A prawn trawler, Sea Rogue, left Yamba late last month on a four-day trawl with three crew members, Michael Williams, 39, John Jarrett, 41, and skipper Charlie Picton, 40. Suddenly the trawler was snagged about 3 am (AEDT) on February 27 when its net became caught on a reef, capsizing and sinking the boat about 13 km off the coast.
Williams told that the whole thing, within an instant, just rolled over. He continued how he took a breath and then went under and sort of grabbed the little window. He adds the water was rising and the life becomes tough. After 12 hour- of swim, Williams was washed up on New Brighton Beach, just north of Byron Bay. He was naked, dehydrated and had bad cuts to his legs and feet.
Jarrett and Picton were clinging to a fishing bucket. Picton became weak as he swallowed lot of sea water and never made it back to shore. Jarrett said that Picton was quite weak and they wave hands to the rescue helicopter but the chopper failed to locate them and about three hours Picton died, re counts Jarrett.
However, both the fishermen vowed never to return to the sea as they lost their companion Charlie Picton whose body has not been recovered yet.
