#TrackingGrace | Old Harbour Bay fishermen make hasty retreat to land

Ruddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Some fishermen in Old Harbour, St Catherine had to make a hasty retreat to land today to avoid being caught at sea in the bad weather being produced by Tropical Storm Grace.

They ventured out to sea despite warnings from the authorities for fishers to remain on land.

Twenty-seven-year-old O'Brien Townsend was among those who went out in the Old Harbour Bay to catch fish.

Townsend, who says he has been fishing for eight years, told The Gleaner that he and other spear shooters were forced back to shore by the strong winds and rising tides.

"I went out before all this start but we see say things a get worse so we come back to shore before we get trapped out there," he said while showing off his catch.

Townsend told The Gleaner that the risk was not worth the reward, as he and the others gathered their fishing gear and rushed to secure the engines of their boats.

Strong wind and heavy rain posed a challenge for fishermen along the beach to secure their boats and other equipment.

As the winds intensified, sheets of zinc were violently blown from the roof of a shop on the beach, with the owner watching motionless.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for some fish vendors who received their catch earlier this morning.

In the meantime, there was flooding along the Old Harbour Bay main road, in the vicinity of a fire station, which resulted in traffic.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.