Minutes later he and his five-man crew were all in the water, in the dark, in the middle of the North Sea.
“When the boat rolled and I was under the surface, I thought that was it,” said Bruce (57).
But he was wrong. Regular training, drilling and preparation ensured all six of them made it back home, safe and well.
“It happened so quickly, from the moment we realised we were in trouble to it capsizing. My advice is to be as prepared as you possibly can. If it happens fast you need to look at things through a different pair of eyes. You’re scrambling for your life.”
Out of the blue
The night had begun well for the crew of the 23-metre Odyssey, based at Fraserburgh. They had just hauled up a good catch of prawns about 140 nautical miles from land, with Bruce in the wheelhouse.
He said: “We had a good haul so we thought we would try again. Then out of the blue we were emptying the second net and the boat just felt heavier than normal.”
Nothing they tried could regain balance. Water started gushing onto the decks.
“It took a list to starboard – and I said, ‘Get the rafts ready’. It happened very fast. I slipped and fell into the starboard side of the wheelhouse. There was no time to grab the radio, I just needed to get out. I managed to climb out of the wheelhouse through the port door.
“The crew got clear with the raft – there was no time to inflate it. The boat rolled and the lights blacked out. I got my hands on a port rail and scrambled down a ladder.
“Then I was submerged, so I kicked off and up. It did not feel deep but it was deep enough. I just saw through the water the outline of the raft container and the crew’s faces in the lights of their lifejackets. I was so glad to see them.”
There was no time
He added: “I was not scared. It was just so weird. I remember thinking about the crew – they had to jump in with the raft uninflated.”
With everyone accounted for, they triggered the liferaft to inflate, clambered inside and cut it away from the capsized Odyssey.
“I let off a flare because there were a couple of boats in the vicinity but they never saw it. It was pitch black in thick fog.”
Next they secured the emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB) from the water, which was already automatically broadcasting their location to HM Coastguard, with an emergency contact and vessel details registered to it.
Bobbing in their liferaft, the crew of the Odyssey waited for daybreak and rescue.
“The light was starting to come,” continued Bruce. “I do not know what time it was, to be honest. We heard a chopper or plane so we set off a smoke marker. But it was really thick fog.”
Rescue response
Meanwhile, a rescue operation was swinging into action sparked by the EPIRB alert picked up at precisely 5.29am by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Aberdeen.
HM Coastguard issued broadcasts for nearby vessels to help, and quickly got through to Wilma, Bruce’s wife, to secure a crewlist. An HM Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft was sent and, due to the distance, a rescue helicopter from Norway.
Closer to the scene, Bruce’s friend Sandy Alexander, fishing a few miles away on the Lily Anna, was also aware something was wrong. Wilma had called him with the news and, thanks to Bruce having previously shared his location, he could see the Odyssey’s marker had disappeared from his chart plotter.
I’ve got them, Wilma, I’ve got them
Even more concerning, however, was the appearance of a number of red crosses – marking where AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals were coming from Bruce and his crew’s lifejackets. Steaming to the scene as quick as he could, he spotted the liferaft when Bruce lit another flare.
Bruce remembers the moment: “I saw Sandy in the wheelhouse and I could even hear him talking on the phone to my wife and saying, ‘I’ve got them, Wilma, I’ve got them’.
“When Sandy reached the raft he came alongside and put down a ladder. We crawled up and took the EPIRB with us. I was holding onto it for grim death – that was going nowhere. The crew went down for hot showers and dry clothes to warm up.
“We transferred to another boat and were into Aberdeen by 3pm the following afternoon.”
Home and dry
What made the difference to the crew all making it home safe and well?
“One of the key things was the induction,” said Bruce. “The crew knew where everything was. They knew the procedure, the location of the rafts and what to do and how to get it, and where the hand flares were, escape hatches and life rings.
“My advice is to be prepared. Definitely do your crew inductions – that’s a must. Learn the locations of equipment; we do man overboard and abandon ship training. Have a knife available if you need to cut straps in an emergency. It’s hard to prepare but it’s worth it."
Boats can be replaced; people can’t
Despite his experience, Bruce will be back fishing.
“I was still a bit stunned coming into the harbour. The Odyssey is gone now and I am totally gutted. She was in the best condition she had been for a long time. The gear was all good and new. It was a major setback.
“But it was the best possible outcome, definitely. There are so many boats it happens to and someone loses their life, or all of them.
“At least we have only lost the boat. Boats can be replaced; people can’t.”
