Latest tragedy at sea reopens family’s wounds

TOPSHAM — Six years after their brother was lost at sea, Kevin and Darin Crocker set out for what they planned would be their last fishing trip. Tragically, it was.

“We are sick at heart,” said their mother, Dolly Crocker. “We are devastated. I’m trying to get some answers. But I don’t know.”

For members of the Crocker family, the latest tragedy reopens emotional wounds they suffered when the first of the three brothers, Christopher, lost his life at sea on Aug. 9, 1984.

“I think I’m in a dream, and I’m going to wake up, and this is going to be a nightmare, and they’ll be here,” said Mrs. Crocker.

She said her youngest son, Darin, 22, had been working for a construction company on Orrs Island and had recently been given a raise.

“He said he wasn’t going to go fishing anymore, this was going to be his very last trip,” said Mrs. Crocker, adding that Darin had told his wife that he wanted to spend more time at home with his two children.

Holding a picture of Kevin, a house builder who was 27, she exclaimed, “And this one here, he hates fishing! He hates it!”

“When he fishes, Kevin has to have seasick pills. … He usually loses 10 pounds when he’s out there because he throws up,” she said.

Even though Kevin dreaded spending four or five days on the rolling ocean, he agreed to make a final trip with his brother, said Mrs. Crocker. They set out Sept. 6 in a vessel called the Northwind.

Kevin’s body surfaced in a fishing net a week ago. The Coast Guard led an air and sea search for his missing brother over more than 3,000 square miles off eastern Maine, but neither the 55-foot boat nor Darin was spotted.

Darin, who lived in Wales, was married and had a son and daughter; Kevin, of Topsham, leaves a wife and two daughters.

Relatives have been trying to console the Crocker brothers’ wives and parents. Donations are being collected for Melanie Crocker, wife of Darin, and a neighbor had fuel oil delivered to her home.