ft (32 m)[2]
Sail plan: Stern trawler

The FV Margaret Jane was a Canadian stern trawler based out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Built in 1965 at Snyder's Shipyard in Dayspring, she was owned by fishing company Adams & Knickle.[3][4][5][6]

Collision and sinking

On July 31, 1980, Margaret Jane was returning an injured crew member to Lunenburg after three days of scallop fishing with an 18-member crew.[4][7][8] Cape Beaver, a steel-plated 160-foot wetfish trawler owned by National Sea Products, was undergoing her first shakedown cruise in Nova Scotia waters and had dignitaries on-board.[2][4][9][10]

At approximately 12:00 p.m. (ADT), Margaret Jane was hit on the port side by Cape Beaver in dense fog.[10][11] The incident occurred about six kilometers from Lunenburg, near West Ironbound Island.[4][11] The large ice-cutting ball on the bow of Cape Beaver sliced through the side of the Margaret Jane.[2] After the collision, some crewmembers jumped overboard into the Atlantic Ocean and others scrambled into the boat’s life raft.[10] Within two minutes, the Margaret Jane was submerged by water and sank.[2][11] Four crewmembers of the Margaret Jane died in the incident.[11] Some crew members from Cape Beaver jumped into a life boat and helped rescue survivors.[2] The Cape Beaver boat and crew was not injured and returned to the National Sea Products wharf with rescued crew members from the Margaret Jane.[4] Four injured men were taken to hospital in the incident and the other 10 members of the crew were unharmed after being rescued.[4]

A television film crew from NBC was aboard Cape Beaver and captured footage of the collision and aftermath.[12] The video footage was aired on national television across the United States.[13][14][15]

Casualties

Three of the four crew members who died were originally from Newfoundland.[4] The fourth was Kelly Crouse, a 16-year-old from Brockville, Ontario who went on the fishing trip while on vacation with his parents.[11]

Name Age Hometown Notes
Kelly Crouse 16 Brockville, Ontario [11]
Aloysius J. Hinks 34 Chester [11]
Manuel Joseph Jesso 41 Stephenville, Newfoundland [11]
Leonard Snook 55 English Harbour, Newfoundland [11]

Inquiry

On September 4, 1980, Transport Minister Jean-Luc Pépin ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.[16] The inquiry was held before Justice A. Gordon Cooper of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court Appeals Division.[17] Captain Morris Nowe, skipper of the Cape Beaver, testified that there was no liquor aboard the ship when it collided with the Margaret Jane.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Marine Heritage Database: Margaret Jane – 1980 Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Search continues for crewmen, inquiry into ship collision begins". Chronicle Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia. August 1, 1980. p. One & Two.
  3. ↑ Snyders Shipyard - Margaret Jane snydersshipyard.com
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mason, Linda (July 31, 1980). "Four missing". Chronicle Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia. p. One.
  5. ↑ Maritime Connector: Margaret Jane
  6. ↑ Margaret Jane (+1980) Wrecksite.eu
  7. ↑ "2 boats collide, 1 sinks". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 1, 1980. p. 22.
  8. ↑ "Four missing in sea mishap". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. August 1, 1980. p. Four.
  9. ↑ "4 missing after sea collision". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. August 1, 1980. p. One.
  10. 1 2 3 "Debris spotted but 4 still missing after sea collision". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. August 2, 1980. p. One.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Searchers comb sea for four missing after boats collide". Montreal Gazette. August 1, 1980. p. 43.
  12. ↑ AT SEA: FISHING TRAWLER SINKS IN MINUTES DRAGGING DOWN CREW, AFTER COLLIDING WITH OTHER TRAWLER ITN Source
  13. ↑ NBC Evening News for Thursday, Jul 31, 1980 Vanderbilt Television News Archive
  14. ↑ NBC Evening News for Friday, Aug 01, 1980 Vanderbilt Television News Archive
  15. ↑ "Collision". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. August 2, 1980. p. 6A.
  16. ↑ "Pepin orders inquiry". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. September 4, 1980. p. 22.
  17. 1 2 "No liquor aboard in crash: Captain". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. February 2, 1981. p. 11.
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