Hailed as the Capital of the North, Greenspond was once the centre of activity in Bonavista North. So immersed in history, it proclaims with pride some interesting stories, especially the heroics of its sealing captains and mariners. This is but one such story told to me by Edgar Burry who moved from Greenspond to Gambo in 1968. Edgar's uncle (his father's brother), Joe Burry, was a crewmember on the Florizel who fortunately survived the ordeal. There is also a human interest story within the main Florizel story; Joe Burry's father-in-law George Crocker, also a crewmember, was not one of the survivors. The triumph over adversity is juxtaposed with the sorrow and disappointment of loss and bereavement. When the Florizel struck the rocks, Joe Burry, along with several other crewmembers, was confined in the forecastle amidst tumbling cargo. A giant wave thundered over the port side sweeping some of them to the starboard side where they hung on for dear life. When the wave withdrew, Joe Burry and another crewmember, who had been clinging to the door of the lamp cabin on the port side of the forecastle tumbled inside and shut the door. Burry's immediate thought was of Crocker; he opened the door and saw him holding on to a stanchion. "In here, George," he shouted. Instead, Crocker made the decision to make a mad dash for the superstructure at the rear. Burry and his companion considered themselves relatively safe until a giant wave hit the bulkhead smashing the porthole, hurtling glass towards them, splitting the door and sweeping them outside. Their bodies were slammed against steel plates forward; when they receded with the wave, they grabbed the door frame and pulled themselves back into the lamp cabin. Another wave swept them outside again; Burry'€™s fellow crewmember had his skull fractured against the windlass, while Burry managed to grab the broken doorway as well as a short piece of floating rope and lashed himself to a stanchion. Another crewmember left the Marconi house and made the mad dash for the forecastle in the bow. Joe Burry hauled him inside. "Did you see George Crocker?" Burry asked anxiously. The crewmember replied, "He was in the wheelhouse when I saw him last." (Meanwhile the smoker and wheelhouse had collapsed taking a group, including Crocker, into the swirling, raging waves). The door of the forecastle had become unattached; Burry and the other crewmember clung to the doorframe and watched for others who may be attempting the dangerous run. They saw a man being swept amongst the wenches, grasping the derrick coils; he had his leg cut severely. As he was about to enter the forecastle, another wave flung him up against the windlass knocking his wind out. With the water receding he scrambled and staggered to the little room where Burry and the other crewmember pulled him in, placed him in a bunk, and applied wet blankets to his injured leg. The Captain and another crewmember left the Marconi room to go to the forecastle seeking a line determined to make an attempt to swim ashore. Wearing no boots or heavy clothing they dropped 10 feet to the deck, watching the waves for the most opportune time to dash for the forecastle. They were astonished to find Burry and the other two. "We thought we were the only ones left," Burry said. The Captain replied, "There's more back in the Marconi house and the fiddley, between 30 and 40." Burry enquired, "Did George Crocker get saved?" The other crewmember said, "No, he went overboard with the wheelhouse." All three convinced them that it was senseless and foolhardy to try to swim ashore. They would not risk getting back to the Marconi house, choosing instead to stay in the forecastle. When the seas abated and rescue operations commenced the Captain, Burry and the two others helped the crippled man over the wreckage to the Marconi room. After all 17 passengers were removed, Burry waited calmly. Two dories flipped while easing to the side of the Florizel. The next dory was tied to a line attached to the life boat as men on the Florizel hauled the dory toward them. The Captain ordered Burry and two others aboard and they hauled themselves to the lifeboat safely. A hushed crowd had gathered at the St. John's water front awaiting their arrival. Although the survivor's list had been previously posted, Joe Burry's wife, Amy, still thought a mistake may have been made, holding on to the faint hope her father had somehow survived. When they spied Joe Burry, her brother pushed forward to reach him, and she could tell from their expressions her father was gone. Joe Burry went on to get his Captain's ticket and was Harbour Master in St. John's where he lived until his death in 1965 at 80 years of age. We might conclude that sometimes life comes at us as a double-edged sword and all our stories don't have happy endings. By Charles Beckett Gambo, NL   Submitted By: NULL