Treasure Beach tragedies - Community has constant reminder of men lost at sea

Fifty-seven years ago, Hersley Moxam of Blunters in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, lost his father, Oliver, at sea after a boat he was travelling in capsized before reaching its destination on the Pedro Cays. Some 40 other fishermen from Treasure Beach, Kingston and Clarendon were aboard the vessel. Their bodies were never found.

“The condition at sea was very bad that morning, which caused the boat to capsize and sink, leaving no trace of its sailors even until this day,” said the 77-year-old Moxam. “There was weeping at every other house in the areas at the disappearance of the men.”

The man had ventured out to sea in July 1963 on a boat called Snow Boy.

“Until now, we have no clue as to what happened. We know the weather was bad. We found none of the bodies, not even that of my father,” he told THE STAR.

“I was on the Pedro Cays looking out for the boat to come in the morning, only to hear that the boat sank, disappeared, and nobody survived. I was very devastated at the news. I was only 24 years old at the time.”

Moxam, who is now retired, said no memorial service was held for his father because there are some family members who believed that he may still be alive.

“Up to this day some people, to include family members, believe my father and the other 40 fishermen are in Cuba, or that they were captured by the Fidel Castro government,” he said.

Pays homage

Thirteen of the 41 fishermen were from Treasure Beach. Their names have been engraved on the ‘Lost to the Sea’ monument in Calabash Bay, which pays homage to persons who met their demise in the place they often fish for food. There are 62 names on the monument.

Gary Anglin, 62, who has been a fisherman for most of his life, said he is lucky that his name is not on the board.

“A three family member mi lose a sea already, and a nuff time mi nearly lose mi life, too, but a God deh pon mi side mek mi still deh a yard until today. If mi neva stand up strong, fi mi name woulda deh pon the wall wid the man dem name, too,” Anglin said.

Treasure Beach has been getting unwanted attention for tragedies on its beaches following the feared drowning of Andre Burnett, a businessman, who last week was swallowed up by a large wave while swimming in the area. Moxam said that the unfortunate event is not new.

“Almost every year we lose someone down by the French Man Beach. There is always a high tide on the western end of the beach, and even a good swimmer will have a difficult time getting out of that area when the seas get choppy,” Moxam explained.

In 2019, Karanjah Gayle, a student of Northern Caribbean University, and Joseph Anderson, a Jamaica Defence Force soldier, drowned after getting into difficulties while swimming in Treasure Beach on New Year’s Eve.