Crew safe

The Tell Tale 2 vessel which sank off the coast of  Santo Domingo (SD) last week met the same fate as its near namesake, the Tell Tale 1, which went down in the Essequibo River in January last year.

Both vessels sank after they started to take in water, but the difficulties in which the first-named boat found itself last week were compounded by the absence of a pump and the fact that the generator had broken down, a reliable source told Stabroek News.

Eleven Guyanese crewmen were on board the Tell Tale 2 which left Guyana en route to the Dominican Republic carrying sand, but the boat started encountering problems in mid-sea off Trinidad.

The problems were rectified and the ship then set sail again for its intended destination, but the problems recurred near Santo Domingo and it started to sink. A crew belonging to the United States Coast Guard reportedly rescued the sailors on board, and these men are currently lodged in a Jamaican hotel awaiting flights back home.

Bibi Bailey, the wife of the captain Eugene Bailey told this newspaper yesterday that her husband had set sail in January and had told her that he was headed for the Dominican Republic. However she said he had called her weeks later to inform her that the ship had encountered initial difficulties off Trinidad and that they had been stuck at sea for about eight weeks.

The woman said it was customary for her husband who has been a sailor for over 35 years to make contact with her whenever he moved from one port to another.  She said he called her last week Thursday and said he was leaving Trinidad on his way to Santo Domingo and that the voyage would take about five days. He also said he would call her as usual……