Miracle rescue for missing fishermen adrift for two days

AN elderly fishermen and his grandson feared dead after two days adrift in the North Sea last night spoke of their “miracle” rescue.

missing boat, missing sailors, missing fisherman, Gourdon, Scotland, The Water Rail,  The pair set out from Gourdon in Aberdeenshire[SWNS]

Jim Reid, 75, and David Irvine, 35, failed to return from a trip in their 16ft creel boat on Tuesday after their compass failed in thick fog.

The pair, out lobster fishing, drifted 46 miles out to sea.

After the alarm was raised, coastguard search teams were scrambled along with two search and rescue helicopters and three RNLI crews.

But the 36-hour search was “stood down” on Wednesday night.

As hopes of finding the men alive faded the crew of a fishing vessel spotted their boat, the Water-Rail, early yesterday morning.

Their family had kept a vigil at Gourdon harbour in Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire.

It’s a miracle. I had to try and keep it together for everyone else. I burst into tears when I found out.

David Irvine Snr.

The two men were transferred to a lifeboat at midday and arrived at Montrose harbour two hours later.

Later, Mr Irvine talked of their ordeal: “The compass wasn’t showing us where to go and, because of the fog on the first night, we were completely lost,” he said.

“We couldn’t see the land. We were trusting the compass completely.”

Mr Irvine said he had forgotten his mobile phone and the boat did not have a radio.

The pair ended up miles from the shore – and well outside the search area – trying to conserve fuel and with just a litre and half of water, a flask of tea and two biscuits to survive on.

Mr Reid said they saw passing ships, but they were too far away.

missing boat, missing sailors, missing fisherman, Gourdon, Scotland, The Water Rail, David Irvine and Jim Reid's boat being towed by rescuers back to dry land [EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS / PH]

He added: “I had two rockets, which I set off on the first night. What was worrying me more was what was happening back home.

“We never gave up hope.”

He joked that the men passed the time by “cursing each other”. He was elated when the trawler came across them: “I just about walked to it,” he said. “They were coming toward us and I was standing on my boat with a red ball and they just went straight past.

“You should have heard my language, but they came back around. It was just the best thing in the world.” Mr Irvine added: “It was a mix of relief and shock. We had seen so many ships we couldn’t reach.”

His mother, Marion Irvine, 53, said he had called her from the rescue boat.

“I thought I was dreaming,” she said: “I have been tearful for the past few days.”

Her husband, David snr, said: “It’s a miracle. I had to try and keep it together for everyone else. I burst into tears when I found out.”

Mr Reid’s sister, Dorothy Milne, told how Mrs Irvine had on Wednesday night stood and railed at the ocean.

“David’s mum went out her back door and shouted at the sea, ‘Give me them back!’

“We didn’t know the search had been called off.” She said 25 years ago her nephew Johnny, 19, died after falling from a creel boat.

The two fishermen left Gourdon at 4am on Tuesday and the alarm was raised at noon.

Skipper of the fishing boat that found them, James Spencer, 47, from Buckie, said: “They were very lucky.”

The Water-Rail sank as it was being towed back to shore.

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