An Irishwoman's Diary

Cats' paws, they call them. They start as rough spots on the water, filled with diamond-shaped ripples or capillary waves, which can catch the wind on an otherwise calm sea. As Sebastian Junger describes it in his recent best-selling book, The Perfect Storm, actual turbulence begins to build with a breeze of just six knots. And builds and builds, as the blow rises . . .

Out there on the Atlantic, the waves are getting higher. "Freak" 80-foot and 90-foot waves are becoming much more common. Some blame the greenhouse effect. some blame a reduction in oil pollution and a drop in plankton levels. Why? Because although oil may be environmentally harmful, it can literally calm troubled waters by preventing capillaries from being generated. Plankton has the same effect because of a chemical it produces, Junger writes.

Andrea Gail

Who knows what really happened to the 72-foot Andrea Gail, a swordfishing long-liner with a crew of six which did not return to port after Junger's "perfect" storm. It was late October, 1991, and the sea from Grand to Georges Banks off America's north-east coast could not have been worse, due to a combination of high-pressure winds sweeping off the Great Lakes and a Caribbean hurricane. Miraculously - or perhaps because of the resourcefulness of both fishing skippers and the US Coastguard, backed up by good forecasting and modern electronics - most of a fleet of Massachusetts swordfishing vessels did survive the maelstrom. Junger's re-creation of the last moments of a vessel that didn't return should be read by every politician and civil servant concerned with marine matters. Perhaps the workaholic Dr Michael Woods, the current Minister, should make it mandatory in his Department. After all, a Norwegian counterpart decided some years ago that every member of the government's fisheries staff should spend a few days annually at sea.

The Andrea Gail had six crew on board - as did an Irish fishing vessel which also failed to return and was last heard of two years ago this month. The Carrickatine, which was reported missing board from Greencastle, Co Donegal, has never been found in spite of an extensive search off the northwest in late 1995 and early 1996. In the same week, Timmy Currid of Wexford died when the Scarlet Buccaneer, on which he was a crew member, went aground off Howth. That incident highlighted the lack of 24hour air/sea rescue cover on the east coast.

Oldest fleet

Two years later there is still no sign of the Greencastle boat. And repeated calls to renew the ageing whitefish fleet are only now being acted upon. A former marine official - Captain Philip McParlin, harbourmaster of Killybegs, Co Donegal - had warned in successive letters to marine Ministers from 1993 that there could be grave consequences resulting from Ireland having the second oldest fishing fleet in Europe. However, there has been a significant upgrading of the rescue network under Captain Liam Kirwan of the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES). And Mrs Carmel Currid, wife of Timmy, has received a sympathetic response to her proposal to establish a bereavement counselling service for relatives.

One doesn't have to be afloat on an ageing fishing vessel to find oneself exposed to risk. Some of the world's leviathans are not invincible, as a recent publication from Lloyds of London illustrates . The 740-page tome makes sobering reading. One of the longest entries is for the Achille Lauro, the Italian cruise liner which suffered fire after fire, a dramatic hijacking off Port Said in Egypt, and a grounding before coming to an inglorious end - in yet another conflagration - three years ago.

Whiddy Island

Entries of particular Irish interest include the Betelgeuse, the French tanker which exploded with the loss off 50 lives while berthed at Whiddy island in Bantry Bay in January 1979, and the Kilkenny, which capsized following a collision in Dublin Bay on November 21st, 1991. The appendices carry some interesting statistics on the largest vessels lost and the biggest oil tanker spills during the 30-year period. The safest craft to travel on would seem to be submarines, relatively speaking. From 1963 to 1989, only five subs are recorded, and one was destroyed while under construction in Rotterdam.

The compendium carries accounts of extraordinary courage, resourcefulness and bravery. Here's a remarkable story to take away with you. In 1975, two Spanish seamen were rescued by a Japanese fishing vessel after they had spent 19 days adrift on a life-raft in the Pacific. Imeldo Leon and Estisanto Terrodomo lived on fish and rainwater while they were floating. There were no other survivors. What was their secret? Both had been suspended above the sea, painting the hull of the Liberian ore/oil ship, Berge Istra, when three consecutive explosions ripped it apart. . .