By LAUREL V WILLIAMS Wednesday, June 20 2012

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Surviving fisherman...Tris "Papi" Gulcharan....

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TWO fishermen who swam together for about ten hours at sea after the boat they were in, flipped on Friday night in Moruga, vowed not to continue with the trade. But while the two men, Richard “Dave” Rahim, 30, and Tris “Papi” Gulcharan, 27, lived to tell the horrifying incident, their friends Phillip “Batoo” Beharry, 28, Selwyn “Jumbie” Scipio, 51, were not lucky.

On Monday at about 3.30 pm the body of Beharry was washed ashore at the coastline in La Lune Village, Moruga. However, Scipio is yet to be found and he is feared dead since he was unable to swim. All four fishermen are from La Rufin in Moruga.

Rahim, a father of two, explained they boarded the pirogue “Boyo and Carla” at the spring bridge in L’Anse Mitan, Moruga, on Friday at about 11 am and went to fish at sea.

The sole breadwinner of his family, Rahim added while returning to land with an estimated 700 lbs of king fish at about 8 pm, a bolt from one of two engines broke causing the engine to fall into the water. As the men tried to retrieve the engine, an unexpected wave capsized the boat sending the men and their catch into the water.

“I managed to get a piece of a life jacket and put it under me and Papi got one. Jumbie was not a swimmer and went down in the water. That was the last time we saw him. Batoo, Papi and I swam for about ten hours together then a current swept us apart,” Rahim said.

Rahim admitted during the ordeal, he kept praying while swimming to land on an empty stomach. On Saturday about 2pm he managed to reach the coastline in a forested area located between Guayaguayare and Moruga.

“I had to take a rest on the sand for about two hours. Sea cockroaches were biting me. After walking for about four hours I reached home. All my life in the sea, this was the worst. I cannot go back there. I have to look for something else to do.”

He broke the news to villagers who immediately went searching together with president of the Moruga/La Rufin Fishing Association, Peter Glodon.

Gulcharan who also survived the ordeal, swam to land in a forested area at about 11 pm Saturday and recognised a camp where he slept for a while before walking for hours to his home. He reached home at about midday on Sunday.

“ I work offshore and do fishing from time to time. It is the first time something like this has ever happened to us. I am not going back to fish again. My muscles are ripped and I am in a mess right now,” Gulcharan said.

Yesterday Beharry’s brother, Samuel Beharry noted his brother was a friendly person loved by all and an excellent swimmer.