Ryan's Commander

By Johanna Ryan Guy

The Ryan's Commander capsized off Spillars Cove, near Bonavista, on September 19, 2004. In the tragic wreck, two brothers were lost: Dave and Joe “June” Ryan. A federal report concluded that vessel design was one of the factors causing the capsizing. The family of the Ryan brothers recently filed suit against the federal government and the makers of the vessel, arguing its design was unsafe and untrustworthy. This book is Johanna Ryan Guy's tribute, both to her brothers and to the family that still mourns their loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flanker Press
• Release date: Sep 3, 2008
• ISBN: 9781771174671

Johanna Ryan Guy

Johanna Ryan Guy was born in St. Brendan’s, Bonavista Bay. She is the youngest of seven children and the sister of Dave and Joe “June” Ryan who were lost on the Ryan’s Commander. She is the owner of several successful businesses in St. John’s and is the mother of two children.

Book preview

Ryan’s

COMMANDER

THE BOAT THAT SHOULD

NOT HAVE SAILED

Johanna Ryan Guy

Flanker Press Limited

St. John’s

2008

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Guy, Johanna Ryan, 1966-

Ryan’s Commander / Johanna Ryan Guy.

ISBN 978-1-897317-31-0 (print)

1. Ryan’s Commander (Fishing boat). 2. Ryan, David, 1957-2004.

3. Ryan, Joseph, 1961-2004. 4. Shipwrecks--Newfoundland and Labrador.

5. Fishing boats--Design and construction. I. Title.

VK1255.R92G89 2008 363.12’309718 C2008-904213-1

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© 2008 by Johanna Ryan Guy

All rights reserved. No part of the work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5. This applies to classroom use as well.

Printed in Canada

Cover photo by Jim Wellman

Flanker Press

PO Box 2522, Station C

St. John’s, NL, Canada

Toll Free: 1-866-739-4420

www.flankerpress.com

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my children, Robert Joseph and Hannah Elizabeth Cecilia, and to my family, from the oldest to the youngest: Shirley Brown; Dave Ryan; Beverley Furlong; Linda Kent; Joe Ryan, Jr.; Ken Ryan; and of course to my mom and dad, Joseph and Cecilia Ryan. With a special dedication to Yvonne, Stephen, and Jennifer; and to Marilyn, David, and Tara.

They are each as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. Their wisdom and indulgence as I continue in my pursuit of the truth is greatly appreciated.

This book is also dedicated to the survivors:

Ronald Furlong

Richard Brown

Jamie Aylward

Don Brown

A Prayerful Remembrance

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, remembering the promise of the Resurrection, I humbly and sincerely offer these prayers for all the departed. With joy, I thank You for what we shared in this earthly life. With hope, I pray this offering will help them on their journey to the fullness of life and happiness with You in heaven. Purify them from all that is not holy so they may dwell in the mystery of Your perfect love forever. With blessed anticipation, I look forward to the coming age, when, with Your grace, I shall be united with them again in paradise. May the souls of all the Faithful Departed, through the mercy of God, rest in Peace.

Amen …

This is taken from a Sacred Heart League prayer card I found at Mom’s house. It is a prayer that I personally read often in the early days of this tragedy.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: The Accident

1 The Need to Know

2 Walk On Water

3 How the Story Unfolded in St. Brendan’s

4 When Ken Got the Call

5 The Next Day, Our Journey to the Cape

6 Life is Changed Not Ended

Part II: Aftermath

7 January 3, 2005: Press Release

8 The Transportation Safety Report

9 Lawsuit

Part III: Family

10 May Our Memories Be A Comfort For Us

Afterword

Tributes

PREFACE

I knew I had to write this book.

Call it the diary of a madwoman, I’m not sure, but I’ve known for some time now that I needed to do this book.

Just days before the first anniversary of their deaths, I was compelled to write a poem about my brothers to read in the church. This poem had been echoing in my head for some time, and I had to get it on paper. Just as this book has been echoing in my head, it too had to be put on paper. I’ve continued to write one poem each year, and this has given me the courage to put the rest of my words in a book for all to read.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence, and that I have in abundance. It is my true desire and hope that this book will become my legacy to my two beloved brothers, Dave and Joe June.

Just like I became more known as Johanna in my adult years, instead of Joanne, June became more known to others as Joe Ryan, Jr. Not that we cared very much about what we were called. They were our legal names, and as such I guess it was to be expected. We just didn’t expect it when we were growing up in little St. Brendan’s, a place we dearly loved, but I’ll leave that for another chapter.

