Death at sea

The loss of fisherman, 64-year-old Rudolph Chapman at sea, came as a blow to his mother who is still mourning the loss of another son she buried two months ago.

Eighty-nine-year-old Beulah Chapman said she prepared herself mentally for the death of her son Marlon who died late January after suffering with an illness for sometime.

But the mother of 15, four deceased, said she was thrown into a state of shock and disbelief when she got word at her 3rd Avenue, Pile Bay, St Michael home, that Chapman died 80 miles off the southern point of Barbados.

“I know Marlon was sick, but I wasn’t looking for this. When I heard that it left me shaking like a leaf. My child gone. I got to bury another child in this short space of time. It had me trembling and the water running down my eyes. I had to hold on pun the chair,” she said.

Chapman of Danesbury, Black Rock, St Michael, died aboard the fishing vessel Vibert 3 where he was discovered unresponsive by the Captain Silbourne Phillips.

Oistins police responded to a report that originated from the vessel sometime around 5 a.m. that a fisherman had died. The vessel was met by the Barbados Coast Guard and escorted to the Oistins jetty where they were met by police.

The grieving mother said the last time she saw her son was on Thursday when he visited her home to inform her that he was going out to sea that same day and would try to return before the Easter weekend once he had a successful catch.

“Another son come and tell me Woody dead. Man look, I had bad feels. Up to now I ain’t stop crying. He was a good son. I was there in Oistins to see when the boat come in with the Coast Guard. That was really hard on me and his brothers and sisters,” she recalled.

“But he was an asthmatic. So I don’t know if he had an asthma attack or a heart attack,” she added.

The elderly woman said though she was grieving, she knew that her son died at sea where he loved to be from the time he was a young boy.

As Barbados TODAY walked through the small Pile Bay fishing community, some of Chapman’s friends described him as someone who mastered the necessary skills needed to be an excellent fisherman.

“He was a complete fisherman. There was nothing he couldn’t do when it come to fishing. This is very sad for us all,” fisherman and family friend Anthony Thompson said.

Chapman’s sisters Shirley-Ann and Juliet sat at the Pile Bay Fish Market, reflecting on the life of their beloved brother.

They described him as a loving individual who was always willing to share.

“We had a nice relationship with our brother. We couldn’t want another brother. He was very loving. When I saw the boat bring him in, I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. You see down here, he loved Pile Bay. If he ain’t out at sea, down here is where you could find him on weekends,” Shirley-Ann said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb