Seafarers talk about the one-in-ten-thousand wave: vicious, violent, and devastating. Fishermen pray it never comes their way.
Peter Dadds, a long-time fisherman from Mudeford, Dorset, saw that wave with his own eyes.
After weeks of heavy snow and bitter cold, the forecast finally promised calm. The sea was flat, the sun was out, and Peter and his crewmate set out with their lobster pots. But the swell grew stronger than expected.
“It seemed like the entire horizon was coming at us… It sounded like a train, a freight train. The noise was deafening, and the bow of the boat was almost vertical.”
Against the odds
As Peter rushed to respond, the boat was hit by a massive wave. He fell forward into the deck, likely hitting his head on the winch. His lifejacket auto-inflated, dragging him back to the surface through foaming white water. Around him floated fish boxes and the capsized boat — but no sign of his crewmate.
For a terrifying moment, Peter thought he was alone. Then, almost half a minute later, his crewmate surfaced and climbed the overturned hull. Peter joined him.
“I thought about my beautiful young daughter and how close I had come to never seeing her again.”
After the rescue
The next morning, our team was at Peter’s door.
“We had a chat about what happened, and they explained what help was available… They kept in touch with me on a very regular basis. They’d come and have a cup of tea and just see if everything was okay.”
Though his physical injuries were significant, it was the psychological impact that hit hardest. Peter struggled with confidence and avoided the sea. Eventually, he decided to return: but only with the same boat. “If it happened again, I knew I could rely on her to keep me alive.”
Rebuilding a boat… and a life
Rebuilding the boat took longer and cost far more than expected. Without being able to fish, Peter’s family was soon in crisis.
“We spoke to the Fishermen’s Mission. They helped us not only with food, but they kept the roof over our heads for two months. It gave me just enough time to get the boat back afloat.”
Even now, Peter is still rebuilding, but every day is a little easier.
The men had lost all access to their emergency kit, which was trapped in the submerged wheelhouse. The conditions made them nearly invisible to other vessels. “We’d already made our peace,” Peter said. “We knew there was no way we were going to survive going through that.”
But a passing yacht spotted them. The RNLI was called, and they were rescued.
Still going. Still fishing.
“I always say the darkest part of the day is the dawn before the daylight,” Peter reflects. “I’m very lucky to be here. And I’m lucky the Fishermen’s Mission was there. Not just for me, but for other fishermen too.”
Our work for fishermen like Peter is only possible because of support from people like you. Please consider donating today, so we can be there when the next one-in-ten-thousand wave comes.
