Fishermen fought against 'Sea King' 14 times to save 21 lives

(Baonghean.vn) - Although he is a fisherman, Tran Van Son has ignored many taboos that have existed for many years in the fishing village, daring to confront the "Sea King" 14 times to save the lives of 21 people in distress at sea.

Born from the village of "waiting husband"

Mr. Tran Van Son (born in 1966) was born in Hai Nam fishing village, Dien Bich commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An. This small fishing village located on the coast was once a village of "waiting for husbands". Because after each storm season, the village men went out to sea and never returned when the storms of the sea sank both the boats and the people. In particular, the villagers have never forgotten the storm in 1971 that sank many boats and took the lives of dozens of young men in the village.

Mr. Tran Van Son has been at sea for more than 40 years. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Meeting fisherman Tran Van Son on a trawler boat when he and his crew were preparing equipment for a new trip. Slender, with shoulder-length hair and dark skin, pouring a cup of hot tea to invite guests in the early cold of the season that swept over Lach Van, Mr. Son slowly told his story:

“When my father died in the storm in 1971 along with many other fishermen in my village, I was still young, so I knew a little bit about it, and I heard it from my mother and the villagers. I only knew the suffering of women who lost their husbands to storms at sea. The tears and suffering every time my mother hugged me and cried seemed to seep into my skin,” Mr. Son sadly recalled.

One afternoon in 1971, when dozens of boats and hundreds of fishermen along the fishing villages were fishing at sea like every other day, suddenly the wind changed, clouds gathered and a hurricane arose in the ocean, the waves crashed like a muddy wall against the shore.

The former "waiting husband" village of Dien Bich is now bustling with boats. Photo: Xuan Hoa

The women of the fishing village ran to the shore, their eyes red with tears, calling out to their husbands and fathers who were fishing far out at sea. The black, naked children also ran with their mothers to the shore, looking into the distance where the clouds and wind formed black, ferocious columns.

A few days after the storm, the boats returned only in small numbers, unlike the whole group that had set sail. Along the coast of Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, and Quynh Luu districts, pieces of broken ships and dozens of bodies of fishermen washed ashore.

That year, the fishing villages along the coast of Dien Chau were covered in white mourning, covering the heads of women and children. That storm took the lives of Son’s father and 44 men in the village. More than 100 children like Son were orphaned forever, his mother and dozens of other women became widows. Since then, Hai Nam fishing village and many fishing villages along the coast of Dien Chau have become villages of waiting husbands.

After that, his mother also felt sorry for her husband and fell ill and became seriously ill. Orphaned at an early age, his mother was seriously ill, and Son and his siblings had to beg and pick up fish at the seaports to survive. Such a miserable life forced Son to drop out of school early and work on fishing boats to support his family.

Son went to work for ship owners to learn the sea trade and with his intelligence, hard work and good swimming skills, he soon became a good and experienced fisherman.

Fighting against the "Sea King" saves dozens of lives

From his years of experience working on fishing boats and having some capital, Mr. Son soon dreamed of owning his own boat. He discussed with his wife, from the money he had saved and borrowed more from state support loans, he bought a 200 horsepower boat. With the boat, he created jobs for dozens of young people from Dien Bich fishing village to help many families eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

Mr. Son has saved 21 people 14 times in the stormy sea. Photo: Xuan Hoa

In particular, after more than 40 years of living at sea, fisherman Tran Van Son has ignored all taboos and bravely confronted the "sea king" 14 times to save the lives of 21 people, mainly fishermen in distress during storms at sea.

According to the fishermen's previous belief, when going out to sea, if they encountered someone drowning at sea, they were not allowed to save them because they were chosen by the sea god. Otherwise, the sea god would take the person who saved their life or the person who saved them would be harmed while fishing, making their business at sea difficult. However, Mr. Son did not believe that.

Like in 2005, while fishing at sea, a sudden storm arose. His boat shook, sank, then was tossed back up on the high waves in the middle of the ocean. With his many years of experience at sea, he steered his boat past the storm's black spot. While the danger was still not over, in the big waves and strong winds, he discovered 4 fishermen from another boat playing and calling for help in the middle of the ocean. Without hesitation, Mr. Son bravely steered his boat to help.

“That day, I thought Mr. Son would not return as the waves kept rising and the boat was rocking and spinning. At that time, jumping into the sea meant committing suicide, but only Mr. Son saw the person in distress and jumped into the sea with a lifebuoy to save him.

After an hour, we did not see Mr. Son return to the ship, so we thought he was… But after nearly an hour and a half, we saw him clinging to the side of the ship, calling us to pull him and the four fishermen in distress onto the ship. He was truly a brave man who fought against nature for the sake of other people's lives," recalled Mr. Phan Van Hung (a crew member on Mr. Son's ship who witnessed the rescue in 2005).

In 2006 and 2007, he also rescued 7 fishermen from Quynh Luu district who were in trouble during storms. In 2009, during a fishing trip near Hon Me island, Thanh Hoa province, his boat also discovered a fishing boat of fishermen from Quynh Phuong commune, Quynh Luu district that had been sunk by waves. All 5 fishermen on board jumped into the sea and called for help in the big waves. He and the other fishermen on the boat did not hesitate to swim out to pull their colleagues in trouble onto the boat.

With that bravery, he has 14 times joined the “Sea King” to save 21 lives in the middle of the ocean. But he does not remember that number because for him, “people in distress must be saved” and only the long-time sailors who have been at sea with him remember to help him.

Mr. Thai Ba Hung gratefully recounted the story of his four children being saved at sea by Mr. Son. Photo: Xuan Hoa

“For us, the seafaring people, the sea is in our blood since birth. But the place where we make a living is also the place that can take our lives every time it gets angry with tornadoes and storms. I have experienced and witnessed the loss and extreme suffering of families like mine who lost their loved ones at sea. So I just hope to save lives so that there will be no more “waiting husband” villages,” Son expressed.

Mr. Thai Ba Hung (residing in Quynh Phuong commune, Quynh Luu district), a fisherman who was rescued by Mr. Son when he was in trouble at sea in 2009, said with admiration: “At that time, my four children and one nephew were struggling with the fierce waves until they were exhausted. Fortunately, Mr. Son came to the rescue in time, otherwise we would have died at sea. Now I don’t know how to repay him because it was Mr. Son who gave my family a second chance to live.”

Not only do they save people in distress, the couple are also extremely kind-hearted people. 10 years ago, they learned of a family with a child in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district who was in difficult circumstances and took him in. Now, the child they raised has grown up and is working in the South./.

Xuan Hoa