A ROLLING Atlantic swell greeted trawlers circling the wreck of the Tit Bonhomme early morning yesterday, but it was nothing like the lethal conditions of the previous day.
Aboard the modest 50ft trawler based in Schull, the Le Titia, the atmosphere reeks of a grim reality faced daily by fishermen.
Skipper Thomas Sheehan and his crew of three had been fishing 70 miles off the southwest coast for the past three days. They docked at Union Hall to land fish before heading back out to help the search and rescue effort, because “it could be any of us”.
“It could be our story in the morning. If something happened to us some other fellow would come along and give a helping hand. You have to look after your own,” Mr Sheehan says.
His was one of a dozen trawlers circling the island yesterday, searching the murky waters for five lost fishermen.
Adam, the island that claimed the Tit Bonhomme in gale force winds early on Sunday morning, is treacherous. A hump of jagged rocks juts out to its southwest side, facing the open Atlantic. Behind it lies a treacherous inlet of swirling seas and angry currents. There, barely visible beneath the breaking waves, lies the Tit Bonhomme.
Its white funnel peeps just a few feet above the water. It seems incredible that any diver could access her insides, but today, weather permitting, a team of navy divers will descend.
The crew on board are discussing the miraculous prevention of a second tragedy, just hours after the first.
As trawlers searched the surging swell on Sunday, another Union Hall vessel hit the deadly rocks 100m west of Eve island. Howling wind had whipped the seas into a frenzy. The seasoned crew on board the Hannah J, a 70ft trawler, know this territory like the back of their hands. They were flung up onto submerged rocks and held there for five minutes, only to be released again by a freak wave that set them free.
The sea had spared them.
Local folklore tells of a magical wave situated at the mouth of Glandore Harbour. Circling winds that blow there are said to resemble a wail of sorrow that accompanies terrible tragedy.
They are associated with Tonn Chliona, the wave that rises there, named after a mythical goddess.
Le Titiarocks and rolls around in the huge swell that hits once the corner of the bay to the open sea is rounded. Its crew had joined in the fruitless search for the lost fishermen on board the Kinsale based trawler, Honey Dew II, that sank in January 2007.
Heads turn suddenly as a crew member spots something in the water. A wave rolls over and it disappears again.
The weekend’s storm has scattered debris from the Union Hall-based Jeanette Roberto, which hit the rocks on December 11th and is breaking up now.
Civil defence crews combing the shoreline are dotted high along the rugged cliffs that flank the bay, tiny beacons of goodwill.
They look vulnerable, but their efforts are crucial. “We are trying to help out in the recovery of personal effects or possibly, and unfortunately, a person. A lot of places are not accessible to the boats so you have to have feet on the ground to check out the rocky bays and crevices and make sure nothing is left behind. It’s very rugged and inaccessible terrain,” civil defence volunteer George Vladisavljevic says.
A prayer service early yesterday had brought tiny rays of hope. Parish priest Fr Michael Curran led the service asking for a speedy recovery of those lost.
The wind was dying off by lunchtime and by twilight the waters around Union Hall had returned to their usual calm. Divers met to discuss an early morning expedition to Adam Island. Nightfall brought family, friends, colleagues, fellow fishermen and volunteers searching the harbour back to Union Hall pier. They will take their heavy hearts back to sea today to continue their mission.