KINGSTOWN – Three fishermen have been reported missing since Monday as St Vincent and the Grenadines brace for the passage of a tropical wave that is expected to be accompanied by high winds and heavy rains.
The authorities said that the men – Andrew “Dougee” Baptiste, 54, the captain of the boat, James “Bow” Baptiste, 35, and 31-year-old Lesworth “Gargan” Young – have not been seen or heard from since setting out to sea on Monday morning.
“I am still being optimistic. I am not having any doubts. I really don’t want to have any doubts. I am still keeping my fingers crossed,” Lorenzo James, who is co-owner of the 25-foot fiberglass pirogue, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
The boat call code is “J8-868-KI” and carried the name Divers, but is not equipped with radio equipment, James said. It is painted white and blue on the outside and green on the inside.
James said that the men had 65 gallons of gasoline on board. And their only communication equipment, however, were their cell phones.
Meanwhile, the St Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Service said that a strong tropical wave is about 470 miles east of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The system continues to track west to west-northwest at about 15 to miles per hour or 24 to 32 kilometres per hour and is still showing signs of becoming better organised with most of the deep convection remaining to the north of the broad centre.
The Met Office warned that regardless of tropical cyclone development, pockets of moderate to heavy showers, periods of rain, thunderstorms, and winds gusting to storm force are likely to spread across the island Wednesday. (CMC)
