Four survive boating incident off Canouan

Trevin Williams never thought about death while swimming for hours after the boat he was travelling in sank. He knew he had to survive, even while swimming with sharks lurking below.{{more}}

Williams, 18, a maintenance worker of Bequia, told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday that he, along with his friends Vazel Decoteau, 17, Terrence Ollivierre, 22 and Prince Richardson, 18, all of Bequia, were travelling from Petite Martinique to Bequia on board Decoteau’s speedboat “Blanker”, when they got into difficulties.

He said they had gone to Petite Martinique to dive for fish, so that they could make a “change” to go to Carriacou’s Regatta.

Williams explained that Sunday about 12 noon, on reaching Petit Canouan, they noticed something was wrong with the boat.

“We see like the boat get a burst and in less than no time the boat sank, so we had to swim. We tried to swim to Petit Canouan, but the tide was charging to the north really hard…,” Williams explained via telephone.

While the boat was sinking, Williams said he used his cellular phone to call Vazel’s mother and told her to tell her husband to come search for them with his boat.

According to Williams, he and Richardson began swimming towards Bequia, but Vazel and Terrence told them they could not make it, so they stayed behind floating in the water.

“Vazel and Terrence say them can’t make it and tell we that we must go and try save we self, and if Coastguard pick we up, we must send back the Coastguard for them…,” Williams explained.

“While we been swimming, like after 3 p.m., we been watching the Coastguard and waving to them, but like they didn’t see we or hearing we. We see like the Coastguard go into Canouan and then it came back, but I missed it after a while…,” Williams related.

The brave teen said after spending a few hours in the freezing water, on reaching a small island named “Ramier”, at about midnight, he looked down below him and saw what appeared to be two sharks.

“Well, me ain’t been war tell Prince nothing fo he panic and thing, but he see them too, but he ain’t been war tell me nothing either. We ain’t study them and we end up and reach home in Bequia about 2 a.m. the Monday morning,” he said, with a hearty chuckle.

Williams, although thankful that no lives were lost, said he felt bad leaving his friends behind.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that the Coastguard came to Vazel and Terrence’s rescue at about 6 p.m.

“All I want to do right now is thank God, because without him, I wouldn’t have been here all now.”

He said they all went to the hospital where doctors treated them.

“We went and they gave all of us drips, but they gave the others two and they only gave me one. So, I ask them why they give me one and they tell me I strong like a lion.”

When contacted, Coastguard officials said a report was received from Tiana Ollivierre of Bequia, who informed them that the 14-foot speedboat, with four persons aboard was in trouble.

SEARCHLIGHT was informed that the boat was equipped with a 60-horse power Yamaha outboard engine.

The Coastguard intercepted Vazel and Terrence in the water, 2.2 miles north of Petit Canouan.

We were also informed that Prince and Trevin swam ashore at Adams, Bequia.

SEARCHLIGHT was unable to get into contact with any of the other survivors.