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Nearly two weeks after surviving a nerve-wracking ordeal on the water, a Dulac fishing family is rebuilding with hopes of resetting their lives to the normalcy they previously sustained.
Meanwhile the family’s young son is being hailed as a hero by his parents for rescuing the mobile phone he used to call for help as water inundated their 21-foot Lafitte skiff.
Dereck Celestin, Cher Fowler and their three children departed from a Dulac dock the morning of July 7, a Saturday, in search of shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. Planning for a four or five day trip, Dereck found himself racing a fierce squall that overcame their small vessel, sinking it near the junction of Bayou Grand Caillou and the Houma Navigational Canal. Terrebonne Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Ledet located the family in pre-dawn darkness, helping them from the cabin of the stricken “Little Dukie Boy” onto his patrol boat. But the family credits 12-year-old Joseph Allen, who called authorities from the phone he kept dry, with making the rescue possible.
The first day of the trip was both pleasant and fruitful.
Cher and Dereck along with Joseph and his sisters, Destiny, 16 and Trinity, 15, enjoyed the sun during the long trip out, and the first few drags near Whiskey Pass.
Nightfall brought with it a an increasingly good harvest.
“The shrimp we were catching were beautiful shrimp,” Cher said. “Really nice shrimp. In the ice hold we had about two baskets and a half case of large shrimp.”
In the distance Dereck saw jaundiced ochre flashes through distant clouds, and felt a telltale wind and the temperature dropped. He took up his nets and urged the “Little Dukie Boy” back toward protected waters as the squall moved closer.
All three of the boat’s bilge pumps were working but couldn’t keep up with the water that began flooding the boat, as it was hammered by waves on its sides.
Close to what he hoped was safety, Dereck realized his rudder could not work and so steered using his skimmer frames, alternatively picking up and dropping the frames. He believed that if he could get into Bayou Grand Caillou they would be safe.
“I thought we would never get there,” he said.
The squall hammered on and Dereck dropped anchor. That was when a big wave struck the left gunwale and the boat started going down fast.
Joseph had been imperviously seen the boat flooded,” he said. “Then my mama told me get out the boat. I jumped in th water and I swam.”
He didn’t stay in the water long, joining the family as they scrambled onto the cabin roof.
When the worst of the storm had passed the family looked for cell phones, and Joseph still had his. The other phones were down below, where they could not be retrieved.
“I called 911,” Joseph said, adding that his sister Destiny, with help from Dereck, relayed their location the best she could.
Coast Guard Group New Orleans dispatched a helicopter for the search and Capt. Ledet was notified. He sped to the LUMCON dock where his patrol boat was kept from his Chauvin home, and set out to find the family, eventually locating them.
He brought the family to T-Irv’s Marina, and agents from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries drove them to their vehicle.
They took an inventory and realized the sinking’s full impact.
“We lost everything, televisions, phones, tablets,” Cher said.
Worst of all for Joseph, she said, was the loss of his beloved Sony PlayStation 4 gaming system and its attached television.
An avid player of the video game Fortnight, Joseph had reached a coveted Level 78 and Tier 100, and had 12 “skins” or outfits for his characters.
The boat was recovered and towed back to shore. Dereck has been attempting to restore it to a seaworthy status.
“I’m just glad our family is all safe,” Cher said. “The material things can be replaced.”
Joseph is glad he was able to help. Asked if he afraid, he said “no,” adding “I’m a bayou kid.”
