All Things St. Jacques, NL

Alex Hickey – 26-07-2025

The Albatross

The end of July 2025 marks the 109^th anniversary of the collision off Belleoram Back Cove in Fortune Bay which sent the Albatross to the bottom, taking with it the body of Isaac Burke, lightkeeper from St. Jacques Island, who likely died on impact when the bow of the S.S. Hump sliced through the mid-section of the twenty-seven foot medical schooner of Dr. Conrad Fitz-Gerald. Like most unexpected events their world changed in a fraction of a second. Alec Tibbo and his brother George, both of St. Jacques, were tossed into the dark night water along with Fitz-Gerald. Fortunately the three survived, but not without facing great peril.

The Albatross was conducting a search for the yacht, Caribou, owned and captained by Phillip Ryan, telegraph relay operator from Long Harbour, Fortune Bay which Burke had witnessed capsize several hours earlier. The Caribou had been transporting Customs and Welfare Officer, Harry Clinton of St. Jacques, around the Bay to visit clients. No sign of the two men or the Caribou was ever found.

Aboard the S.S. Hump was a crew of men from the Fortune Bay area, primarily St. Jacques and Belleoram. One of them, the Purser, was Isaac Burke’s son, Charles. Another, was Barry Lynch, a close family friend of the Burkes. Harry Clinton was Isaac Burke’s brother-in-law. These would have been relatively common, unnoticed relationships in any community. However, in a small town of several hundred people, these relationships become quite pronounced when tragedy strikes.

Clinton and Ryan had two daughters each, while Burke had eight children. The immensity of how this event affected people of the community is hard to fathom these many years later; yet, from experiences in our own lives, we can project and empathize. Beyond the loss of human life, the community’s revered Doctor lost his mobile medical clinic which he sailed throughout Fortune Bay to tend to the sick. Aboard the Hump was a crew who knew these men; some knew their families. All of them served the people who lived along that section of the south coast of Newfoundland.  The shock waves reverberated through all of those communities.

Author – Alex Hickey

My book, Misfortune Bay: The Loss of the Albatross, is a humble effort to share that story, to keep its impact alive in current memory, and to introduce younger generations to those events. The South Coast is often referred to as ‘the forgotten coast.’ It isn’t so much forgotten as under-told. We have stories, heritage, history and a strong living culture. Unlike other parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, many of our stories have remained local. In this book I hope I have contributed to shedding a little light on Fortune Bay. If you haven’t read it yet, it is available at Public Libraries across the Province, local bookstores, many Gas Stations and online at your favourite booksellers. If none of these are accessible to you, get in touch with me through my Blog, All Things St. Jacques and we will work something out.