Company owner identifies two N.S. fishermen who died after boat capsized off coast

The community of Sambro, N.S., is pictured on Feb. 8, 2025.

HALIFAX — The captain who died when a fishing boat capsized off the coast of eastern Nova Scotia on Thursday was an experienced fisherman who was returning to harbour with a full catch on board, says the vessel’s owner.

Jose Teixeira, owner of the 18-metre Fortune Pride, confirmed Saturday that John Allen Baker was the captain who died, and in a later email he identified deckhand Phil MacInnis as the second fisherman who didn’t survive after the Fortune Pride overturned.

Teixeira said during an interview that the two other deckhands on board had been released from hospital, adding that when he saw them “they were in a state of shock, but they seemed to be (physically) fine.”

The 53-year-old business owner said that Baker had worked for several years for his company, which owns three vessels, and that the captain had been fishing since he was teenager.

“He was a guy who liked to socialize with friends. He wanted to help others in the industry in any way he could ... He’s been fishing since he was a kid, probably 50 years or close to it,” he said.

Fin Armsworthy, a councillor in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, said he had been friends with Baker since they were children and they had fished together. He said Baker and his family are well known in the fishing community of Canso, N.S.

“They lived from the sea,” he said. “It’s a terrible loss, especially in a close-knit community like Canso.”

“He adored fishing, but sometimes the sea is unforgiving.”

Baker had previously survived the sinking of the Gentle Lady while operating it in 2013.

CBC News reported in 2017 that the Gentle Lady sank after its load of sea cucumber had shifted quickly, causing the ship to lean and water to come on board. The news service said Baker made it onto a life-raft with his crew and drifted at sea for over six hours before being rescued.

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Teixeira said that Baker had been fishing for silver hake before Thursday’s capsizing, adding he’d spoken to the captain as the Fortune Pride was returning with a full catch on board, which he estimated at between 18,000 to 23,000 kilograms of fish.

The company owner said, “when I communicated with them at 8:30 p.m. that night there was no sign of distress.”

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre has said that rescuers found three crew members Thursday night, one of whom was unconscious, while the fourth was located in a life-raft Friday morning and was “unresponsive.” Teixeira has said three of the four crew were wearing survival suits when they left the vessel.

Rescue efforts were launched after a signal from an emergency beacon was picked up around 10 p.m. Thursday originating about 18 kilometres southeast of Sambro, N.S.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team to investigate the capsizing of the fishing vessel.

Teixeira said the vessel was in “great condition,” and had passed an inspection for seaworthiness within the past year. “It was a good, seaworthy, steel boat. That boat has been at sea for a long time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2025.

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