Village watches in silence as Pere Charles emerges from treacherous waters

JUST after 1pm yesterday, a grief-stricken community looked on in silence at Dunmore East as the Pere Charles emerged from the treacherous sea waters, its much-injured wheelhouse a reminder of the trauma suffered when it was engulfed by a freak wave 10 months ago.

Dotted around the harbour and the seaside village, relatives of the five men lost when the Pere Charles went down gathered with bunches of flowers, prayers in their heads, and questions which they hoped would be answered.

Those who questioned the wisdom or the point of raising two tragedy-filled craft from the seabed off the south-east coast this week should have got their answers in the eyes of those loved ones as they watched the Pere Charles emerging into the sunshine.

The once-proud trawler, laden with herring when it last breached the waves on its way back to harbour after a bountiful January day’s fishing, made a humbling sight as it made its long-awaited reappearance.

As the diving operation continued within sight of Dunmore East, the Dutch crane barge not much more than a stone’s throw away from the harbour wall, the tension around the busy fishing village was palpable.

The day progressed, the wind rising to gale levels as it did so, and the crowds gathered around the harbour, and up on the street as it sweeps around towards the cliffs, affording a panoramic view of the picturesque seascape.

Relatives kept up their vigil, watching, waiting and wondering what the day would bring.

Despite the worsening weather, enough work had been done by Irish Diving Contractors and the Coast Guard to get the trawler ready for lifting to the surface that it was apparent from early morning that this would be the day that the herring-boat would break the water’s surface.

“Any news?” locals would ask as they greeted each other, relaying snippets of information heard around the village. Rumours circulated, with varying times passed around for when the boat would be above water, how long it would take to pump it out and when the families would be allowed out to see it.

All the while, the winds strengthened.

By the time the boat hit the surface, the skies had cleared, the sun was out and those watching had a clear view of the activity continuing on board the GB Atlas barge.

Meanwhile, past the eastern side of the harbour and under the craggy cliffs which shelter the inlet from the worst of the weather, the Maggie B rests, forlorn-looking and much the worse for wear after being raised earlier in the week.

It lay at the bottom of the sea for over 18 months.

It has been described in recent days as a ghost ship, and it seems a fitting label as the craft bobs about on the waves, isolated from the rest of the extensive local fishing fleet.

Apart from some poignant personal belongings, it has not yet given up any answers about how its skipper Glynn Cott, 32, and crewman Jan Sankowski, 45, lost their lives in April of 2006.