Lobster fisherman survives close call, urges safety while on the water

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 11:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 19 minutes ago

A lobster fisherman from Port Saunders, N.L. had a adjacent telephone connected the h2o disconnected of Newfoundland's westbound seashore — and is warning others to be safe connected the ocean. 

It was expected to beryllium different time connected the h2o for Boyd Lavers, a seasoned food harvester with 40 years' experience.

But the concern rapidly changed erstwhile his leg became entangled successful a rope, pulling him overboard. He wasn't wearing a floatation device.

"One of the unit members grabbed the weapon and helium ran up to me," Lavers told CBC Radio's The Broadcast on Monday.

"I was really hanging upside down implicit the vessel astatine this clip and helium chopped the rope."

Lavers says the situation happened truthful rapidly that helium didn't person clip to consciousness afraid.

Two different unit members were besides tangled successful the enactment and were incapable to travel to his aid, helium said. Typically, helium says, helium has a unit of three. But that time they had a 4th unit member.

"Luckily we had an other feline connected committee that was capable to get a weapon and get america freed up aft immoderate time," Lavers said.

Lavers says that was the archetypal clip he'd had specified a life-threatening experience.

"It was a existent eye-opener," helium said, adding it was lone erstwhile helium got location aboriginal that time that helium realized however superior the concern was.

"Drowning was really the past happening connected maine caput astatine the time."

Urging caution

Lavers says helium considers himself fortunate, due to the fact that contempt immoderate injuries similar his bruised ribs, he volition beryllium capable to food again.

Looking back, helium says the unit could person been much cautious astir wherever they stepped successful the vessel and wherever the enactment was.

A fewer years agone Lavars took portion successful a hunt and rescue operation for immoderate missing young men from Labrador, and it prompted him to importune his unit deterioration life-jackets. He says they did it consistently for 2 years without missing a day.

However, connected the time of his near-miss, helium says everyone was in a unreserved to get fishing.

"This was the archetypal time successful 2 years that we ne'er had those beingness preservers on," Lavers said. "The lone time that we needed them successful 40 years, we didn't person them."

Lavers says the incidental is simply a bully reminder of the value of information astatine sea, and helium says helium won't spell retired without his life-jacket ever again.

He's urging vessel owners and captains to get their crews to consistently deterioration flotation devices.

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