For veteran West Coast Berbice boat captain Ganesh, Tuesday’s terrifying ordeal at sea is one he says will remain with him for the rest of his life.
The 60-year-old Rosignol fisherman, who has spent more than 30 years in the fishing industry, told Ignite News that when the vessel began sinking in the Atlantic Ocean, he truly believed he and his crew would not make it out alive.
“When we see the boat going down, we tell ourselves no survival ain’t deh here,” Danesh recalled, adding, “But I tell the boys just hold on until somebody can find and save we.”
Even as fear gripped the crew and water rapidly filled the vessel, the father of five said he refused to allow panic to take over. Instead, he focused on keeping hope alive for the men around him, including his own son who was aboard at the time.
“No, no give up. I keep telling them don’t frighten because as long as we make the call somebody gon come. Once it was daylight, we still had hope,” he said.
Danesh explained that while drifting helplessly in the open sea for nearly three hours, one thought kept running through his mind: that darkness would likely mean the end for them.
“If night catches we out there, then our hope done. But me can only say maybe my time ain’t reach yet,” the captain told this publication.
Though the crew was eventually rescued after desperately waving down another fishing boat, for approximately one hour and thirty minutes Danesh says the emotional scars from the incident remain heavy.
The experienced captain became emotional while speaking about the frightening reality of almost dying in front of his son.
“To know my son was there watching all that happen… watching like we could die right there in the water… I can’t face that in my whole life,” he said.
Now safely back home, Danesh says he has decided to step away from the sea for at least a month as he struggles to recover mentally and physically from the traumatic experience.
“Right now I need a month’s rest. My whole body is in pain and my mind still can’t settle from what happened out there,” he said.
Despite losing an estimated $900,000 worth of fish and nearly losing their vessel, Danesh says he is simply grateful that all four crew members survived the horrifying ordeal.