I’ve often wondered what makes me tick, and now I’m left to ponder that question even further. Normally, it’s as if I view each day as an opportunity for a new passion and a new purpose. I’m the kind of person who wants and needs to be motivated, engaged, and challenged for the most part. But this was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. How could one get the courage to take on such a task? I know I’m going to rip open wounds that have partially healed in all of us during these past years and in so doing will cause new suffering. The past will again come rushing back to torment. I have to torture myself even further, to dwell on the past in an effort to tell a story for future generations, for my children and theirs. To ensure that there is no doubt as to what happened, and how it had been allowed to happen.

For this is what I feel I am doing, telling a story of my brothers’ lives, who they were, what made them tick, and, last but not least, what happened that dreadful night. All our lives were forever changed in the blink of an eye. This is a story of tragedy and perseverance all rolled into one.

Me, I have a concentration problem, which I’m well aware of, so I’ve hidden myself away to do this book. Leaving my other life for awhile was not something I could do without feeling guilty. Guilt is one of the hardest things to overcome. But you just have to learn not to beat yourself up over it. For me, when I am alone with my thoughts, this is when I think my best. Like most business people, I normally have so much to handle at any given time. It’s quite a juggle, to find a happy medium with such a heavy workload. At some point you have to realize that you are not Wonder Woman. It may seem selfish to some, but being alone is necessary for me to do this book justice. I always said you can justify anything if you think it’s right.

Let’s hope Dave and June are with me in spirit on this journey.

I have two children, who are very special to me. Robert Joseph Bobby Joe is nine and Hannah Elizabeth Cecilia is seven. I knew that writing this book wasn’t going to be easy, and I didn’t want my kids to see me distraught. Just as I had decided back then that it would be inappropriate to have them at the boys’ funerals, this too would have been too hard for them to deal with. Both are a real blessing to me. I’ve been fortunate to have two lovely healthy children who can adjust to almost anything, including having their mother leave them at home with their father, who adores them, or our sitter, who moves into our house when needed. They know that when I get back I’m all theirs for as long as time can possibly allow.

When I think of all the strength it took in the beginning to do the interviews, I often wonder how we managed to make a compelling statement, one that would attract the attention of the various people in positions of power. But we did it, and it was no small feat. My brother Ken – who has a skipper’s ticket to command a 350-tonne vessel – and I set out to challenge vessel regulations that, we believe, permitted an avoidable accident to happen. We were concerned when, because the Ryan’s Commander was new, it wasn’t deemed necessary to have had its design and stability fully tested. A sister ship had been tested. As Ken said, if you are in uncharted waters you must be careful.

It irritates me to think that there were not more stringent rules regarding how stability booklets were issued. You didn’t have to wait for approval. Talk about giving someone the benefit of the doubt!

We plan to keep on fighting in Dave and June’s memory, in the hopes of saving lives. If we can keep this from happening again, to prevent another family from having to grieve and go through the aggravation that we’ve had to deal with, especially since it can be avoided, then all of this will have been worth it.

So much good has come from the capsizing of the Ryan’s Commander. So much has been learned, because there were survivors to tell the story. It’s just hard to accept that in today’s society this is what has to happen. Lives have to be lost before change is made.

The long outdated 65-foot rule is changing. The stability requirements have changed, and certain training is emphasized now, especially when it comes to anti-roll tanks. The overall awareness about safety in the fishing industry today is amazing. While we still await the change of the helicopter response times (after normal daytime operations), I believe that it is only a matter of time, and money, before this gets changed as well. We won’t rest until then. I only hope that no more lives will be jeopardized before government steps in and this comes to pass.

It is not my wish to be jaded or cynical. However, many a time it has bugged me how the Ryan’s Commander investigation seemed so twisted. It was as if some things only looked like they were being dealt with. It seemed the issues were simply passed around, in hopes that they would quietly slip away and eventually be forgotten. I didn’t want this to happen. No more delays, no more do-nothing scenarios. Instead, I wanted to make politicians and everyone else stand up and listen, to a point where they would be compelled to react. I was rewarded when they finally got off their butts and did something productive about the issues at hand.

Don’t forget, people can still have blood on their hands even if they only use those hands as a politician. Even if you never end up having to be too close to the situation at hand. It’s just as wrong to do nothing at all when it’s about something that you know is wrong. You could save lives by taking initiative. Progress and change as needed is the right path to a better future.

This is the story that rocked