Plans underway by mother, town for memorials to six lost Nova Scotia fishermen

Pictured from top left to bottom right: Michael Drake, Leonard Gabriel, Aaron Cogswell, Eugene Francis, Dan Forbes, and Charles Roberts -- the crew of the Chief William Saulis, a scallop dragger that sank in the Bay of Fundy on Dec. 15, 2020.

HALIFAX -

Plans are underway by a mother and the town of Yarmouth, N.S., for memorials to six fishermen who died when their scallop dragger sank off the province's southwestern coast 14 months ago.

The bodies of Aaron Cogswell, Leonard Gabriel, Dan Forbes, Geno Francis and captain Charles Roberts were never found after the sinking of the Chief William Saulis on Dec. 15, 2020, while the body of crew member Michael Drake came ashore near Delaps Cove, N.S. -- a coastal village about 50 kilometres north of Digby.

Lori Phillips, Cogswell's mother, has ordered a stone monument to be installed in the Delaps Cove area as a place to remember her son, and it also has the names and images of the other fishermen on it.

She used funeral funds provided by the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, and some of her own money, to pay the $6,000 cost of the stone monument, which was delivered at a reduced price. On the stone is a photo of the dragger and photos of all the crew, and it is written, "these six men held important roles in the lives near and dear to them."

Several options are being considered for the location, but Phillips, who lives in Cambridge, N.S., said the monument must be near the site of the sinking. Her home is close to 100 kilometres from the scene of the tragedy.

"That's the closest place to the sinking we can go to be with them," she said in an interview on Thursday. "I couldn't picture myself with a regular headstone down the road from my house with a headstone that doesn't have a connection to my son."

"I don't have a body. His body is in the ocean, just off the cove."

Phillips said the site will also be for other families, friends and fishers to visit and remember the lost.

Meanwhile, Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood says her community will also be adding the men's names to the "Lost to the Sea" memorial in the town's waterfront area, with an expectation the work will occur in the spring.

The RCMP called off the search to find the bodies of the lost men just over a year ago, and both the police agency and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada indicated the boat -- which sank in 60 metres of water -- wouldn't be raised.

The safety board has yet to release its findings and recommendations on the safety issues related to the tragedy.

Phillips said she'll be seeking information on a number of unanswered questions from the safety inquiry, including the condition of the boat prior to its departure. She said she and some other family members of the lost men still believe the boat should be raised.

Following the deaths, the Full Bay Scallop Association -- an industry group -- oversaw a fundraising drive that collected about $250,000 to assist the families. According to Clifford Hood, the lawyer who is a trustee for the funds, $140,000 of that amount -- $35,000 per family -- has been distributed to four of the six families, with the expectation another $70,000 for the remaining two will be distributed.

"The other two estates have now been opened, but we haven't settled on the terms on which the disbursements would be made at this point," he said in an interview Friday, adding he's hopeful this will soon be settled.

Hood said the plan is to provide the remaining funds, equally divided among the six families, after the initial round of disbursements is complete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2022.