Anguish at Christmas: More than a month later and no sign of missing fishermen

The wife of one of the four fishermen missing at sea fears the month-long search for the men will soon end, and the men will not spend the holidays with their families.

The search and rescue team of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) previously said Coast Guard teams are actively escalating their daily sea patrols in a dedicated effort to locate the fishing vessel “ASEYAH One” and its four-man crew that headed out to sea on November 16, 2023, and didn’t return.

Boat captain Worrin Yipsam, of Hertselling, East Bank Demerara and three others – Cecil Persaud, Vickram Singh, and Hazrat Razack – ventured out to sea from a dock at Wales, West Bank Demerara take a battery to another boat that sent out a distress signal.

They were expected to return the following day.

However, the “Red Snapper” boat they left to assist has since returned, and the crew from that boat said they never met or saw Yipsam and his team.

During an interview with the News Room on Tuesday, Gweneth Ashby, the wife of Yipsam, said it will be tough to celebrate Christmas without knowing whether he is safe or not.

“I have been trying with some support from the family. It’s just me and children [at home], but my husband’s sister lives close by, and they do come over during the day and be with me.

“I don’t have any plans for Christmas; we are not going to have a Christmas without him; it’s going to be rough,” Ashby said.

She said the families of the missing fishermen met about a week after they went missing, and during this meeting, they were told by authorities that the search was intensifying.

But with no positive signs since these searches commenced, the woman said she is losing hope.

“It’s been over a month now, and they ain’t finding nothing.

“It’s been really hard on me; it’s just me and my three children. It’s not easy because they keep asking for their father [and] I just keep telling them he will come, and he’s not coming.

“We were all hoping that they will find something, but nothing up to now,” she said.

She said her husband would’ve made contact by now if he was able to get to land.

The woman and Yipsam have been in a relationship for 11 years, and he is the main breadwinner for their home. The couple has three children aged 2, 6, and 9.