LEWISPORTE -
It was Aug. 16, 2008 when Captain Bobby Noble and his crew of four-men found themselves in peril on the sea.
It was also the day when Mr. Noble and crewmember Tejay England demonstrated courage and strength in saving two fellow crewmembers.
Those acts of bravery and honour have resulted in the awarding of Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA) Oper-ational Merit Medals to the two men, along with the crew of the vessel Melissa Lori out of Fogo Island - led by Captain Rollins Cobb - who were integral in the rescue effort. The rest of the Melissa Lori crew includes Clifford Cull, Andrew Bailey, Paul Gill, Leonard Mercer and Don Hancock.
Additionally, Mr. Noble and Mr. England were nominated by the International Maritime Rescue Federation for their bravery and courage demonstrated at sea to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) who presented the men with IMO Certificates of Commendation for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
The events that took place on Aug. 16, 2008 will live on with the men who all survived the situation.
They were on their way home after fishing a haul of shrimp off the coast of Cape Freels.
It was early in the morning and the crew had just weathered out some stormy weather overnight. Around 5:30 a.m. Mr. Noble awoke to the sound of one of his crew saying, "We're sinking."
The ship was filling up with water and it became evident that it was going to sink after efforts to pump out the water failed. The men worked to get into their immersion suits. One crewmember didn't get into his suit and went into the water without the suit or a lifejacket. There wasn't much time.
Asked about his thoughts related to the safety of his crew when the realization came that they had to abandon ship, Mr. Noble said, "I knew I had to look after them, that I was responsible for them."
Mr. Noble had also always been of the belief that as long as you're on the boat you're safe.
"That's why we left the boat at the last possible moment," he said. "When we left we were standing on the side and everything was underwater - there was basically no boat left.
"I knew while we were on the boat we were oaky, but once you go into the water - a lot of people don't make it out of the water. That was in my mind that in the water is not a good place to be."
Before the boat went down Mr. Noble had made a distress call. The Melissa Lori was already in sight before they entered the water.
"We knew help was on the way," said Mr. Noble.
But there was still a harrowing 45-minute period from the time when they had to enter the water to when the rescue vessel arrived.
"That 45 minutes seemed like a long time, but it also didn't seem like very long because we were busy," said Mr. Noble.
He and crewmember Mr. England were busy saving the lives of two other crewmembers.
They had to come to the aid of the crewmember that was in the water without any protective or floatation gear on. They supported him in the water until he was pulled aboard the Melissa Lori.
Around this time another crewmember was swimming away from the boat, perhaps disoriented due to panic. Mr. Noble and Mr. England swam away from the boat that was there to rescue them to retrieve the other crewmember. Upon reaching him it was discovered that his immersion suit was not completely done up and therefore was filling with water, causing him to sink.
Mr. Noble, with the help of Tejay, connected to him, hoisted the man over the top of him to keep him afloat and began asking questions to keep him calm and make sure he wasn't going into shock.
The other crewmember to be pulled from the water was unconscious at the time due to swallowing a lot of seawater. A crewmember (Mr. Cull) from the Melissa Lori actually fell overboard during the rescue effort.
When everyone was out of the water only then did Mr. Noble board the Melissa Lori. It was around 6:30 a.m.
Mr. Noble said if it wasn't for Mr. England having been there to assist him in the rescue efforts things might not have turned out the same.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it myself," he said. "I couldn't have been responsible for saving two people by myself."
Mr. Noble felt it was a contribution of everyone involved that day that resulted in the outcome where everyone came out of it with their lives.
Exceptional Bravery
The CCGA Operational Merit Medals were presented in Gander on Oct. 17. The IMO Certificates of Commendation were presented in London, England on Nov. 23.
The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with the primary purpose to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping.
The IMO award was established in 2007 to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment.
Mr. Noble was honoured for the recognition he and others involved in the incident have received.
"It's nice to know that what we're doing in our work people take notice of," he said. "The IMO is set up to make shipping safe, but they also set up that award to acknowledge people who risk their own lives to save others.
"I thought it was a big honour to be recognized by this international organization."
Thanks
To Mr. England and the rest of his crew Mr. Noble said he thought they did an excellent job on and in the water that day.
He also noted thanks to the crew of the Melissa Lori for their part in the rescue.
Mr. Noble extended additional thanks to the 103 Search and Rescue Squadron based in Gander.
"Everyone says it takes too long for them to get out in an emergency, but I think they did an excellent job in our situation," he said. "Even though it was early in the morning and considering it was after hours for them, they were airborne within 40 minutes of speaking with them and receiving our distress call.
"That's far ahead of what they are required to do."
The Search and Rescue helicopter medivaced the crewmember who had lost consciousness in the water to the hospital in Gander. He recovered without incident.
All the men involved came out of the events of Aug. 16 a little shaken, but without serious injury.
Back on the water
No one knows why the Lynette Marie filled with water and sunk that day. Days after the sinking the life ring from the Lynette Marie was found 26 miles from where it sank.
What happened that day hasn't deterred Mr. Noble from making a living on the water. In January of this year he had the Lynette Marie II and was back on the water this season, along with one of the crewmembers from that fateful August day.
True Captain
The CCGA produced a video about the sinking of the Lynette Marie and the bravery of those involved. Entitled "Bobby Noble: A True Captain", the video runs about six minutes in length and can be viewed on YouTube.
The video also resulted in two international awards for the CCGA.
At the 2009 International Marcom Award Competition the Bobby Noble video was presented with a Marcom Gold Award in the Inspirational Video category. The CCGA was also presented with a 2009 Silver Davey Award for the video.
At the conclusion of the video it was noted that a crewmember had said that after the events that transpired in the water off Cape Freels, all of the crew would have served again under Captain Bobby Noble without hesitation.
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