Residents of Canouan missing services of MV Guidance II

Hundreds of Canouan residents came out on Saturday, January 20, 2025 for a vigil wearing white tee-shirts with images of the MV Guidance II, a vessel which has been missing at sea since the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024.

The vigil concluded at the Market Square on the Southern Grenadine island which is still in the recovery and rebuilding phase after massive devastation from the category four weather system.

The event was held under the theme ‘Only God Knows’, as many speakers expressed the sentiment that the fate of four seamen- Captain Maxwell Burke, David Rhynd, Alfred Holder and Adrian Green, is still unknown and they should not give up hope.

During the tributes segment, the children of Burke shared poignant memories of their father, describing him as “a man like no other.”

Daughter, Neisha, read a poem dedicated to her father.
“My father imparted a great deal of wisdom … my father is a man like no other. He is cherished beyond words and missed beyond measure.”

His son, Zeco, disclosed that on the day the vessel went missing, he was supposed to be on board with his father.
“The morning that he left home- I usually work with him, but that morning he did not wake me up to go to work with him. I’m not saying I regret the morning he didn’t wake me up … the only person and man I look up to in this life.”

Member of Parliament for the Southern Grenadines, Terrance Ollivierre, also delivered remarks at the vigil, noting that the service Captain Maxwell and the MV Guidance II provided to Grenadines residents is “badly missing”.

“[Captain] Maxwell made considerable contributions to this island and for that we should recognize what he has done for us,” said Ollivierre.

He recalled that on the Saturday before the hurricane hit, he travelled with Maxwell to Union Island to try and safeguard his home.

“You see that Saturday trip,coming down from St Vincent on Saturday’s it is missing, it is badly missing,” Ollivierre said to comments of agreement from those present.

He spoke about losing his father in 1991 in similar circumstances on Perica II which sank between Trinidad and Grenada, “and up to this time you had hope”.

“You were hearing all kinds of stories but even up to now- what happened here I remember that, and my heart is sore,” Ollivierre said, as he repeated that he cannot tell the family what they must or must not do, or how they must grieve, “but you know within yourselves how you would work it out…stay strong, God is with you”.

The MV Guidance II is a 150-foot vessel that was last seen around the Canouan Harbour on July 1,2024, and authorities believe the vessel’s communication and GPS systems were damaged from being caught in the hurricane.

“[Captain] Maxwell made considerable contributions to this island and for that we should recognize what he has done for us,” said Ollivierre.

He recalled that on the Saturday before the hurricane hit, he travelled with Maxwell to Union Island to try and safeguard his home.

“You see that Saturday trip,coming down from St Vincent on Saturday’s it is missing, it is badly missing,” Ollivierre said to comments of agreement from those present.

He spoke about losing his father in 1991 in similar circumstances on Perica II which sank between Trinidad and Grenada, “and up to this time you had hope”.

“You were hearing all kinds of stories but even up to now- what happened here I remember that, and my heart is sore,” Ollivierre said, as he repeated that he cannot tell the family what they must or must not do, or how they must grieve, “but you know within yourselves how you would work it out…stay strong, God is with you”.

The MV Guidance II is a 150-foot vessel that was last seen around the Canouan Harbour on July 1,2024, and authorities believe the vessel’s communication and GPS systems were damaged from being caught in the hurricane.