Clady man speaks of ‘harrowing’ ordeal at sea

A DREAM holiday in the Carribean turned into a nightmarish ordeal for a Clady native and his family.

Award-winning author Patrick Hamilton Walsh, wife Johanna and daughter Elsie-Mae were enjoying a cruise around Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia and St Kitts & Nevis, when the captain of their ship received word of another vessel in the area having capsized. The crew immediately spearheaded a rescue operation, which lasted for 18 hours.

While 14 of the people who had been on the stricken luxury yacht were saved, tragically, three dead bodies were pulled from the shark-infested waters.

The whereabouts of a further 14 people remain unconfirmed.

Mr Walsh, chief executive of Global Talent Mobility and an author, said it had been a ‘very harrowing’ experience for all involved.

Speaking to the Strabane Chronicle after returning safely to his home in Stockholm, the Clady native said, “I felt a sense of relief that bodies were found, and that they could be brought back to their grieving families.

“It’s never nice to see but in a way, it’s better than being lost.

“I must commend the company for offering access to free therapy for those who needed it through this very emotional time.”

Mr Walsh said he had been fortunate enough to travel a lot in his time, but always had a ‘burning desire’ to see the islands of the Carribean.

Recounting their dramatic trip, he said, “As we were on the route to Antigua and Barbuda, an alarm went off on the ship.

“The captain, who happened to be from Cork, announced that a ship had capsized not far from us, and that we were spearheading a rescue operation.

“It turned out that some 31 people had been on a luxury yacht which had capsized. As our ship was the largest one nearby, there were the necessary medical facilities on board to deal with emergencies of this sort.”

Initially travelling in darkness, the ship led the rescue expedition for the next 18 hours.

At first, the darkness made finding potential survivors a difficult prospect. During the ordeal, 14 of the shipwrecked were safely picked up by other vessels.

The boat which carried Patrick and his fellow passengers picked up three. Sadly, they were already dead.

He said, “As the sun rose, it became baking hot very quickly; the kind of Caribbean heat that would have had an Irish man like me burning within a few minutes.

“Around midday, Johanna spotted a fluorescent green life jacket floating on the water, and a lifeboat was immediately dispatched, with another lifejacket spotted bobbing close by.

“Unfortunately, both the people had died and, judging by their positions, it looked as these two unfortunate souls had been holding on to each other but drifted apart. It was hugely disheartening to see and terribly tragic. A third person was also found in the same situation.

As a person of faith I have to say ‘God bless their souls’.”

With 17 people now accounted for, the race was on to find the remaining shipwrecked in an extensive search and rescue operation.

Unfortunately, although the whereabouts of the 14 still is not confirmed.

Although Patrick admits he wouldn’t like to speculate on their fate he does say he saw ‘huge sharks’ encircling the area.

Asked whether the ordeal would put him off travelling by sea again, the Clady native added, “Absolutely not. Going across the Atlantic is never safe; even the Titanic, supposedly the ‘safest ship’ of the time, befell tragedy.

“At the end of the day, it’s the sea who decides if you get safe passage.”