Fisherman lauds police after dramatic rescue at sea

“IF it wasn’t for the police, I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now.”

These were the words of 50-year-old fisherman Junior Sinclair, soon after he was rescued by a team from the Marine Police in the Kingston Harbour this morning.

According to Sinclair, he and a group of companions went fishing in the harbour and were on their way back to shore about 9:30 am, when it began to rain.

“In the space of five minutes everything changed,” he said.

Sinclair said that on his way back to shore, amidst choppy seas and reduced visibility, his boat sprang a leak. He sought assistance from his friends, who tried to haul his boat to shore using a piece of rope. The rope, however, became detached, and they, not realising what had happened, and in their zeal to escape the ordeal, left him behind.

He said he did his best to stay afloat, but his boat started to sink. To make matters worse, his feet became entangled with the fishing wires on the boat, and he was being pulled down with the sinking vessel.

“My children were the only thing on my mind,” Sinclair told the CCN. “I said to myself that they will miss me the most, especially the youngest one, my daughter. Thank God the police were there at the time.”

Officers on patrol saw Sinclair and went to his assistance. After a quick assessment of the situation they realised that his strength was waning and that his feet were bound, preventing him from escaping. A life jacket was used to keep him afloat while officers loosened his feet.

The shaken Sinclair was then taken to the Kingston Public Hospital for treatment.

“I will definitely be more careful from now on,” Sinclair said after the incident. “I’m just glad the police were there when they were, because if another 10 minutes had passed, I would have been gone.”