NORTH SEA TEMPEST

Northern Advocate, 15 November 1929, Page 5

NORTH SEA TEMPEST

FISHING FLEETS BATTERED FIVE MEN DROWNED. NETS WORTH £90,000 LOST.

(British Official Wireless.) (Received 10 a.m.) RUGBY, November 15

In the House of Commons, Mr W. Adamson, Sec-rotary for Scotland, announced a disaster off the east of England coast on Monday afternoon to. the Scottish fishing fleet. The fleet left early in the morning, before the, gale warning reached them, and proceeded to the fishing grounds, whore it should have arrived about one o’clock in the afternoon. A gale of great fury swept the fleet, with a result that two vessels drifted and wore sunk, and three lives were lost. In addition, some foundered vessels from Lowestoft lost 11,000 nets, and 400 vessels from Yarmouth lost 20,000 nets. The present value of the nets was about £90,000, and the cost of replacement would be about £150,000.

“The worst losses ever known in East Anglia,” says a Yarmouth fish salesman. “Many Scottish fishermen on the Avay home are ruined. [Nearly every one of 690 Scottish herring boats lost all their nets, which were practically uninsured. Scotsmen usually work on a system of nine or ten in a crew sharing ownership of the nets and gear, the loss amounting to £IOO in each group. “'Scotsmen never fish on Sundays and are bound to go out on Monday. The Yarmouth fishermen escaped because they fished on Sunday.” [Further loss of life is reported, a Hull fleet trawler losing three overboard, of whom the captafn was washed back. The others were not

seer, again. The disaster is causing a fish shortage in all markets.

INLAND HAVOC,

The gale which swept over Britain was the most severe experienced this year. Heavy rainstorms caused widespread floods, particularly in Wales and the Lake district. Some of tho roads were made impassable and telegraph and telephone communication was interrupted. Many ships had to seek refuge in harbour. The average velocity of the wind over the British Isles for tho entire day was about 42 miles an hour, but in several parts more than 60 miles w T as recorded. At Gardington a gust of 83 miles an. hour was reported.