A crowdfunding initiative to support the fisherman whose boat sank off Sark earlier this work is seeing donations climb quickly.
The man was rescued, with “no serious injuries”, by a private vessel operated by Isle Maritime, as his boat sank beneath him while fishing on Tuesday.
He was brought ashore by the St Peter Port Lifeboat crew using the inshore lifeboat, before being assessed by waiting paramedics.
At the same time, a commercial diving vessel crew were helping to recover his boat.
As the boat was a commercial fishing vessel, an investigation has now been launched into the incident with the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents working to identify the cause.
Pictured: ‘Wild Wave’ ran into trouble in a “freak accident” off the west coast of Sark. Isle Maritime’s Paloma happened to be in the area and provided immediate rescue. (Images courtesy of Isle Maritime). 
Pictured: ‘Wild Wave’ ran into trouble in a “freak accident” off the west coast of Sark. Isle Maritime’s Paloma happened to be in the area and provided immediate rescue. (Images courtesy of Isle Maritime). 
Pictured: ‘Wild Wave’ ran into trouble in a “freak accident” off the west coast of Sark. Isle Maritime’s Paloma happened to be in the area and provided immediate rescue. (Images courtesy of Isle Maritime). 
Pictured: ‘Wild Wave’ ran into trouble in a “freak accident” off the west coast of Sark. Isle Maritime’s Paloma happened to be in the area and provided immediate rescue. (Images courtesy of Isle Maritime).
In the meantime, Josh Le Cras has set up the fundraising initiative to support the fisherman – who is understood to have a family, including a newborn baby.
Mr Le Cras set a £10,000 target to help out after he learned that the boat wasn’t fully insured.
The fund had surpassed £5,700 at the time of writing, and was rising quickly.
“Unfortunately due to reasons beyond his control, insuring wooden vessels like ‘Wild Wave’ fully comprehensive can be difficult and very expensive,” Mr Le Cras explained.
“In the short period of ownership of Wild Wave Micheal has made his best effort to fish the necks off his pots to make ends meet, to keep fishing even when the catch isn’t there, most importantly to make a living and provide for his family.”
He added that the work required to get ‘Wild Wave’ back out to sea will be quite intensive.
“To get Wild Wave back on the water and catching lobsters, she will need all new electrics and wiring, new engine, new safety equipment so please if you are in a position to contribute to getting Wild Wave back on the water I would be very grateful if you could make a donation. Every little helps!”