Five fishermen lost at sea Five lost as boat sinks

Two other members of the crew and two fishermen from another boat, who

went to their rescue, were taken to hospital in Lerwick, after being

winched to safety by the Sumburgh-based Coastguard rescue helicopter.

One of the survivors from the sunken vessel told later how he had

jumped into the water with his friend and although he had tried to keep

him afloat he had slipped out of his arms.

The 70ft steel-hulled Majestic capsized and overturned 30 miles

south-west of Sumburgh Head while winching in her net, and one theory

being examined was that the net had caught on some obstruction

underwater and the strain caused the boat to go over.

The other fishing boat, the Mystic, skippered by Mr Zander West, the

father of the Majestic's captain and which was pair-trawling with the

Majestic, immediately went to the scene.

Two of her crew, including the Majestic skipper's brother-in-law,

dived into the water to the aid of their three stricken colleagues, who

had managed to jump clear. They themselves had to be winched to safety

by helicopter along with the only two survivors from the Majestic.

The five who died, all from the Majestic, were: Mr John Barraclough,

24, from Lyndsbrae, Fraserburgh; Mr James Andrew McNab, and Mr Alan

West, both of Cairnbulg; and Mr Andrew Duthie, and Mr James Buchan, both

St Combes.

The survivors from the Majestic were the skipper, Mr Charles West,

from Cairnbulg, and Mr William Bruce, of Peterhead.

A Coastguard spokesman said it is very difficult to get out of a

vessel when it is capsizing. ''For three people to get out was a bit of

a miracle.''

The mother of Mr McNab, 22, suffered three family losses in another

fishing tragedy 17 years ago. Mrs Jessie McNab lost her husband Stephen,

a brother, and an uncle, when skipper McNab's boat The Nautilus went

down in the North Sea, the victim of gale force winds south of Shetland

in January, 1972. James's brother Stephen said last night he had gone to

sea against his mother's wishes.

The Majestic's cook, 19-year-old James Buchan had been at sea since

leaving school and had joined the vessel at New Year.

At their home in West Park, St Combes, his father Alexander said last

night: ''We have just been sitting her waiting for news. We hoped he

would be saved but now it seems the only question is whether they will

bring home a body.''

More than a dozen fishing boats, a lifeboat, two other helicopters,

and a Nimrod searched for the missing men. The four men rescued were

later flown back to Aberdeen before returning home. Early in the search

the body of one crewman was picked up, although not identified, and two

liferafts from the Majestic were found fully inflated, but empty.

The helicopter search was called off in the late afternoon although

the sea search for the four missing men continued.

Winds in the area were 30 knots with ''moderate to high seas'' and

visibility reduced to two miles because of the poor conditions.

Mr Bruce, 19, of Brucklay Court, Peterhead, told how he was in one of

the fish holds when he felt the boat listing.

''I got on deck and the boat was half full of water,'' he said. ''My

pal and I jumped into the sea and got away. The boat went down in a

matter of minutes. I tried to keep my friend above the water but it

proved impossible and he just slipped out of my arms.''

Mr Bruce said the Majestic had been winching in her net when it became

stuck on the bottom by an obstruction, possibly a wreck. ''It was caught

fast,'' he said. ''We were hauling in the wire and there was so much

strain and with the tide, it just tipped right over.''

The two from the Mystic who jumped into the water in an effort to save

some of the men from the other boat were Mr Billy Tait, Mr Charles

West's brother-in-law, and cook Mr Drew Strachan, of Colliesburn

Crescent, Peterhead.

Mr Strachan said he had been looking over the stern when he saw the

Majestic had a list. Both boats' winches had been hauling in the one net

and when the net got caught the Mystic had kept on winching. With no

slack on the winch the Majestic had capsized in no time.

''The fierce tide, coupled with the net being caught and the Mystic

being unable to stop winching turned the Majestic over.''

''There were five lads swimming about,'' said Mr Strachan. ''Mr West,

Mr Bruce and I just clung together until we were rescued. We must have

been in the water for about half an hour and I thought I was done for.''

Mr Bruce, who managed to kick off his boots and get out of his

oilskins, added: ''If it hadn't been for Drew I would have gone.''

Mr Strachan said he had shouted to the others to try to get out of

their gear but they were unable to do so. ''There was a fierce tide

running at the time and

it was taking us away from the boat all the time,'' said Mr Strachan.

Last night at her home in Alexander Terrace, Fraserburgh, Mrs

Catherine West, 44, told how she heard of the tragedy involving the

vessels skippered by her husband and son.

She said she had been in a flower shop in Banff when she got a call

from one of her daughters to tell her the Majestic had overturned. She

raced home where she received a telephone call from Charles to tell her

that both he and his father Zander, 48, were safe.

Mrs West said Charles had told her: ''I am lucky to be alive. I was

only saved because I was a strong swimmer.''

Mrs West said: ''He said he was in the wheelhouse when the boat

capsized. I was very selfish for my ain. I was happy they were safe but

now of course the tragedy is beginning to sink in.

''There is nothing I can do but I feel I should be out there but what

can I do or say to those whose men are missing. They will have their own

families with them now.''

Mrs Loraine Tait, mother of Billy, 21, who was married in April, said

at her home in Main Street, Cairnbulg: ''This is a small, close-knit

community and people are saying that Billy is a hero but at the moment

all we can think of is the poor people who are lost.''

Mrs Tait's daughter Angela, 25, and skipper Charles West have two sons

aged three and one.