Emergency responders have called off a search for a reported overturned sail boat in Harbour Grace, saying they were unable to find any trace of a mishap.
“There’s nothing else we can go on,” Kevin Barnes, regional supervisor for maritime search and rescue with the Canadian Coast Guard, told The Compass this morning.
But the man who reported the incident, Water Street resident Wayne Newman, continued to insist that a vessel overturned and disappeared into the waters on the south side of Harbour Grace during the early evening hours on Monday.
“I’m not mistaken. I know what I seen was a boat. A lot of people in my area saw it. My children saw it,” Newman stated.
“That boat was floating upside down in that water for 20 minutes. They can call off the search all they want, but I know what I saw.”
A frantic search began at just after 7 p.m. on Monday, and the town was alive with activity for several hours as a military Cormorant helicopter with 103 search and rescue squadron searched the area from the air, and personnel with the Harbour Grace Volunteer Fire Department and the Coast Guard auxiliary also looked for traces of an emergency.
The George R. Pearkes, a Coast Guard search and rescue vessel, also arrived on the scene during the early morning hours on Tuesday.
But by 10 a.m., the search was discontinued, pending further information.
“Nothing has been found. No debris. No sign of anything,” Barnes stated.
Port checks throughout Conception Bay were also completed, and there were no reports of any overdue vessels, he added.
Newman said he was “shook up” by the incident, and vowed to begin his own search today.
“I knows what I seen. I’m not blind. I seen the boat when the sail hit the water,” Newman said.
“By the time the RCMP got there, the boat had disappeared. I think she drifted, or she’s gone to the bottom.”
Newman said he didn’t recognize the vessel, but described it as having three sails and flying a Canadian flag. He didn’t see anyone onboard the vessel, but said he watched it sail back and forth the harbour several times before it capsized.
“What happens if they find a body on the beach? Who are they going to believe then?” he asked.
Newman said other people saw the boat capsize, but Barnes said this could not be confirmed.
“There were no other reports of anybody seeing a boat capsized,” Barnes stated.
Barnes said there’s typically a debris field after a vessel sinks, but searchers have come up empty. He said the area was thoroughly searched, and conditions were ideal.
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